Subaru recalls 34,500 Imprezas and Foresters

Subaru Australia has issued a safety recall notice affecting 15,944 MY2009 Forester and 18,619 MY2008 and 2009 Impreza vehicles, totalling 34,563 cars.

The problem relates to the ongoing Takata airbag problem, which affects about 60 million vehicles globally, including more than 1.5 million vehicles in Australia, across a range of manufacturers including Toyota, Subaru, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari.

Subaru's latest recall follows the call-back of almost 76,000 Liberty, Outback and Tribeca vehicles built between 2004 and 2009, and last year's recall of more than 33,500 2004-2007 Imprezas – all related to Takata-built airbags.

Like them, this week's Subaru recall involves models fitted with front passenger airbag inflators that can fire metal fragments into the cabin when deployed, posing significant risk of injury or even death to occupants.

"The passenger’s front airbag inflator propellant wafers may have an increased potential for moisture intrusion over time," says Subaru.

"Moisture intrusion could potentially make the inflator assembly more susceptible to rupture during airbag deployment.

"The ruptured inflator may create metallic fragments during deployment that could contact an occupant, increasing the risk of injury."

Owners of affected cars will be contacted by Subaru Australia via mail as soon as parts are available and customers will be asked to take their vehicle to their preferred Subaru dealership for replacement of the front passenger airbag free of charge.

For more information, contact Subaru customer relations on 1800 226 643.

Australian vehicles affected by the Takata recall so far:
BMW 3 Series 1998-2005
BMW 5 Series 2002-2005
BMW X5 2002-2005
Chrysler 300C 2005-2012
Chrysler Grand Voyager 2008-2010
Dodge Journey 2009-2010
Dodge RAM 2004-2010
Ferrari 458 Italia
Ferrari 458 Spider
Ferrari 458 Speciale/Speciale A
Ferrari California T
Ferrari FF
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
Honda Accord 2001-2006
Honda Accord Euro 2004-2007
Honda City 2009-2012
Honda Civic 2004-2011
Honda CR-V 2002-2008
Honda CR-V 2007-2011
Honda Insight 2010-12
Honda Jazz 2004-2009
Honda Jazz 2006-2012
Honda Jazz 2012-2014
Honda Jazz Hybrid 2012
Honda Legend 2007-2012
Honda MDX 2003-2006
Jeep Cherokee manual 2006
Jeep Wrangler manual 2006
Jeep Wrangler 2007-2012
Lexus IS 2005-11
Lexus SC430 2003-2007
Mazda2 2007-2014
Mazda6 2002-2007
Mazda B2500/2600 2002-2007
Mazda B Series 2006
Mazda BT-50 2006-2011
Mazda E-Series 2002-2007
Mazda T-Series 2002-2007
Mazda RX-8 2002-2007
Mazda RX-8 2003-2012
Mercedes-Benz SL 2014
Mercedes-Benz SLK 2014
Mitsubishi CH Lancer 2003-2008
Mitsubishi CY/CZ Lancer EVO 2003-2008
Mitsubishi ML and MN Triton 2007-2014
Nissan Maxima 2001-2007
Nissan Maxima (J31) 2007-2008
Nissan Micra 2010-2011
Nissan Navara 2001-2007
Nissan Navara (D22) 2007-2008
Nissan Navara (D40) 2008-2014
Nissan Patrol 2001-2007
Nissan Patrol (Y61) 2007-2008
Nissan Pulsar 2001-2007
Nissan Tiida (C11) 2006-2012
Nissan X-TRAIL 2001-2007
Nissan X-TRAIL (T30) 2007-2008
Subaru Impreza 2004-2007
Subaru Impreza 2008-2009
Subaru Forester 2009
Subaru Liberty, Outback, Tribeca – 2004-2009
Toyota Avensis 2003-2009
Toyota Corolla 2003-2009
Toyota Echo 2003-2005
Toyota RAV4 2003-2005
Toyota Yaris 2005-2011