2017 Subaru Forester electrical system problems

“The airbag warning light for the front passenger seat has been intermittently lighting. Both when the passenger seat is occupied and vacant. The light sometimes indicates the passenger airbag is off when there is a passenger in the seat. I took the car to the Subaru dealer where I purchased the vehicle.. Per the dealership service report: “SCANNED CODES AND FOUND CODE B1760 STORED IN BODY CONTROL MODULE REGARDING THE PASSENGER FRONT SEAT BOTTOM. RECOMMEND REPLACEMENT DUE TO A FAULTY OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR.” This car was recalled several years ago regarding the passenger seat airbag sensor issue. The car was serviced per the recall. This car has not been in an accident. The car has approximately 70,000 miles which were driven primarily by me. The front passenger seat was occupied less than 25 percent of the time. There was never anything spilled on the seat. The seat was not used to transport anything other than a passenger. The dealer service department now wants $1566.79 to fix this issue. I contend that recall did not fix the issue correctly and I should not be charged for a faulty part or design that was not properly remedied the first time. The dealer…”

“There was a recall on this vehicle from 2022, and we did not own this vehicle at that time. Recall passenger side airbag contact under seat can cause fire or electrical issues. I contacted Subaru and they said the recall was satisfied in 2022. If that's the case, the repair piece must have been faulty as the issue has come back. The dealership I took the car to said they have seen about 4 of this same issue within the last two weeks. Subaru is unwilling to assist in this, and I cannot pay the 1800.00 dollars the dealership wants to repair this vehicle. I've asked more questions of Subaru since their answer and have not received a response. I would like to know why their website says this was complete July 15, 2025, not 2022. It was not complete in 2025, or we would have had the repair done. Any help in getting someone to see if this is in fact another recall and how to tell if the recall was truly completed in 2022, possible faulty recall parts now. This is crazy if numerous folks have gone in with the same issue. We need Subaru to take a good look at this.”

“Two incidents happened first battery died, we replaced the battery. Then Battery died again, we replaced the alternator on June 5, 2025. Then on Saturday September 13, 2025; all system lights came on at once on the dashboard then the battery died again. Car locks up and is stalled out. Cannot restart car, has to be towed. We replaced the battery cable and cleaned the terminals. Three months later, December 1, 2025; the battery light came on then all system lights came on at once, the battery died again. This happened on Interstate 95, it could easily have caused a crash. Car locks up again and is stalled out again. Cannot restart car again, has to be towed again. Something in the electrical is causing this, we do not know what.”

“Passenger airbag safety intermittently turns on stating that the passenger airbag is not able to deploy. If I turn the car off and on it goes away and doesn't turn until another time I start the car. Also detects a passenger in the seat when there is no passenger or weight in that seat. Overall some sort of issue with the airbag safety system in the front passenger seat. I will state no liquids have been spilled on the seat.”

“Previous recall for passenger ODS. Having continued issues with passenger airbag ODS not recognizing someone sitting there. Intermittently turns on and off even if no one is sitting there. Took it to a dealer and they want me to pay out of pocket for diagnostic and possible parts. Very high concern for even allowing someone to sit in the car (even my pregnant wife) in the case there was ever an accident.”

“The passenger airbag sensor often, but not always, malfunctions in my 2017 Subaru Forrester. Often it says PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF when there is a passanger. Occording to KBB Kelly Blue Book there IS a current RECALL in place for 2017 Subaru Forresters for EXACTLY this issue, including for my car - but when i typed in my liscnese plate in the NHTSA website, no unrepaired recalls showed up for my car.”