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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q

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
03/02/20

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: 03/02/20

Page 1 of 11

OWNER NOTIFICATION:
Subaru notified affected vehicle owners by first class mail in early December advising them of this
recall and that parts were not yet available. Starting in February 2020, affected vehicle owners will
be notified that parts are available and that they should schedule an appointment for the repair. The
owner notification letters will be released in weekly phases through early March 2020.
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:
IMPORTANT NOTE: If aftermarket leather trim is found installed on the ODS seat cushion, all
efforts must still be made to complete this recall. The presence of aftermarket leather alone does not
prevent performance of this repair procedure. Should any questions arise, please refer to the Claims
Policy and Procedure Manual, section 8.4.45.4 “Non-OEM Components Discovered During a Safety
Recall Repair.”
There are two (2) service procedures to be followed for satisfying this Recall Campaign:
•

ODS harness label inspection

•

ODS harness label inspection and harness replacement.

The REQUIRED first step is the Harness Label
Inspection Procedure. See the Harness Label Inspection
procedure and Inspection Determination sections on
pg. 3 below. If the harness label inspection outcome
dictates a repair is required, replace the pictured ODS
harness (p.n. 64084SG23A) following the Harness
Replacement Procedure below.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 03/02/20

Page 2 of 11

Harness Label Inspection Procedure:
The part identification label affixed to the yellow sensor mat wiring harness is the focus of this
inspection. The left photo shows an underside view of the passenger seat as seen from the front floor
area and provides an approximate location of the label. On the right is a close-up of the identification
label itself.

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.
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, the harness is OK.
Harness replacement is NOT necessary. 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 must be
replaced. Proceed to Harness Replacement
Procedure as outlined below.
•

“16” is the year (2016) and “232” is the 232nd
day of the year: “16232”.
IMPORTANT: The supplier code AND date code from the
INSTALLED harness MUST be entered in the Miscellaneous
Detail field at claim entry (e.g: 657818074).

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

**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 on pg. 8 for
reference as there may be another cause for this DTC. Refer to the Vehicle Coverage Inquiry to
identify available coverage.
If the harness is OK and no other ODS system diagnosis is required, proceed to the CLAIM
REIMBURSEMENT AND ENTRY PROCEDURES section on pg. 9 and process an Inspection
Only claim.
Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 03/02/20

Page 3 of 11

Harness Replacement Procedure:
Preparation:
•

Record the customers radio station presets (and Navigation favorites where applicable).

•

Put the seat at the front-to-back midpoint on the slide rails.

•

Disconnect the negative (-) cable from the battery and wait at least 60 seconds before
proceeding further.

Step1- CAREFULLY disconnect the three (3) seat harness connectors and the harness retaining
clip. Leave the yellow Airbag harness connector attached to the seat cushion frame.

Leave
attached to
seat cushion
frame.

Step2- CAREFULLY remove the passenger seat assembly following the applicable Service Manual
procedure. IMPORTANT: When removing (and reinstalling) the seat assembly, always
use CAUTION to protect the door opening area painted and surrounding trim surfaces from
coming in contact with and possibly being scratched by the seat mounting points.
Step3- CAREFULLY remove the backrest reclining lever then both the outer and inner hinge cover
trim panels and the inner seat belt buckle assembly following applicable Service Manual
procedures.
TIP: Pay close attention to all the wiring harness securing points, clips, etc. to insure their
proper reassembly. Taking a photo(s) to use for reference at reassembly is recommended.
Step4- Disconnect the seat heater harness connector. Remove the bolts (2 inner and 2 outer), then
CAREFULLY separate the backrest assembly and set it aside as shown in the photo below.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 03/02/20

Page 4 of 11

Step5- Unclip the two retaining loop / clips from the seat cushion front frame, unhook the elastic
loop with a finger and unplug the ODS mat harness from the ODS module as shown in the
sequence below.

3

3

3

Step6- From the rear of the cushion (a cotter pin extractor works well), CAREFULLY release the
plastic seat cover trim retainers as shown below and pull the back of the cover up as needed
to access the harness to ODS sensor mat connection point (tail) circled below. The tail is
covered in a self-adhesive fabric padding.

Step7- CAREFULLY peel the padding back to expose the tail and connections. Be advised, the
adhesive used has a very strong grip. CAREFULLY peel the padding in a direction parallel
to the tail and discard. A new piece of padding is included in the new replacement harness
kit.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 03/02/20

Page 5 of 11

Step8- IMPORTANT: Before connecting the new
harness, inspect the tail and sensor mat connectors
to confirm they are tight on the 2 metal bands of the
mat. Inspect closely for any breaks, cracks or other
damage to the visible components of the sensor
mat. If any damage is identified, the complete seat
cushion assembly must be replaced as the sensor mat
is not a serviceable component.
REMINDER: If a replacement is necessary, always
order the most up-to-date seat cushion assembly part
number for the VIN being repaired.
Step9- IMPORTANT: Always squeeze the tail terminals firmly at the rivets when disconnecting
/ reconnecting the harness terminals. Connect the new harness terminals to the sensor mat
removing ONE CONNECTION AT A TIME to make sure they are reconnected in the
proper configuration.

Rivets

Step10- After connecting the new harness,
place the new self-adhesive padding
under the tail as shown (adhesive
side up). Align the edge of the
new padding with the two small,
white registration marks on the
tail as shown in (1) below. Peel
the adhesive backing (2) and
CAREFULLY apply the tail to
the padding. Fold each side over
(3) & (4) to recover it while being
very careful to
3
not create any
wrinkles in the
padding material.
When complete,
squeeze the
padding material
(5) end to end
between fingers to
ensure it is fully
adhered.

1

4

2

5

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUM-98R; Revised: 03/02/20

Page 6 of 11

Step11- Use a scissor to cut the harness label from the original (removed) wiring harness.

Step12- Remove the adhesive backing and apply the cut off section of the original label to the new
replacement harness as shown in the photo sequence below.

1

2

3

Step13- Reassemble the seat cushion assembly in reverse order of disassembly. If a photo was taken
as recommended in Step 3, refer to it to confirm the affected harnesses are properly resecured
to the underside of the seat cushion assembly.
Step14- Secure the backrest to the cushion with the four (4) mounting bolts. The torque specifications
are as follows:
•