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 2010 Subaru Outback owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that he received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V007000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool showed no recall associated with the VIN. Consumer would like to cancel the investigation.
The contact's father owned a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact's father received recall notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V001000 (Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list because he no longer owns the vehicle, and the vehicle was exported to Canada. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted.
Traveling on icy road approx. 20mph or less in 2010 Outback 3.6 ltd. Very accustomed to driving severe mountain winter conditions & 8th Subaru among family members. Seatbelt, shoulder restraint in place on driver. Oncoming driver in mid-size to large truck lost control at high speed, crossed center line and impacted Subaru head-on, offset to left side of Outback & 2010 Outback was totaled. Subaru airbags did not deploy. Impact into front left side, crumpled hood up to windshield, which shattered. His hood was inside Subaru engine compartment, remained under Subaru hood along with other parts of his vehicle after vehicles were towed. Subaru radiator was pushed in at approx 45 degree angle, left wheel bent inwards, left front bumper gone back to tire and much more damage. His airbags deployed and Subaru's did not. …
Was driving on what appeared to be a clear, clean road at about 8 am the day after a snowstorm. My car started skidding off to the right side of the highway, when trying to turn wheel towards the left to straighten the car out, the car then started spinning around 360 degrees a few times until the car then rolled over to the left down the 100 foot ditch about 3 or 4 rolls before stopping. The drivers side airbag never deployed despite severe frontal and side damage. The car was totaled by the insurance company. I still have no explanation as to why this all happened. In searching the internet for answers, I found 2 recalls one dated 6/24/2010 which could involve the airbag, and one dated 5/11/2010 which involved the CVT cooler hose leading to a crash. If something failed in the car leading to my crash, I have the right to know. I have some injuries and am still not back to work. …
Subaru website states no active recall. However, I received a recall notice and hassett Subaru ordered the replacement airbag and informs me that the airbag has been delivered. Hassett Subaru states that installing the airbag takes an entire day, and hassett Subaru only has one mechanic who is trained to install the new airbag. Hassett Subaru has not yet install the replacement airbag. I ordered it on February 9th, and hassett Subaru will not provide me an appointment until March 19. This is unacceptable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While seated in the front passenger seat, the air bag warning light failed to turn on. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30. Updated 5/5/15 the consumer stated the air bag light would come on sporadically or fail completely when she is sitting in the passenger seat, due to her height and weight. The dealer noted it was an issue, but nothing could be done. Updated 05/12/15
My wife and I own a 2010 Subaru Outback. The passenger side air bag does not function properly or has a faulty design. The weight sensor is supposed to turn on the air bag when anyone over 100 pounds sits in the seat. My wife weighs 130 pounds. The air bag does not become active more than 50% of the time when she is sitting in the seat. Subaru tells us that the sensor is functioning properly and is calibrated correctly, yet my wife continues to be unprotected more than half of the time. They offer no resolution to the problem other than recommending that she sit upright in the seat. The 2010 Outback is all new this year and I believe that this air bag design is a flaw with catastrophic potential. This is a huge safety risk for people in or near this weight range. …
The incident involves a 2010 Subaru Outback and deals with SRS airbag system. We will be driving down the road with a person in the passenger seat and the passenger airbag is on. Then all of a sudden the passenger airbag will shut off. Then the SRS airbag system warning light on the dash will come on. Reading the owners manual there is a malfunction in the airbag system and it May not function correctly. We are suppose to take it to a dealer immediately but everytime it has occurred we have not been close to a dealer or they are closed. We have owned the car for 9 months and it has occurred 5 or 6 times so far. The issue has always seemed to go away when it is shut off and sets overnight. The computer has never recorded a error code until this last time. The error code that the dealer retrieved was code 29 ods fault. …
Passenger air bag sensor system is flawed. The air bag remains "off" when I am in the passenger seat. It will only show "on" when additional pressure is applied to the seat, which is unnatural to how a passenger will sit in the vehicle and does not offer protection in an accident. The seat back and seat are positioned as recommended in the owner's manual. There is nothing under the seat. Local dealership looked at the codes, reset them to zeros, and stated they did not find errors. A field service engineer provided further investigation in nov 2014 and recommended a seat replacement if the problem persisted. After I followed up a few weeks later to report the problem was still there and to request a seat replacement, the engineer advised that a seat replacement would in fact not likely make a difference, and that the system was operating as designed. …
I have a new 2010 Subaru Outback that seems to be a fine automobile except for one safety-related defect. We noticed soon after starting to drive the Outback that the air bag indicator light showed that the passenger side air bag stays off when my 140-pound wife or 135-pound daughter ride in the passenger seat. We took it to a dealer who said there is no adjustment that can be made, but they re-calibrated the airbag electronics to see if that helped. It did not. I took the car back to the same dealer a couple of weeks later and was again told that there was nothing that could be done to make the passenger airbag work properly and that they have several of the new outbacks in for the same problem and nothing can be done to fix it. Just as a test I took my wife out to the lot and had her sit in the passenger seat of another Outback to see if that one worked. It did not . …
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 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska,…
Remedy: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614.
Show 6 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 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 has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York,…
Remedy: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614.
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.
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 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 Outback years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2010 Subaru Outback?
NHTSA has 44 complaints about the air bags of the 2010 Subaru Outback, 12% of the model year's 360 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2010 Subaru Outback 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 2010 Subaru Outback airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 20,000 miles, and 58% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 4 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.