The 2006 Subaru Impreza has 10 recalls, the most serious being a defective front passenger airbag inflator that can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, posing a risk of serious injury or death to occupants.
Recalls 2 through 9 all address the same passenger-side airbag inflator issue, filed across multiple campaigns over time as prior repair attempts did not fully resolve the concern. The inflator can explode with enough force to scatter sharp metal shards toward the driver and passengers. This is the dominant safety issue on this vehicle, and it affects the front passenger airbag specifically.
Two recalls address the wiring harness for the passenger seat's occupant detection system, which detects whether someone is sitting in the seat and adjusts airbag behavior accordingly. On certain vehicles, this harness was pinched between the floor crossmember and the seat mounting bracket during assembly. That pinch can create a short circuit, which may blow a fuse and disable the passenger airbag entirely so it does not deploy in a crash. The same pinch-induced short also raises the possibility of an electrical fire in that area of the vehicle.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may explode due to propellant breakdown from exposure to high humidity, temperature changes, and heat over time.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
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At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may explode due to propellant breakdown caused by long-term exposure to humidity, heat, and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger air bag inflator may explode due to propellant breakdown caused by prolonged exposure to high humidity, heat, and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator with a different design at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator can rupture during a crash due to propellant degradation from long-term exposure to humidity and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The front passenger air bag inflator may rupture during a crash due to propellant breakdown from long-term exposure to humidity and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator can rupture during a crash due to propellant breakdown from long-term exposure to humidity and temperature changes in these cold-weather states.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may rupture during a crash because the propellant degrades after exposure to humidity and temperature changes over time.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may rupture during a crash because the explosive propellant degrades after prolonged exposure to heat and humidity in certain regions.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The wiring harness for the front passenger airbag occupant detection system may have been pinched during manufacturing, causing it to get squeezed between the floor crossmember and seat mounting bracket. This pinching can create a short circuit.
What the fix does
The dealer will inspect the wiring routing, repair any damage, reroute the harness to the correct location, and recalibrate the occupant detection system as needed.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The front passenger airbag wiring harness may have been pinched during assembly between the floor cross member and seat bracket, causing an electrical short that blows the circuit fuse, disabling passenger airbag deployment.
What the fix does
Dealers will inspect the wiring harness and repair any damage found to restore proper airbag function.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
