Foveator

Thanks for the detailed information. It is a great help. The Subaru corporate customer care rep called back and gave me the parts numbers for the beige 2005 headrests (64061SA090ES) which cost about $300 EACH. Suddenly the salvage option sounds appealing. He explained that Subaru, of course couldn't approve of the exchange as it might compromise the excellent safety rating the current head restraint system delivers. He did say that more complaints have been coming in warranting discussions at higher levels in the company. I expect some type of redesign to occur in the near future.

My car did not fall off the car carrier. Sadly, the problem exists on every '07 Subaru model with this asinine head restraint design, which I believe is all of them except a WRX Sport version. My '07 Forester hit 2,500 miles today. The annoying headrest/restraint is still very bothersome. It is not something you get used to. I've heard from numerous owners with similar complaints. I think Subaru is going to have to do a major redesign on the headrests for the entire line or risk losing many sales. The discomfort with the headrest is not something that I noticed during a 10 minute test drive, but it became painfully obvious over the next few weeks, particularly on longer drives. I spent a few hours at my Subaru dealer today in Hartford, CT. It's the largest new Subaru facility in the US and it's spacious with an indoor drive-in service area (great idea). I really appreciated the fact that they put up with my wierd behavior. I sat in every vehicle only to confirm that every front seat headreast on '07 models is based on their new active restraint design, meaning the headrest pushes your head forward if you are sitting relatively erect with your back firmly supported by the back of the seat. (I would fire the engineer who designed it.) I tried swapping headrests from different models into my Forester. The smaller headrests on the back seats do not interchange with the front ones. Nothing helped until I started checking out previous models. The headrests from the '05 Foresters are a perfect match for the supports in the '07 seat. They interchange like a glove. And the '05 headrest is a flatter design that does not force the head forward. It was infinitely more comfortable. Now I have to call Subaru to order (or exchange) headrests. I'll let you know what happens.

I've had the new Forester for about a month now. I find the headrest so uncomfortable that I've been taking my clunker 20-year old Dodge truck on errands instead of the Forester. I look into every other Forester that I pass and none seem to have the drastic tilt of my headrests that I have on mine. I've noticed that the headrest is barely padded and you can feel the hard support base right under the skimpy padding. I'm beginning to think that my car must have fallen off of the car carrier and triggered the headrest to move forward. I'm taking it back to the dealer next week. If it can't be fixed, I'm through with Subaru. I guess that 5 was NOT the charm (it's our 5th Subaru).

I just bought my 5th Subaru, a 2007 Forester. I am quite happy with it except for the headrest problem... and it is a very serious problem. The headrests on the 2006 and 2007 Foresters are tilted so far forward that it is impossible to rest your back on the back of the seat. (The angle where the headrest and the seat meet form the same angle as the elbow of a boomerang.) If your back is snuggly supported by the back of the seat, your head will be forced so far forward that you will be looking at your crotch. I spoke to the dealer who said there is no fix or adjustment except for reclining the seat back far enough that the headrest is out of the way. He said that the headrest is designed for your head to touch in the middle of the headrest. Since the headrest is flat and angled forward, it will touch only at the back corner of your head and not support the lower head or neck. Unfortunately, if you do that, you no longer have any back support and you will fatigue very quickly. This headrest turns long trips into agony. I was in my brother's 2005 Forester last week. That model has soft headrests that are actually comfortable to use. I can't imagine that other owners haven't been bothered by this problem. I find it so uncomfortable that unless I can remedy the problem soon, I think I will trade out the car.... and it's less than a month old. The suggestion about fitting a 2005 headrest to the 2007 seat sounds like a workable solution. Does anyone knw if it fits? I suppose I could remove the headrest altogether, but that defeats the safety purpose of having a headrest. Perhaps the idea of having such a Godawful headrest was that no one would drive the car and everyone would be safer. If you see me at a get-together, just call me "Hunchback Harry".

Well, the AIRBAG light is back on pretty much steady now. It will be off one out of 10 times I start the car. It's a bit frustrating since the car otherwise runs very much like the day I bought it 110,000 miles ago. (Perhaps the driver's seat sags a bit.) Last week, I traded it in for a new Forester. The dealer can deal with that tempermental airbag light now. BTW, I bought the new car from a different dealer than the one who couldn't solve the airbag light problems after 4 tries.

UPDATE: The car is getting older. It now has 107,000 miles. Still runs well. A new airbag module was added in late 2005. After functioning perfectly for about a year, the airbag light went ON again in late summer, again during hot weather. It stayed on throughout the fall and into the winter. Now it gets interesting. Occasionaly, during the cold days of winter, the light goes OFF and the system appears to be working fine. One day, with the light OFF, I was driving down the road and heard a "thump" which sounded like a heater baffle/damper closing quickly. It appeared to be located in the area of the lower dash right in front of my left knee, the same area I was suspicious about a couple years ago when the problem first started. Simultaneously, the airbag light went ON. It remained on for a few weeks and now is OFF. It has gone through periods either way. I'm convinced it's not the module, but not sure what it is. And I may never find out. I'm thinking of trading it in for a newer model.

Is Jensen Interceptor still in production? I haven't seen one in many years. Jeff

I hear ya. Loud and clear. I'll just try disconnecting the battery overnight first to see if anything resets itself. This '98 is beginning to have some annoying problems that may start costing some bucks. The A/C comprerssor seized last month and needs replacing. The tires will have to be replaced in the next few months. Perhaps time to trade her in. It's funny, but this car still runs fine. My old cars didn't have A/C and airbags and I didn't get rid of them until they were down to their last tire. Maybe I'm getting softer as I get older. Replacing the tires is something that I expect after 40,000+ miles. UNLIKE my '04 Toyota Sienna AWD. It just hit 20,000 miles and needs new tires. It comes with "run flat tires", an invention of necessity to increase passenger area in the van. Unfortunately, the tires cannot be repaired, must be replaced as a set and cost about $1,200 per set!!! For 20,000 freakin' miles! Unbelievable! It's time to trade that sucker, too. Jeff

My 1980 TR7 ragtop has been "resting" in my garage for the past 5 years. It's got 47,000 original miles and if I ever get the time to replace everything that has leaked and failed, I'll drive it again. The leaking eventually stopped <BG>. The "eyeballs" would wink endlessly until the microswitch caught. Nothing like flashing your lights to alert about an upcoming accident or cop. The oncoming driver would probably cause an accident by laughing so hard. Brits DO drink their beer warm. Lucas strikes again! (Never had ANY of the TR problems with ANY of my 4 Subies.)

Do you know where this sucker is located? Is it by the lower left part of the dash by where your left knee could bump it? I once thought I saw it flicker when I bumped that plastic cover. Jeff

Dealer said it was the module, but I'll check back and get the exact code number. Thanks! Jeff

I just posted a similar problem with my '98 Outback. It has gone through 3 air bag control modules in 7 years, always failing in very hot weather. I suspect something else is causing the modules to fail, but Subaru just wants to keep replacing them ($$$). The service rep said that these modules "never" fail, so I'm interested why mine are.

Glad I found this forum. I've never seen this problem before. My 1998 Outback, which has never been in any sort of accident, has gone through 3 air bag Control Modules. The dealer said that it was unusual for a car to go through even one. In each case, every 2 1/2 to 3 years, the "AIRBAG" light went on on one of the hottest days of the year, usually in July. In one case, the car sat in the driveway for 3 weeks, and when I started it after the hot spell, the airbag light was on. In one case, after being on for several months, it went out for a few weeks in the winter before coming back on. In one case, while I was driving it on a very hot day, the airbag light when on while while traveling on a bumpy road. I find it hard to believe that I happened to get a batch of 3 defective modules. Do you think that there is some other component that is killing the controllers? Is there a way a dealer can reset them? Where is it located? The dealer was to speak to Subaru about the problem (current one is about 2 years old). No reply yet. Any ideas what's happening? Thanks!

Am I the only person who thinks that the grill of the Tribeca and its offshoots bring back memories of the Edsel grills of the late '50s?