USED VEHICLE RESEARCH

2016 Subaru Forester

Research the 2016 Subaru Forester using available NHTSA owner complaints, safety recalls, manufacturer communications, defect investigations, and CarIQ data-coverage analysis.

DATA CONFIDENCE: Moderate

Owner complaints

414NHTSA records

Recall campaigns

3Year, make and model lookup

Manufacturer communications

0Matched NHTSA records

Investigations

0Matched NHTSA records

SUBJECTIVE OWNER FEEDBACK

OWNER EXPERIENCE

What it is like to live with the vehicle—kept clearly separate from official NHTSA evidence.

BUILDING THE COMMUNITY

THE FIRST USEFUL PERSPECTIVE COULD BE YOURS

No approved owner experiences yet.

Contributions are collected carefully and only appear here after moderation. No placeholders, sample testimonials, or invented sentiment.

OWNED THIS CAR?

Help the next buyer understand the real ownership experience.

Share what you liked, what could be better, and whether you would choose it again. Every contribution is moderated before publication.
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE 2016 Subaru Forester
INDEPENDENT EVIDENCE TYPES

NHTSA owner complaint records remain part of Official Vehicle Data. Subjective review contributions remain in Owner Experience. One does not validate or prove the other. Read the methodology.

EVIDENCE, NOT A SCORE

WHAT THIS DATA CAN TELL YOU ABOUT RELIABILITY

Official records can provide useful research context, but each source has a different meaning. Complaint counts are not failure rates; recalls are formal safety campaigns; manufacturer communications are technical or service documentation; and investigations reflect formal NHTSA activity. Data Confidence measures evidence availability, not vehicle quality. CarIQ does not publish a composite Reliability Score.

Available evidence summary: 414 NHTSA owner complaint records; 3 safety recall campaigns; 0 manufacturer communications; 0 applicable NHTSA defect investigations.

EVIDENCE AVAILABILITY — NOT VEHICLE RELIABILITY

DATA CONFIDENCE

Moderate

Data Confidence measures how much usable evidence CarIQ has for this vehicle. It does not measure how reliable the vehicle is.

Why this rating?
Owner complaint data
Available
Manufacturer communications
Available
Recall data
Available
Investigation data
Available
Production denominator
Unavailable
Complaint component completeness
100%
Mileage completeness
0%
Incident-date completeness
100%

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS

DATA INSIGHTS

Derived from official NHTSA source records. These statistics are descriptive and are not a reliability score.

Complaint records analyzed
414
NHTSA complaints
Most reported component
Air Bags
24% of categorized complaint records
Top-three component concentration
58%
Records mentioning at least one top-three component
Median reported incident mileage
Not available from current source
0 valid mileage observations
Recall campaigns
3
NHTSA recalls
Most recent recall report
October 3, 2019
NHTSA recalls
Manufacturer communications
0
NHTSA manufacturer communications
Most documented component
Not available
NHTSA manufacturer communications
Top-three communication concentration
Not available
Share of categorized manufacturer communications

SOURCE COMPLETENESS

DATA QUALITY

Complaint records analyzed
414
Component classification available
100%
Incident date available
100%
Mileage available
0%
Structured outcome fields available
100%

Completeness describes fields present in the retrieved complaint records. It is not a data-quality grade or a vehicle assessment.

Learn about CarIQ methodology

PRODUCTION-ADJUSTED DESCRIPTIVE METRIC

NORMALIZED COMPLAINT CONTEXT

Production-normalized complaint data is not currently available for this vehicle.

This metric compares the number of NHTSA owner complaint records retrieved by CarIQ with NHTSA-reported production volume for the corresponding vehicle population.

It is not a vehicle failure rate. Complaint reporting behavior, vehicle age, time on the road, production definitions, and other factors can affect the result.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Early Warning Reporting, Light Vehicle Production Data. Read the methodology.

OFFICIAL NHTSA OWNER COMPLAINT DATA

PROBLEMS REPORTED IN NHTSA RECORDS

CarIQ groups available NHTSA owner complaint records for the 2016 Subaru Forester by vehicle system to make recurring documentation easier to research. Most represented complaint categories describe the retrieved records—not failure frequency.

TOTAL COMPLAINTS414

MOST REPRESENTED COMPLAINT CATEGORIES

Air Bags99 complaints
24%of categorized complaint records
Electrical System93 complaints
22%of categorized complaint records
Unknown or Other69 complaints
17%of categorized complaint records
Engine60 complaints
14%of categorized complaint records
Power Train51 complaints
12%of categorized complaint records
Vehicle Speed Control37 complaints
9%of categorized complaint records
Service Brakes29 complaints
7%of categorized complaint records
Fuel/propulsion System24 complaints
6%of categorized complaint records
Seats23 complaints
6%of categorized complaint records
Visibility/wiper20 complaints
5%of categorized complaint records
Steering19 complaints
5%of categorized complaint records
Wheels17 complaints
4%of categorized complaint records
Suspension14 complaints
3%of categorized complaint records
Structure11 complaints
3%of categorized complaint records
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)8 complaints
2%of categorized complaint records
Forward Collision Avoidance8 complaints
2%of categorized complaint records
Exterior Lighting6 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Seat Belts6 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Visibility3 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Tires2 complaints
0%of categorized complaint records
Back Over Prevention1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records
Lane Departure1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records

A complaint may list more than one component and therefore contribute to multiple categories. Percentages show the share of categorized complaint records that mention each component—not the percentage of vehicles affected. Category percentages may overlap.

INCIDENT REPORTS BY YEAR

2015
8
2016
38
2017
25
2018
43
2019
75
2020
62
2021
32
2022
35
2023
42
2024
25
2025
19
2026
10

Grouped from complaint records with a valid incident date.

RECENT OWNER COMPLAINTS

Power Train

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11766126
Crash reported1 reported injury
Read complaint narrative

The contact owned a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while at a complete stop with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated without warning and crashed into a fire hydrant. While the foot was still on the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate and struck a street sign. The vehicle continued to accelerate across the street and accelerated up a hill. The vehicle headed straight towards a home and crashed into the home, which caused the vehicle to stop. The air bags deployed upon impact, with white smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle without severe injury. Due to a setting on her iPhone, the contact's family members and Police were alerted immediately that there was a crash. The crash into the residence caused a pipe inside the home to burst and flooded outside the home. The crash caused damage to the home, the street sign, and the fire hydrant. Authorities arrived at the scene, and the contact’s vital signs were checked. The contact sustained a severe bruise to the left shin and severe mental anguish. The contact was transported to a hospital and was given an MRI; no further injuries were discovered. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and declared a total loss. A Police report was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Air Bags

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11764817
Read complaint narrative

While driving, the car will beep and display a warning that the SRS system is malfunctioning. It will then turn passenger airbags off, even when there is a passenger sitting in the seat. I took the car in to Subaru of Glendale and was charged over $1000 to replace it, being told that i was not eligible for free replacement under the WUM98 recall. Almost exactly two years later, the same beep, warning, and airbag deactivation started happening again. I once again took the car in to Subaru of Glendale and they quoted me over $2000 to fix the problem again. I called Subaru of America to discuss the recall and my repairs, and they have said that because i brought my car in to a dealership after receiving the recall notice in 2020 and it was marked as cleared because the car was not malfunctioning at the time, I was not eligible for any refund or replacement unless I paid out of pocket. I believe this is a mistake, as the issue with my car is exactly the issue described in the recall notice.

Suspension · Power Train · Wheels

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11764042
Read complaint narrative

We purchased a used car for my [XXX] daughter on August 4th. of this year. On her trip to [XXX] on XXX., appoximently 5pm, the drivers side rear wheel fell off, causing damage to the wheel, lugs, shocks, caliper and tire. She was able to pull over into a parking lot, where a stranger helped her out till I arrived. When I arrived I was able to put the wheel back on, but all lugs nuts were gone and one lug was broken. We had to remove lugs nuts from the other wheels to secure the wheel back on. While removing the lug nuts from the other wheels, the passenger side real wheel lug nuts were all loose. Once we got the car back on the road, check warning lights were flashing and after scanning the codes, come to find the transmission is bad. We were very lucky that this did not happen the 70mph highway. There were no warning signs prior to any of this occurring. This happened at mile post 14 on [XXX] I have sent a certifide letter to Safford Subaru Mannassas, attn. the general manager, [XXX], which was received on signed off on Saturday XXX. at 10:18 am, but has been ignored. 1 week later, I sent him an email, which he acknowledged, but has again, ignored me. I have a copy of the letter that was sent to him and all of the pictures INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Air Bags · Seats

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11760589
Read complaint narrative

Vehicle reported an SRS Passenger problem intermittently, as displayed on the dashboard, the car's information system, and a diagnostic trouble code (the car's aftermarket radio is connected to the OBD-II connector and can pull codes). The problem would appear, and then disappear upon subsequent startup cycle, over the course of a two-week road trip. In total, the problem occurred three times over the course of 3,750 miles. Our mechanic verified the issue with a scan tool, and determined that this was a fault in the sensor mesh in the seat that failed to reliably detect the presence of someone seated in the passenger seat. To correct this problem, we had to replace the passenger seat of the car (the seat alone cost $1,100; labor was approximately $400). Since the repair, we have not seen the problem recur.

Wheels

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11757935
Read complaint narrative

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the rear wheels of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the hub bearing needed to be replaced. The rear driver’s and passenger’s side hub bearings were replaced twice. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.

Air Bags

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11756549
Read complaint narrative

Airbag light is now consistently lit, Has come on & off for some time. when it first happened, I went straight to the dealership & a technician placed a device under the dashboard on the driver's side & switched off the light. No mention of a recall was discussed. Because the light is on most of the time of late, I researched & discovered a recall WUM98. On further investigating I discovered that the dealership had logged the recall as COMPLETE this is not the case as the passenger seat was never checked & repairs never done. I have contacted Subaru Corporate Customer Advocacy & their email response was: "I am sorry to hear about your airbag concern for your 2016 Forester. Currently there are no open recalls or warranty extensions for this concern. I would recommend having your local Subaru retailer address your concerns. I will follow up with you on Wednesday, August 19." This is not good enough I need Corporate to contact the dealership to fix this problem at no cost to me. This is a major safety issue! I have tried to call back but get an answering machine

Suspension · Power Train · Wheels

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11754563
Read complaint narrative

When I drove the car, All most all light on the dashboard are on onthe road, and when I stop and tried to go, the car is somewhat not controled. I immidieatly went to dealership and dignosed P2764 CVT balve problem. And they add wheel bearing is problem. Subaru noticed these problems but my 88,278 mile 2016 forester has all the lights on and it was very scared and it took 4400 dollars for fixing.

Unknown or Other

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11753608
Read complaint narrative

2016 Subaru Forester – Replacement of Air-conditioning Condenser – July 2026 A/C was demonstrating signs of failure in early July. While researching for issues with the 2016 A/C failing, it was uncovered that the compressor on the vehicle would be subject to a replacement upon failure (Subaru Service Information Number 10-84-16). The vehicle was equipped with a compressor that reflected a recalled part number, but per Subaru the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) was not included in the recall, The vehicle was brought in for service on July 2026. It was determined that the compressor was fine, that the issue was with the condenser. The vehicle was left for repair. More research was done on 2016 Subaru Forester Condenser issues. Two issues were found, one spelled out in Subaru Service Bulletin Number 15-222-18, dated 05/10/18, the other was spelled out in Subaru Service Program Bulletin Number WRB-21R, dated 02/17/21, revised on 04/30/21. The old Condenser was requested, there was an intention to review the part number (P/N). There was a concern that since the Compressor did not match the Subaru build report, perhaps the condenser was among the recalled group (WRB-21R). The old condenser was returned. Unfortunately, the label on the original condenser was no longer present. However, it was observed that the condenser on the vehicle was one of the original condensers identified in 15-222-18, identifying the condenser as being reengineered to correct an issue concerning leakage of the refrigerant. That was the issue with the condenser on this vehicle.Subaru was notified of this issue (Case Number 260724-1500361). Subaru reported that they could not act on the issue. The NHTSA is being contacted so to be notified about this issue, to determine if this is an issue that is currently a subject under investigation, or at the very least , to lodge a complaint as to why there was not a recall issued when it was determined that the part was prone to failure,

NHTSA complaints are reports submitted by vehicle owners and other consumers. Complaint counts do not represent the percentage of vehicles affected and do not by themselves establish that a safety defect exists.

A higher complaint count can partly reflect how many vehicles were sold, vehicle age, and other factors. CarIQ does not yet normalize complaint counts by vehicles sold.

Data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This site is not endorsed by NHTSA.

OFFICIAL NHTSA SAFETY RECALL DATA

SAFETY RECALLS

3 recall campaigns found

01AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATIONCampaign 19V701000October 3, 2019

Summary

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Forester vehicles equipped with heated seats. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may loosen.

Safety Consequence

If the connection loosens, 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.

Remedy

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the ODS sensor mat harness, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUM-98.

Additional Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

02EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCHCampaign 19V149000February 28, 2019

Summary

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2014 WRX sedans (including STI), and 2013-2017 Crosstrek vehicles. Exposure to certain contaminants may cause the brake light switch to malfunction, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and also preventing keyless ignition vehicles from starting and CVT/automatic transmissions from being able to be shifted out of Park.

Safety Consequence

Brake lights that do not illuminate properly will not alert other drivers that the vehicle is slowing or stopping, increasing the risk of crash.

Remedy

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90.

Additional Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

03ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGERCampaign 16V162000March 21, 2016

Summary

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 WRX vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 21, 2015, and Forester 2.0XT vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 20, 2015. The turbocharger air intake duct may crack and possibly result in an engine stall.

Safety Consequence

An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the turbocharger air intake duct, and replace it as necessary, free of charge, depending on the lot number found on the duct. The recall began April 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTA-62.

Additional Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Recall results shown here are based on year, make, and model. A specific vehicle may or may not be affected. Check the vehicle's VIN with NHTSA to confirm open recalls before purchasing. Data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

OFFICIAL NHTSA MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION DATA

MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATIONS

TOTAL COMMUNICATIONS0

No NHTSA manufacturer communication records were returned for this year, make, and model.

Manufacturer communications include service bulletins and other technical information submitted by manufacturers to NHTSA. The existence or number of communications does not establish how often a condition occurs or whether an individual vehicle will experience it.

Some manufacturers may issue more detailed service documentation than others, so communication counts should not be used alone to compare vehicle reliability.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration manufacturer communications

NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

NHTSA DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS

TOTAL INVESTIGATION RECORDS0

No applicable NHTSA defect investigation records were returned for this year, make, and model.

NHTSA investigations evaluate potential motor-vehicle safety defects. The existence of an investigation does not by itself establish that a safety defect exists, and the absence of an investigation does not establish that a vehicle is problem-free.

Open and closed describe NHTSA's process status, not a CarIQ reliability judgment.

View official NHTSA investigation data ↗

DESCRIPTIVE SOURCE OVERLAP

CROSS-SOURCE VEHICLE DATA

CarIQ compares categories appearing across independent NHTSA datasets. Overlap can help identify areas with more available documentation, but it does not establish defect frequency or prove that an individual vehicle will experience a problem.

ComponentOwner complaintsManufacturer communicationsRecall campaignsNHTSA investigationsOfficial sources containing records
Air Bags990001 of 4
Electrical System930001 of 4
Unknown or Other690001 of 4
Engine600001 of 4
Power Train510001 of 4
Vehicle Speed Control370001 of 4
Service Brakes290001 of 4
Fuel/propulsion System240001 of 4
Seats230001 of 4
Visibility/wiper200001 of 4

Displayed first by the number of source categories containing the component, then by owner complaint count, then alphabetically. This is a presentation rule, not a vehicle ranking. Complaint reports, manufacturer communications, recalls, and investigations describe different events and are never added into a combined total.

complaint
Available
communication
Available
recall
Available
investigation
Available
production
Unavailable

COMMON RESEARCH QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 2016 SUBARU FORESTER

Is the 2016 Subaru Forester reliable?

CarIQ does not currently assign a reliability score to the 2016 Subaru Forester. Available evidence is shown as separate official-source records with a Data Confidence classification of Moderate.

What problems are reported for the 2016 Subaru Forester?

414 NHTSA owner complaint records. When complaint data is available, the page groups records by the NHTSA component categories they identify without treating those categories as verified failure rates.

Are there recalls for the 2016 Subaru Forester?

3 safety recall campaigns. Year, make, and model results do not confirm whether a specific VIN is affected or whether a remedy has been completed.

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