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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2016 Subaru Forester

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 414 safety complaints about the 2016 Subaru Forester with the US government. Of those, 40 describe a crash, 3 mention a fire, 17 people were injured and no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 99 complaints, 24% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 39,000 miles, the median across the 218 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers October 2015 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

414 complaints on file

414

Complaints

40

Describe a crash

3

Mention fire

17

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 99 · 24%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 93 · 22%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 69 · 17%
ENGINE 60 · 14%
POWER TRAIN 51 · 12%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 37 · 9%
SERVICE BRAKES 29 · 7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 24 · 6%
SEATS 23 · 6%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 20 · 5%
STEERING 19 · 5%
WHEELS 17 · 4%
0 42 85

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 414.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 80.

84 63 42 21
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2015 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2016 Subaru FORESTER, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 16.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

3 on file

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

19V701000 · October 3, 2019

The defect
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.
The risk
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.
The 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.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 366,282 vehicles across all model years covered

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

19V149000 · February 28, 2019

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

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 1,303,530 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER

16V162000 · March 21, 2016

The defect
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.
The risk
An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
The 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.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 18,187 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations

1 on file

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Occupant Detection System (ODS) Failure

PE19009

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened August 6, 2019 · closed January 22, 2020 · led to recall 19V701000

the air bags

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and 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.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

2 injured · crash · towed · 70 miles

THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. THE DRIVER STOPPED TO MAKE A U-TURN THEN SLOWLY STARTED TO TAKE HER FOOT OFF THE BRAKE WHILE MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED TO THE RIGHT (OPPOSITE DIRECTION). THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE STOPPED ONLY AFTER COLLIDING INTO A STREET POLE.

NHTSA complaint 10810175. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

2 injured · crash · towed

While stopped at a “STOP” sign, the Subaru Forester unintentionally accelerated into a tree although the brake pedals were repeatedly utilized; it was totaled.

NHTSA complaint 11523588. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

1 injured · crash · towed · 2,800 miles

IN A CLOSED PARKING LOT, I WAS GETTING READY TO PARK IN A SPACE. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, I CUT THE WHEEL TO THE RIGHT AND THEN EASED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE TO MANEUVER INTO THE PARKING SPOT. I PUSHED THE BRAKE AGAIN IN PREPARATION TO STRAIGHTEN THE WHEELS AND FINISH PARKING, NO SPEED REGISTERING ON THE GAUGE. WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AND JUMPED. I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, AND SLAMMED IT BACK DOWN ON THE BRAKE ATTEMPTING TO HALT THE VEHICLE. INSTEAD, WITH MY FOOT STILL FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AGAIN, AND FASTER, RIGHT INTO A WALL. I HAD BEEN UNABLE TO STRAIGHTEN THE WHEELS, SO THE IMPACT WAS NOT HEAD-ON, BUT RATHER CONTINUING THE

NHTSA complaint 10823231, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 600 miles

"TAKATA RECALL" VEHICLE ACCELLERATED, BRAKES DID NOT STOP VEHICLE, ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE INJURING MY WIFE, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY & PSYCHOLOGICALLY. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. WIFE WAS TRYING TO PARK, WHEN VEHICLE SPED UP AND HER BRAKING HAD NO EFFECT AND SHE CRASHED INTO A PARKED VEHICLE.

NHTSA complaint 10918643. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

1 injured · crash · towed · 100,000 miles

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

NHTSA complaint 11766126, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
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

NHTSA complaint 11764817, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
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

NHTSA complaint 11764042, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
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

NHTSA complaint 11760589, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS:HUB

110,000 miles

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.

NHTSA complaint 11757935. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
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

NHTSA complaint 11756549, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru Forester

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 22 3 —
2025 95 3 1
2024 29 2 —
2023 73 1 —
2022 98 1 —
2021 207 0 —
2020 601 0 —
2019 833 3 1
2018 495 3 —
2017 587 1 —
2015 614 3 —
2014 403 2 —
2013 77 12 —
2012 105 15 —
2011 147 16 —
2010 262 17 —

Other 2016 Subaru models

Outback 643 Legacy 147 Crosstrek 132 Impreza 75 WRX 31

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Subaru on this site — 99 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst