2016 Subaru Forester
Complaints about this year name key far more often than the other years of this generation — 10% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 3.9%.
Generation 3 of the Subaru Forester, which began in 2014 and ran to 2018. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 409 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 105 |
| Involving a crash | 39 |
| Involving a fire | 3 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 25 mpg |
Also unusual this year
- ignition — 9% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
THE KEY IS GETTING STUCK IN THE IGNITION AFTER PARKING. THIS ISSUE IS HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES.
KEY GETS STUCK IN IGNITION OR AUX POSITION AND WOULD NOT COME OVER AFTER SHIFTING THE LEVER TO PARK POSITION.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V149000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 19V701000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V162000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Subaru Forester was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2016 Subaru Forester? What happened to yours?
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