The 2007 Subaru Outback has 7 recalls, the most critical being multiple recalls covering the front passenger airbag inflator, which can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, causing serious injury or death.
The airbag inflator issue appears across several filings but describes the same core danger: a faulty inflator that can explode rather than inflate cleanly, turning the airbag housing into a source of shrapnel for anyone seated inside. There is also a recall covering the ignition switch, where a broken internal spring can cause the engine to shut off without warning while driving; if a crash follows, the airbags may not deploy because the vehicle has lost power. On the engine side, this recall only affects turbocharged models: a relay that controls the secondary air injection pump can fail and leave the pump running continuously until it overheats and melts, raising the risk of an engine fire.