Surprise Recall for Montana's Favorite Car

The Ford F-series trucks may be the favorite in Montana and certainly tops even in cities like Missoula.

But I dare you to stand alongside any of our highways or streets and avoid seeing a Subaru with tens of thousands of them being the favorite choice of many Treasure State drivers.

If that includes you, you must review this information about a massive recall issued this week for Subaru and one of its best-selling models.

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Much larger than most recent recalls

Although Subaru has had some recall issues for front driveshaft assemblies that "may crack and break" on some of the 2023 models, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, those only involved a few thousand vehicles.

But in the latest bulletin issued this week through the NHTSA, as many nearly 119,000 late-model Subarus nationwide are being recalled for airbag problems.

Models involved

NHTSA said the recall involves Outback SUVs and Legacy models manufactured in the 2020 through 2023 model years. The problem lies with the sensors which could "crack and short circuit" and may "prevent the front passenger airbag from deploying in a crash".

Dealers will be replacing the ODS, or "Occupant Detection System" sensors.

This is similar to the problem that forced Toyota to recall more than a million vehicles in December, and Honda with 750,000 cars in February.

If you recently purchased a Subaru, or any other car second-hand, and aren't sure if recall repairs are current on the vehicle, you can always visit the NHTSA site to check.