Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2009 Subaru Legacy owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The airbag red light on the dashboard of our Subaru Legacy 2009 comes on intermittently. From reading personal accounts of other owners online, this appears to be a common problem with this model years 2005-2009 and has been commonly reported to be either a malfunctioning airbag control module or a faulty line or sensor in the diver's seat. Both of these result in a costly repair of approximately $2,000. Also happened to us, and another common complaint by other owners online with these models, is the passenger airbag light automatically turns on or off regardless of whether the passenger seat is occupied. Despite the abundance of personal accounts online by owners, Subaru has not acknowledged this problem and dealerships are asking owners to pay for this fix. …
I had the dealership install a Subaru remote starter for my 2009 Subaru Legacy. About a year later I started having issues with having the air bag light come on when I started the car and stay on (with remote starter, or the normal way). Sometimes it would re-set if I turned the car off and on again. But recently it just stays on and the indicator lights on the over head display (for the passenger air bag) does not light up at all . Not sure if the remote starter was the instigator (probably not), but Subaru had said that the issue is a faulty sensor and that I would have to pay to fix it. I believe this should last the life of the car since it is a safety matter for the air bag system, this should be a recall.
Starting in fall of 2014 the passenger airbag light would go on & off intermittently; during the following winter the light rarely came on. Once warm weather hit in May of 2015 the light continually stays on. There seems to be no correlation to the passenger seat being occupied or not occupied. In light of the recent airbag recall for earlier Subaru models, Subaru May want to check into their 2009 models as there appears to be several other similar instances recorded on this site. I'm concerned about the safety issue (not knowing if the bag will deploy properly, if at all) & do not have thousands of dollars for repair costs of something that appears to be happening in other like vehicles.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated first week he bought it. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. Steve moyer Subaru (201 s centre ave, leesport, pa 19533), was contacted by phone. The contact was informed that the passenger side air bags sensor was replaced as part of a recall previously by an unknown dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. Dealer told the consumer they could fix it but the consumer would need to pay for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 96,800.
Air bag light came on while driving, turned the car off and back on and light turned off, days later same thing now is on and wont turn off, this started since the vehicle got the Takata recall done at the dealer. Google the problem and there is thousands of complaints about it and seem to happen to all Subaru cars specially Legacy, and when people take car to dealer they want to charge 2,000 for the fix. I made the appointment for April 26,2017 to take the car to the dealer and hope wont be ask to pay anything or will have to find the ways to get a lawyer since seems to be a defective part from factory.
Tl contact owns a 2009 Subaru Legacy. While driving approximately 50 MPH the vehicle was involved in a crash and the air bags did not deploy. The seat belt also failed to hold her firmly. A police report was filed. The contact as well as the passenger of another vehicle were reported injured. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an insurance lot. The vehicle was not examined for the cause of failure and was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 18,000.
On April 14th I was involved in a chain reaction accident on the i90 in amherst, new york. My 2009 Subaru Legacy was the last car of three involved. I incurred significant front end damage of at least $9,000. The most serious complaint is that the air bag never deployed. I complained to Subaru about this and wanted them to look at the vehicle. They refused and said it was not their issue.
After the vehicle is started the air bag light stays on while driving and will sometimes turn itself off when the car is turned off with the ignition key. Then I restart the car and the air bag light goes away. This is happening once or twice a week.
Takata airbags-- incident not mv related-- beaurucratic issue. I have received no help getting my airbags replaced. Tried several dealers. Their lies do not match up. Getting the run around. Very upset. Unacceptable service or lack there of, really.
The air bag indicator lights up on the panel when I start my car engine and the indicator light stays on and never goes off while I drive. I am worried that the air bags will release unnecessarily while I'm driving.
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2010 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on February 9, 2018. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Show 5 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Legacy, Forester, Tribeca, WRX and Outback vehicles, and 2009-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on February 9, 2018. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began on February 9, 2018. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2009 Forester, Legacy and Outback and 2006-2009 Impreza (including WRX and STI models) and Tribeca vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2017. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Subaru Baja, 2006-2011 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), 2006-2012 Tribeca, 2009-2012 Forester, Legacy, Outback, and 2012 WRX vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2017. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, 2009-2011 Legacy, Outback, Forester, 2006-2011 Impreza, Tribeca, 2003-2006 Baja, and 2006 Saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 26, 2016.
Airbag complaints in other Legacy years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2009 Subaru Legacy?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the air bags of the 2009 Subaru Legacy, 48% of the model year's 65 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2009 Subaru Legacy airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 20V-001 (inflator module, Jan 2, 2020); NHTSA recall 20V-003 (inflator module, Jan 2, 2020); NHTSA recall 20V-002 (inflator module, Jan 2, 2020). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2009 Subaru Legacy airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 55,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.