NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE15-012: Passenger Front Air Bag Suppression
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE15-012 on April 10, 2015 and closed it on July 15, 2015. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2012 Subaru Impreza for it and links recall 15V-419 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE15-012 (also written PE15012)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed July 15, 2015
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Subaru of America, Inc.
- Component
- Air Bags — Frontal
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 15V-419: Front Passenger Air Bag may not Deploy, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2012 Subaru Impreza
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE15-012.
The Office of Defects Investigation opened this investigation on April 10, 2015 based on 26 Vehicle Owner Questionnaire reports involving the passenger frontal air bag in MY 2012 Subaru Impreza vehicles.
These vehicles use a capacitive type Occupant Detection System (ODS), which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full sized, small stature, a child seat, or other object.
The reports alleged that the ODS failed to operate properly and incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied.
In a frontal crash sufficient to warranty deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.
On June 25, 2015, Subaru of America, Inc. submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) advising NHTSA that it would conduct a safety recall to remedy the ODS in 32,400 MY 2012 Subaru Impreza vehicles equipped with a capacitance type ODS for the front passenger's seat.
The DIR notes that the WRX/STI models are excluded from this recall as they are equipped with a different type (weight-recognition based) ODS for the front passenger's seat. ODI is closing this investigation based on Subaru's recall action.
The ODI reports cited above can be viewed at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues under the following ID numbers:10668512, 10668243, 10662987, 10641835, 10640574, 10626384, 10622234, 10621456, 10619273, 10605789, 10604506, 10575908, 10559081, 10557856, 10556661, 10545059, 10538562, 10532118, 10481308, 10478660, 10473662, 10472608, 10470865, 10468157, 10463432, 10672345, 10712288, 10713178, 10731645.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE15-012. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Subaru
Subaru Impreza
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Subaru VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE15-012
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.