This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The battery drains when the car is turned off without anything electrical being on, possibly a parasitic battery. Have taken the car to dealership multiple time and they said the battery itself was fine.
Since my driving has cut down drastically since Nov 2019 right before the pandemic, I have been plagued with my battery draining quite quickly. This happens when the car is not driving regularly, sometimes within a week and a half. I have to put the battery on a tender as well. This even occurred after getting the battery replaced at Subaru, and the problem coming back nearly immediately.
In spite of careful maintenance and use I have had at least 7 instances where the battery had died. In 4 of those instances I was able to jump start the car and continue using it. In 3 instances I was unable to jump start it, so I had to remove and replace the battery 3 times since owning it new in late 2016. I have lost my feeling of confidence in using the car overnight in remote areas, such as when camping or hiking. I brought it to the dealer twice and they have not found any electrical problems to correct, so I think it is a design flaw.
- West Hartford, CT, USA
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Key often will not rotate to the lock position so the key may be removed after vehicle iis stopped. The transmission is set for park and the parking brake is also set at the time. This happens regularly now and has been for over a month. At times, I've been successful when rotating the key to start and turn off the engine several times, but results are not consistant.
Unidentified problem in the electrical system is causing the second battery to drain in my Subaru Forester. The battery was replaced January 02, 2021 after it went dead on the parking lot but I had to jump start the car three times in one month after that. Subaru certified technician can not identify the issue. The battery check shows battery is fine.
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester.the contact states that his vehicle is not safe to be on the road, the contact stated that his lights on his vehicle are not properly working. The vehicle has been to 3 different dealers for repair and the problem is still occurring.the contact stated the engine stops on its own without any notification
My 2016 Forester will accelerates with no warning.the very first time it happened I cannot remember exact date, I would guess it was around Oct. Or Nov. Of 2015. I bought the car May 2015. To the best of my recollection, I was parking space car and as I put the car in park the car lunged forward, barely missed hitting the fence in front of me. At that time I blamed ugg boots.never wore them again. The second time do not remember when but it had to be sometime after March 2017 because I had was purchased a puppy and went to petco and I was in that parking lot when it happened. I was pulling out of a parking space and as I put car in it jetted backward with such force and I hit a cement pole that was directly behind me. The pole was designated for a handicapped space.and car. Luckily there were no pedestrians there or I could have hurt or killed them. No damage to car. I didn't know what happen. I checked mats to make sure they were not under gas because I've heard that could happen but no all was good. Going forward just kept watch and see if it happens again cause then I would know there is a problem with the car. One, two, three times, no definitely something wrong with car. The most recent Sept. 8, 2020, I was on side street stopped at light. Took foot off brake to inch up to make turn all of sudden car lunged forward to intersection I quickly made turn. Luckily avoiding accident. When I took car in to be checked was told by representative at the dealership she never heard of such a thing. When this happens it's usually due to human error and they're not aware of any acceleration issues with their cars. She then preceded to ask if I had air conditioner on when this happened. I said I don't remember but I'm assuming I did. Left car to be checked.R dealership said the mechanic drove car for 3 mile, could not duplicate my complaint.
When turning off the car, the key will not completely turn counterclockwise but will get stuck at about 2/3 of the way towards off (near the "acc" point). Cannot take the key out. The only way to get it to release is to start the engine again. Sometimes several times are needed. This is an intermittent problem but is happening more frequently and could be a safety issue if there is a need to leave the vehicle quickly or secure the vehicle in a public parking area. Leaving the car with the battery engaged and the key stuck is not an option. The car is completely stopped, in park, and I am ready to turn the engine off. The problem has been occurring for approximately a month (started in Aug 2020) and initially I thought I was not putting it in park, or the steering wheel had turned or some other issue I could correct. Since it is intermittent, I thought it might go away. Unfortunately it is happening more frequently and is disconcerting.
While the vehicle is stationary, the key gets stuck in the ignition when attempting to turn the car off. The motor shuts down, but the key will not turn completely to the removal location. I often have to turn the vehicle on and then quickly off in order to get the key to remove from the ignition. Sometimes putting the vehicle back into gear (reverse or drive) before returning the transmission to park is also required. Several attempts may be necessary before successfully removing the key from the ignition. This problem started suddenly in the last month and occurs at least 50% of the time when the vehicle is used.
Please recall the 2016 Subaru Forester for failure of the accelerator at high speeds. Our 21-year-old daughter, a nursing student, took her 2016 Forester into grayson Subaru in knoxville, tn for a recall service on rear coil springs, oil change and tire rotation. Within an hour of leaving the service department she was driving 70 mph on the interstate when her "low fuel" warning light came on. According to the Subaru, that means 2.6 gallons of gas remain. Assuming 20 mpg, that means she could drive approximately 52 miles before running out of gas. Within a minute of the low fuel light coming on, the accelerator failed to work and all the warning lights came on the dash. While traveling at 70 mph on the interstate, she had to cross 3 lanes of traffic to pull over on the shoulder. Very shaken and crying, she called grayson Subaru and they sent a tow truck. After steve kachelrie of grayson's service department assessed the car, he concluded, "your daughter just ran out of gas. There is nothing we can do other than put gas in the tank." When I told him that the gas meter said she had 50 miles of driving to go before empty, he dismissed it and repeated that she "just ran out of gas." I researched the 2016 Subaru Forester on NHTSA.gov and found 20 reports of identical incidents of the car showing 50-70 miles to go before empty and the accelerator completely failing at high speeds on the interstate and all warning lights lighting up. When I told grayson service that was an unacceptable response, they referred me to the owner of the dealership, walter grayson. He agreed to fulfill Subaru's guarantee to pay us the trade-in value of the car, $14,800. The dealership sent us a check for the 2016 Subaru Forester and we purchased a new Toyota.
The key will not come out of the ignition after car has been driven and car is parked. The first time was Saturday, August 1. since then, it has been happening about once every other day for five days. Now it is happening at least once every day.
Car suffered 10 unexplained original battery discharges in years 2-3 of ownership. Upon jump start, auto would start and operate normally for 2-5 months before next discharge. Subaru authorized warranty replacement through dealership with new larger powered battery at end of year 3 of ownership. Repair stated failure due to battery leakage although none was observed by owners. 13 months after replacement battery was installed, it discharged twice in same day and was taken to original dealership (Subaru of portland). Service technician check determined battery could not be recharged, could not determine reason for its failure, could not find any electrical parasitic draws and found all software was up to date. Owner was charged for new battery and installation as failed battery was now out of 1-year Subaru replacement policy. Brief internet review shows this has become a common problem with 2016-2017 Subaru's. Subaru U.S. corporate customer care department demonstrated no interest in taking complaint or logging in any detail information, directing owner back to repairing dealership. Dealership claims no responsibility for failed batteries.
The key will not come out of the ignition when the car is stopped and in "park, " intermittently. I need to restart the car, readjust the shifter out and then back into "park, " until the vehicle senses that I am actually in "park" and allows me to remove the key.
My car was parked in my garage and had not been started for one day. The battery would not start the car, I had to call for a jump. I waited approximately one hour for someone to come through Subaru road side assist. The battery was relatively new, as the original was replaced 1/2019. We took it to the dealer and they tested the battery and alternator, which were fine. They recharged the battery. I paid for the battery inspection.
Unable to remove key from ignition after car is turned off. Requires several attempts of jiggling the transmission shifter to finally free the key. Vehicle is off and not moving when this occurs. A quick bit of research indicates that this is problem is occurring on all Subaru models not just the Forester. Subaru service bulletin 16-112-18R addresses this issue. Only 40K miles my vehicle, out of warranty repair is over 500 dollars. I don't see how this is not a recall if it happening on all Subaru models, an obvious defect here.
Unable to remove the key from the ignition switch when the vehicle is in park. Per tsp 16 112 18R the cause is contamination of the park-range switch internal components. We own 2 identical cars purchased the same day. Both have started to experience this every day since we hit 30,000 miles. We purchased in April 2016, so warranty no longer covers. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of postings on many forums indicating the same issue. This has resulted in us having to leave the key in the car when we park somewhere. It takes round 3-4 minutes to start and restart the car and move it back and forth in order to release the key. This is not the situation that occurs when you just need to turn the steering wheel.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brooklyn, NY, USA