NHTSA Complaint #11606645 — 2017 SUBARU FORESTER

Passenger air bag light on dash coming on, started off dinging even with no one sitting in the passenger seat. Now the Air bag light stays on constantly. I was told by the Subaru dealership near me that they found a B1650 in the system for occupant detection malfunction. Tested the seat with a human and the scan tool and they found the sensor is not picking anything up. The mechanic told me the seat appeared to be wet, which it was not and has never had water damage. The vehicle is garage kept and has low mileage so minimal exposure. The dealership told me I would have to pay $160 for diagnostic and $1200 before tax to have the seat base replaced. I know there was a recall for the passenger air bag in the past which I did take into the same dealership who says the replaced the defective part. I feel the Subaru company should stand behind their product and correct this issue. I was told they would not guarantee the airbag would work, which is a HUGE safety issue.