ATTENTION:

CLAIMS PERSONNEL q

IMPORTANT - All
Service Personnel
Should Read and
Initial in the boxes
provided, right.

SERVICE MANAGER

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GENERAL MANAGER q
PARTS MANAGER

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PRODUCT CAMPAIGN BULLETIN
APPLICABILITY:
SUBJECT:

2015-18MY Forester
Occupant Detection Wiring Harness Inspection

NUMBER:
NHTSA ID:
DATE:
REVISED:

WUM-98R
19V-701
10/14/19
10/22/19

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 model year Forester vehicles to
replace the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness. A total of
366,282 U.S. vehicles will be affected by this recall.
AFFECTED VEHICLES:
Model Year

Carline

Production Date Range

Vehicle count

2015-2018

Forester

January 20, 2015 – August 01, 2017

366,282

Not all vehicles in the production range listed above are affected by this recall. Coverage must be
confirmed by using the Vehicle Coverage Inquiry function on subarunet.com prior to repair. This
information is now available.
REASON FOR THIS RECALL:
Over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a
temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable,
the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant.
SAFETY RISK:
If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of a front occupant, the airbag warning light
may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied,
increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.
DESCRIPTION OF THE REMEDY:
For all potentially affected vehicles, Subaru retailers will replace the ODS sensor mat harness with a
new part at no cost to the customer.
CAUTION: VEHICLE SERVICING PERFORMED BY UNTRAINED PERSONS COULD
RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY TO THOSE PERSONS OR TO OTHERS.
Subaru Service Bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians ONLY. They
are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur in some vehicles,
or to provide information that could assist in the proper servicing of the vehicle. Properly
trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to
do the job correctly and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that this
Service Bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition.

Subaru of America, Inc. is
ISO 14001 Compliant
ISO 14001 is the international standard for
excellence in Environmental Management
Systems. Please recycle or dispose of
automotive products in a manner that is friendly
to our environment and in accordance with all
local, state and federal laws and regulations.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 10/22/19

Page 1 of 5

OWNER NOTIFICATION:
Subaru will notify affected vehicle owners by first class mail in December advising them of this recall
and that parts are not yet available. Retailers will be advised when that notification begins.
UNTIL ODS SENSOR MAT HARNESS PARTS AVAILABILITY IS ANNOUNCED (UP TO
6 MONTHS), VEHICLES EXPERIENCING THIS CONDITION, WITH CONFIRMED DTC
CODES, MUST BE INSPECTED FOLLOWING THE SERVICE PROCEDURES OUTLINED
LATER IN THIS BULLETIN TO DETERMINE THE CORRECT REPAIR PATH. IF A HARNESS
-RELATED FAILURE IS DETERMINED, REPAIR WILL REQUIRE REPLACEMENT OF THE
SEAT CUSHION ASSEMBLY USING EXISTING PARTS SUPPLY. REPAIRS OF THIS TYPE
MUST BE CLAIMED USING THE SPECIAL RECALL CLAIMS ENTRY PROCESS OUTLINED
AT THE END OF THIS BULLETIN.
RETAILER RESPONSIBILITY:
Please be advised that it is a violation of Federal law for a dealer to deliver a new motor vehicle
covered by a recall under a sale or lease until the defect is remedied. Therefore, any Authorized
Subaru Retailer failing to perform the applicable service procedures to correct all affected
vehicles in their inventory prior to the vehicle being placed in service may be subject to civil
penalties of up to $21,000 per violation (i.e., for each vehicle), as provided in 49 CFR §578.6 and
will also be in breach of the Subaru Dealer Agreement.
Any vehicles listed in any recall/campaign that are in retailer stock must be:
•

Immediately identified.

•

Tagged or otherwise marked to prevent their delivery or use prior to repair.

•

Repaired in accordance with the repair procedures outlined in the Product Campaign Bulletin

Retailers are to promptly follow the applicable service procedures to correct all affected vehicles in
their inventory (used, demo & SSLP). Additionally, whenever a vehicle subject to this recall is taken
into retailer inventory, necessary steps should be taken to ensure the recall correction has been made
before selling or releasing the vehicle.
SERVICE PROCEDURE:
The following procedures are to be followed until supply of the recall part (harness) becomes
available. At that time, this bulletin will be updated with new Service Procedures. ALWAYS check
STIS for the latest version of this bulletin to ensure proper repair procedures are followed.
If a customer presents with a complaint of their AIRBAG warning light on and/or passenger ODS
inoperative, use the following diagnostic process. If the customer does not report a current concern
with their AIRBAG light being on or ODS operation, please request they wait for official notification
of recall parts availability for any further action.
Once the customer reported condition is confirmed, proceed with diagnosis as outlined here.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 10/22/19

Page 2 of 5

INSPECTION:

NOTES:
• There is enough room under the seat to access the harness label and perform the date /
supplier code inspection without removing the seat assembly.
•

Do not pull on the sensor mat harness with excessive force. There is enough flexibility and
slack in the harness available to access the label for this inspection.

TIP: Take a photo of the label with a phone then review the image to get the necessary information.
Inspection Determination:
Step 1. If the date code (BROWN box in photo)
on the label is AFTER 18074 AND has a
supplier code other than 6578 (RED box in
photo) on it, harness is OK. See additional
**NOTE below.
Step 2. If the date code is 18074 or BEFORE AND
has the supplier code 6578 (RED box in
photo) on it, the harness is NG and the seat
cushion assembly must be replaced. Always
order the most up-to-date part number seat
cushion assembly for the VIN being repaired.
Follow the Service Procedure in the applicable
Service Manual for the repair.

If the supplier code is 6578, AND the date code is
BEFORE 18074 the harness is NG.

•

“6578” indicates the supplier where parts produced prior to date code 18074 are considered
NG. Parts produced on or after date code 18074 by supplier “6578” are OK for use.

•

“16” is the year (2016) and “232” is the 232nd day of the year: “16232”.

IMPORTANT: The original part’s supplier code AND date code MUST be recorded on the
document(s) submitted for claim reimbursement. Use the following example: 6578-18074.
**NOTE: In the VERY RARE case where the harness is OK but the AIRBAG warning light is
on with an ODS -related DTC in memory, submit a recall claim for inspection only. Continue
diagnosing the DTC following the modified Service Manual procedure provided below for reference
as there may be another cause for this DTC. Refer to the Vehicle Coverage Inquiry to identify
available coverage.
Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 10/22/19

Page 3 of 5

BEFORE proceeding with diagnosis of any ODS-related DTC. Always check to see if the passenger
seat cushion is wet, contains moisture or has been exposed to excessively humid conditions for some
time. The seat cushion must be completely dry before proceeding with further diagnostics. NEVER
use a hair dryer or heat gun to dry the seat cushion.
Step

Check

Yes

No

1. CHECK DTC.
Read the DTC of the occupant detection system.

Are any of DTC
B1760, B1761,
B1771 and B1795
detected?

Perform the diagnosis
according to DTC.

Go to step 2.

2. CHECK POOR CONTACT OF CONNECTORS.
Check for poor contact of the connectors
between the occupant detection control module and
airbag control module.

Is there poor
contact?

Reconnect the connector.
If condition is not
improved, replace the
Right Hand (RH) rear
body harness.

Go to step 3.

Go to step 4.

Replace the
RH rear body
harness.

4. CHECK AIRBAG REAR HARNESS.
Measure the resistance between connector (6AG) in
the test harness AG and chassis ground.
Connector & terminal
(6AG) No. 9 — Chassis ground:
(6AG) No. 11 — Chassis ground:
(6AG) No. 9 — (6AG) No. 11:

Is the resistance 1 Go to step 5.
MΩ or more?

Replace the
RH rear body
harness.

5. CHECK OCCUPANT DETECTION HARNESS.
1) Turn the ignition switch to ON.
2) Measure the voltage between connector(2AP) in
the test harness AP and chassis ground.
Connector & terminal
(2AP) No. 3 (+) — Chassis ground (–):

Is the voltage 10 V Go to step 6.
or more?

Check the battery
voltage and fuse.
If there is no
fault, replace the
RH rear body
harness.

6. CHECK AIRBAG SYSTEM DTC.
1) Turn the ignition switch to OFF.
2) Reconnect the disconnected connector.
3) Turn the ignition switch to ON.
4) Read Airbag System current DTC.

Is DTC B1650
detected?

3. CHECK AIRBAG REAR HARNESS.
Is the resistance
1) Turn the ignition switch to OFF, disconnect the
less than 10 Ω?
battery ground cable, and wait for 60 seconds or
more.
2) Disconnect the connectors (AB59) and (AB53)
under the passenger’s seat.
3) Disconnect the connectors (AB6, AB17, AB18)
from the airbag control module, and connect
the connector (1AG) in the test harness AG to
connectors (AB6, AB17, AB18).
4) Connect the connector (1AP) in the test harness
AP to the connector (AB53).
5) Measure the resistance between connector (6AG)
in the test harness AG and connector (2AP) in the
test harness AP.
Connector & terminal
(6AG) No. 9 — (2AP) No. 1:
(6AG) No. 11 — (2AP) No. 2:

The system
is currently
normal.
Check if any
other DTC is
detected. If there
is no current
If the condition is still not DTC, perform
improved, then replace the Clear memory.
airbag control module.
If the condition is not
improved, replace the
occupant detection
system (passenger
side cushion & frame
assembly).

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 10/22/19

Page 4 of 5

CLAIM REIMBURSEMENT AND ENTRY PROCEDURES:
Inspection or replacement of the seat cushion assembly for a vehicle included in this recall should
not be claimed as a warranty repair. Since the current status of the recall is “Open-Remedy not yet
available”, normal entry procedures will cause issues when trying to submit a claim for this recall.
As a result, please follow the procedures below for submitting a claim under this Recall:
▪▪ Gather a copy of the repair order for the inspection / replacement seat cushion. If the claim is
for inspection only, please make sure the repair order includes the original part’s supplier code
and date in the format outlined above in the Inspection Determination section of this campaign
bulletin.
▪▪ Complete a claim entry form. The Subaru Claim Entry Form can be found on Subarunet: Service
Operations & Technical > Forms/Downloads.
▪▪ Submit a warranty copy of the Repair Order along with a completed Claim Entry Form to:
[email protected].
▪▪ Upon receipt of this information, the Claims Team will enter a recall claim accordingly. In the
VERY RARE case where inspection determines the harness is OK, the claim will pay 0.2 hours
of labor for the harness label inspection ONLY. In cases where the seat cushion assembly was
replaced, the claim will pay 0.8 hours of labor for the harness label inspection AND replacement
of the seat cushion assembly along with the appropriate dollar amount for the part.
▪▪ Allow up to 3 business days for recall claim processing. Once the recall claim is entered, the
Approved recall claim will appear on the Daily Claim Detail Report.
▪▪ Please direct any inquiries regarding this process or the status of documents that were sent to the
Subaru Claims Helpline at: 866-782-2782, option 2.
REMINDER: The original part’s supplier code AND date code MUST be recorded on the
document(s) submitted for claim reimbursement. Use the following format example: 6578-18074.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
•

SOA strongly discourages the printing and/or local storage of service information as
previously released information and electronic publications may be updated at any time.

•

Always check for any open recalls or campaigns anytime a vehicle is in for servicing.

•

Always refer to STIS for the latest service information before performing any repairs.

Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 10/22/19

Page 5 of 5