NHTSA Complaint #11020944 — 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK

SUBARU HAS AN EXTREMELY COMMON FAULTY WIRING ISSUE WITH AN LED PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD THAT IS PART OF THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT SYSTEM THAT RESIDES IN THE MAPLIGHT ASSEMBLY ABOVE THE REAR VIEW MIRROR. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN REPORTED BY COUNTLESS VEHICLE OWNERS ACROSS A NUMBER OF MODELS (INCLUDING OUTBACK AND FORESTER) ACROSS A NUMBER OF MODEL YEARS. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH USING THE KEYWORDS: "SUBARU CODE 26 AIRBAG" REVEALS A TREASURE TROVE OF INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THIS ISSUE. IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS PROBLEM IS FREQUENT, PERSISTENT AND WIDESPREAD. THIS ISSUE HAS SPANNED A NUMBER OF MODELS AND MODEL YEARS. THE COMPANY AND ITS DEALERS CANNOT HELP BUT BE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THERE APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH INADEQUATE SOLDERING OF THE ELECTRONICS ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD (PCB) RELATED TO THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT DISPLAY. IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THIS DEFECT IMPAIRS THE ABILITY OF AN AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. SUBARU REFUSES TO WARRANTY THIS DEFECT. IN ADDITION, SUBARU REFUSES TO HONOR THE TAKATA RECALL IF THIS FAULTY WIRING SYSTEM IS NOT FIRST REMEDIED. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND CAN PRESENT ITSELF WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING OR STATIONARY. MANY WEB-BASED ACCOUNTS OF THE PROBLEM HAVE REPORTED THAT CHANGES IN VEHICLE TEMPERATURE DUE TO WEATHER (PARTICULARLY ON COLD DAYS) MAY BE RELATED TO THE SOLDERING JOINT TO MALFUNCTION.