The Japanese car manufacturing company Subaru has decided to recall 118,723 cars due to the possibility of a break in the electrical circuit of one of the sensor units, which prevents the front seat airbag from deploying in the event of a collision.

The recall plan includes cars produced from 2020 to 2022, Outback and Legacy models.

If the airbag does not function properly in these cars, it may increase the chances of passenger injury in the event of a collision, according to documents submitted by Subaru to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to the documents, the defective sensor unit in Legacy and Outback cars is responsible for detecting the presence of a passenger in the front seats of the car. The sensor unit is connected to the passenger monitoring system (ODS) in the car.

Subaru stated that an external company it contracted to manufacture the passenger monitoring system may have used defective circuit boards in making the system.

Subaru said that the presence of a cracked circuit board allows moisture penetration and could eventually lead to a short circuit on the circuit board, which would prevent the car from detecting a person in the front passenger seat.

In the event of a short circuit on the circuit board, in Outback and Legacy cars, the car’s dashboard will alert drivers by lighting the airbag system warning lamp, as well as illuminating the front passenger airbag off indicator, and the airbag may not deploy as expected in the event of a car collision, according to the recall decision documents.

Subaru said it will replace the passenger monitoring system sensor units in Outback and Legacy cars, noting that it has started notifying dealers and maintenance centers of the recall plan to provide free service to owners of defective cars.