USED VEHICLE RESEARCH

2016 Subaru Forester

Is This A Good Car? organizes available NHTSA-derived research for the 2016 Subaru Forester. This page includes owner complaint records, safety recall campaigns, manufacturer communications, defect investigations, and information about the completeness of the available evidence.

DATA CONFIDENCE: Moderate

Owner complaints

408NHTSA records

Recall campaigns

3Year, make and model lookup

Manufacturer communications

0Matched NHTSA records

Investigations

0Matched NHTSA records

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
408
NHTSA complaints
Most reported component
Air Bags
24% of categorized complaint records
Top-three component concentration
59%
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
408
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

OWNER-REPORTED COMPLAINTS

TOTAL COMPLAINTS408

COMPONENT CATEGORIES

Air Bags96 complaints
24%of categorized complaint records
Electrical System93 complaints
23%of categorized complaint records
Unknown or Other69 complaints
17%of categorized complaint records
Engine60 complaints
15%of categorized complaint records
Power Train49 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
Seats22 complaints
5%of categorized complaint records
Visibility/wiper20 complaints
5%of categorized complaint records
Steering19 complaints
5%of categorized complaint records
Wheels15 complaints
4%of categorized complaint records
Suspension13 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
24
2025
17
2026
7

Grouped from complaint records with a valid incident date.

RECENT OWNER COMPLAINTS

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,

Air Bags · Seats

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11752880
Read complaint narrative

SRS airbag error warning appears randomly when driving. It turns off passenger side airbags with a passenger in the seat and makes it unsafe to drive. Narrowing it down to the wiring harness seems to be an issue with a loose connection in the airbag seat sensor. Unplugging and re-plugging plus restarting the car seems to fix it at least temporarily. Others have posted about this issue online as well. No liquid has been spilled on the seat (some dealerships have accused others of this and causing the issue themselves).

Electrical System · Air Bags

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11740447
Read complaint narrative

Problem: Recall for passenger side airbag malfunction in heated seats for my model year. Manufacturer has said they addressed the recall but they have not. My car and thousands of others are unsafe for passengers to ride in because the airbag system does not work. Warning light is the airbag symbol and message that alerts driver that SRS system is not working. Manufacturer and dealers want to charge 200 to look problem over and then tell you its off warranty. My car has 96000 miles and this has been a problem since they “did the recall”. Subaru tells owners that passenger should ride in back seat. How does that work with two car seats. Subaru needs to take responsibility for their engineering design and fix this safety defect. These cars are death traps.

Air Bags

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11738855
Read complaint narrative

The driver's side air bags, and seatbelt restraint system deployed while the vehicle was stopped without a collision occurring. The doors had not been opened. This occurred February 10, 2026, and the vehicle was taken to the local Subaru dealership for troubleshooting. The local dealership did not find and fault and reported this to Subaru. Subaru sent a technician and reported that a gouge was present in the door jamb and that this caused the fault which reset. There was no object in the door at the time to cause a problem. This seems unlikely to me as a collision fault should have remained active according to professionals I have spoken with. The safety issue paramount to this event is as follows: If the air bags had deployed while the vehicle was in motion on a highway the sudden and unexpected deployment could have an accident. If a deployment occurs and causes a fatal accident or even an accident with severe injuries, the root cause of the event might not have been diagnosed as in the subsequent crash the air bags would be expected to have deployed. Accidents such as this may have been incorrectly diagnosed and an improper cause attributed. I do not know how widespread this issue may be when it comes to other manufacturers. I do know that common technology and designs are used throughout the automotive industry. The gouge specified looks like it could have been made by a seatbelt that got caught in the door. This would have occurred some months prior to the event. Seatbelts do get caught in doors raising concerns that this is a more widespread issue than is publicly known. I say this because the Subaru technician did not spend much time at the local dealership and left without reporting any findings to the dealership I have been told,

Electrical System · Air Bags · Seats

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11734206
Read complaint narrative

Passenger Occupant Detection System is malfunctioning. It is not registering a passenger in the seat, and in turn not turning the passenger airbag on when the seat is occupied. This puts any passnger who sit in this seat at risk of the airbag not deploying. This issue has been confirmed by the dealer. There was a recall for the Passenger ODS harness (WUM-98R) that the harness was replaced. Since this has been completed they state the Occupant Detection System is a seperate issue that requires seat base to be replaced in order for the system to register an occupant and have the air bags turn on when occupied.

Unknown or Other

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11734355
Read complaint narrative

My horn stopped working. The shop said it’s the clock spring and it’s about 1k to fix. Ive been researching this issue and it seems this is a major problem for numerous years of vehicle. I’m really upset with Subaru as first I had to deal with the radio not working (dealer said it’s a major issue they have seen numerous times) Subaru did help with the costs of repairs however neither of these issues has been owner caused nor wear and tear as the part to fix the horn can’t be reached.

Air Bags

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11733657
Read complaint narrative

The recalled part which was apart of the WUM-98R didn't fix the problem and dealership saying im the caused for the ods for front passenger airbag not to work and I fed up with them trying to charge me for a recalled part failure and I'm very aware that I'm not the first person who has the recalled part replaced and after the recalled the part starting to malfunction. They are trying to charge me 2k after they trying to blame me for spilling drinks on the seat when I don't let anyone drink in my car.

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 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 Bags960001 of 4
Electrical System930001 of 4
Unknown or Other690001 of 4
Engine600001 of 4
Power Train490001 of 4
Vehicle Speed Control370001 of 4
Service Brakes290001 of 4
Fuel/propulsion System240001 of 4
Seats220001 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

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).

CONSIDERING BUYING ONE?

RESEARCH YOUR CANDIDATE

Enter the candidate's mileage and asking price to organize Is This A Good Car?'s available evidence. No buy/no-buy or pricing judgment is produced. Open the full research tool.