10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,127 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2016 Subaru Forester engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Subaru Forester Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #39

May 292022

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Was Backing up and car started excelling and the throttle stuck hitting 2 cars It was out of control I got it in drive and it took off forward running full throttle up over the pavers around a tree and ran up on the side of a BMW which was sitting on the side of The hostess paved driveway coming down the side of the car My car was on 2 wheels. Came off the BMW and slammed into a tree trunk which stopped it. I got out of my car in disbelief. It happened on private property and We did call the police. But since it happened on private property They did not come but told us to get each others info for insurance Purposes

- Hightown, VA, USA

problem #38

Apr 282022

Forester

  • miles
While driving on highway using cruise control at 70 mph my car suddenly stalled -??. I was able to get to apron of road, but my steering locked and I had no brakes.. I could put car into neutral but had to -??jam-?? it into park, trying to get it to stop rolling. It would not restart. I had it towed to an auto repair center as there was no Subaru dealer in the area. Because I had kept trying to restart it, my battery was dead. They recharged my battery and the car then started. I took it to a Subaru dealer where I was told they could find nothing wrong -??. Except I needed a new battery. This was NOT the reason that my car suddeney lost power ! It had happen once before while on the highway but I was able to restart it at that time. This could have caused a serious accident and I worry that it will happen again. I warning was indicated prior to episode. I have receipts from auto repair shop (In Lincoln, Illinois) and Subaru dealer ( in Columbia Missouri)

- Glen Ellyn, IL, USA

problem #37

Jul 132021

Forester

  • miles
Car turns itself off soon after starting when you try and put it into gear. Even after a tune up the car just stalls out when starting or low idle while sitting at light

- Zephyrhills, FL, USA

problem #36

Jul 132021

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Key stuck in switch when car is put into park. Steering locks up and then can not restart or remove key. This happens almost daily at this point

- Zephyrhills, FL, USA

problem #35

Jan 172020

Forester

  • miles
Context: We were driving on the freeway at ~30-40mph when the car in front suddenly braked and stopped. We hit the breaks at the same time that the automatic brakes kicked in. The car stopped, as needed. Issue: After stopping, we pressed the accelerator to start the car moving again but the car revved instead of accelerating. We pulled off/slowly drifted to the side of the road and turned the car off and then back on before the accelerator started to function. This seemed like an engine problem. Safety risk: During this incident we were stopped on the freeway with no way to accelerate, which was very dangerous. We were lucky to be next to the shoulder lane. Otherwise, we would have been stuck in the middle of a freeway with a speed limit of 60mph. Inspection by Subaru result: "FOUND NORMAL OPERATION ON TEST DRIVE. NO CURRENT CODES OR RELATED HISTORY CODES. LIKELY A TEMPRARY FAULT UNDER EXTREME CONDITION. PLEASE MONITOR".

- Redmond, WA, USA

problem #34

May 112021

Forester

  • 75,606 miles
Subaru accelerates occaisionally when one hits the break and the motor races until one puts car in neutral.

- Auburn, CA, USA

problem #33

May 162020

Forester

  • 72,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Forester accelerates too fast on going from stop to moving to normal speed. The cars does not accelerate smoothly. Too much power on a light touch to soft acieration. If on light snow it spins the wheels. Going from idle on a turn in snow it spins the tires. All actions are from a stop or no acceleration to placing light pressure on the accelerator.from a stop the cars jumps ahead with accereration.

- Wauwatosa, WI, USA

problem #32

Sep 012019

Forester

  • miles
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

- Dexbury, MA, USA

problem #31

Dec 142020

Forester

  • 55,000 miles
Vehicle stalled in intersection. Car has a rough idle, this is the second time it has stalled. Dealership has looked at the car but not resolved the issue.

- Santa Clarita, CA, USA

problem #30

Nov 222018

Forester 4-cyl

  • 15,888 miles
2016 Subaru Forester 2.5 premium while driving there on the highway at approximately 70mph with 80 miles left per the vehicle the car 'stalled' acting like it went to neutral and provided no response to the accelerator being pushed. Consumer stated happened twice more while driving approx 70 mph and had to pull over, vehicle started shutting down. Car restarted approx 30 minutes later. Vehicle was taken to the dealer, consumer was told there were no issues.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

problem #29

Nov 122020

Forester

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2nd occurrence now of a sudden and complete loss of power while on highway at 80mph with no warning (see NHTSA id# 1131777). Low fuel warning light had just come on a few minutes earlier...same as last time. Thankfully had a shoulder to cost onto and let the vehicle sit. Tired to tart a couple times, but was like it was flooded with fuel. After :45 minutes of sitting...it reset itself and started again and we continued on our journey. This time road conditions were dry and clear.

- Roanoke, TX, USA

problem #28

Oct 162020

Forester

  • 168,000 miles
When stopping/stopped it will suddenly accelerate/surge forward and I need to slam on brakes

- Zephyrhills, FL, USA

problem #27

Oct 042020

Forester

  • 42,000 miles
My 2016 Subaru Forester has twice experienced a sudden engine stall while cruising at approx. 70 mph when the fuel was low. In both cases the low fuel warning light was not on and the vehicle showed fuel in the tank with fuel range of 70-100 miles. In both cases once the car was stopped it started again and ran normally until and after refueling. This has happened only at high speed which makes the condition especially dangerous in traffic. After the first incident (@ 42,000 mi.) I took the vehicle to a Subaru dealer who checked the vehicle and found no explanation. Of course the dealer was not able to duplicate the exact circumstance of the power failure. The vehicle is currently under examination from the second incident which occurred yesterday (@ 50,000 mi.). I do not know if this is a fuel pump problem but I have seen other posts that suggest that may be the cause.

- South Euclid, OH, USA

problem #26

Sep 172020

Forester

  • 40,000 miles
The vehicle was maintained regularly in dealer's service center. It is a local commute vehicle and has less than 40000 miles. In Nov 2019, the vehicle was found out of alignment, four tires were worn out and two breaks were out too. All four tires and two breaks were replaced. In June 2020, I reported bad smell to the service center but nothing was found. In Sep 2020, bad smell was noticed again. The service center found oil leak in the engine front and back. The engine was opened and some parts were replaced. Service center also found the condenser was leaking and replaced it. In less than a year, three defects happened and two were rare but major defects. During this time, the car was only driven around 2000 miles. I reported to Subaru customer service. They just told me to keep an eye on it.

- Morganville, NJ, USA

problem #25

Jul 312020

Forester

  • 45,534 miles
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.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #24

Jul 062020

Forester 4-cyl

  • 23,741 miles
Sudden acceleration while parking. All low speed <5 mph. Car was in drive, braking, made a hard left turn then stopped. Car was shifted to reverse, moved 25 feet, brake and stopped. Car was shifted to drive (low), applied acceleration (light), hard right turn, brake applied, car accelerated, jumped curb, shifted car to park, turned off ignition. Restarted car, stability control light on, shift would not engage even with brake depressed. Remove shift lock cover (small button near shift) depressed release and move shift to neutral and then reverse to back off curb. Incident over, car functioned as designed at this point. Floor mats were not any where near pedals, mats were in the retainers to hold position. I am sure that my foot was on the brake at the time the acceleration occurred. It remained there even after the car was turned off because I looked at my passenger to see if she was ok and then looked at the position of my foot, still on brake. There were no codes flashing. I brake and accelerate with only my right foot. Checked to see if this is a problem and saw several reports and issued this one. Taking this to my dealer would be a waste of time, they always find nothing but the money in my wallet. This is Subaru number 6 for me.

- Cortland, NY, USA

problem #23

Mar 092020

Forester

  • 44,500 miles
Running in my 2016 Subaru Forester at 70 mph on crowded interstate highway in Texas and all power was lost. No warning, no warning lights, nothing...just lost all power and shot off while driving.. car rolled to a stop and then I had it towed. Restarted after a while and drove fine. Saw a lot of comments online for a current Subaru recall that has exactly the same symptoms, but for the 2019 year Forester. Subaru recall item: Wuw-08 and also notes as recall #: 19V856000 - engine and engine cooling:exhaust system:emission control:crankcase (PCV). Dealer doen't want to touch it sr ince it's a different model year. Could be very dangerous.

- Roanoke, TX, USA

problem #22

May 102019

Forester

  • 75,000 miles
Around 75K miles, the "at temp" light began to appear when driving the car for more than 35-40 minutes on the highway at continuous speeds. No code was stored when it was brought to the dealership. I have pictures of this light being on numerous times. This happened between May 2019-August 2019 then the vehicle began to shudder when coming to a complete stop, with occasional stalls/shutdowns. No lights would come out during shudder or stall. This happened between May 2019-February 2020 at 98K, vehicle began to jerk and shudder during shifting, around 2500rpm upon acceleration. I had a transmission service/ cvt fluid change done at 90K at johnston's Subaru in middletown, NY. Transmission service was done 2/3/2020

- Burlingham, NY, USA

problem #21

Dec 132019

Forester

  • 50,100 miles
Vehicle feels as though it is about to stall. This occurs sporadically when stopping or when under acceleration on the freeway. I have taken the vehicle into two separate dealerships, neither could diagnose a problem. However one did suggest it may be a PCV valve. This appears quite similar to the recent recall (19V856) which does not include this model year.

- Santa Clarita, CA, USA

problem #20

Aug 292019

Forester

  • 15,000 miles
I was parking the car in a cvs parking lot on sunrise blvd ft. Lauderdale. I made a right turn into the lot and another right turn into the space on the right. It was a large space and the row of parking slots on the right side was completely empty so I went to drive the car into one of those. I made the turn into the space, driving very slowly, when the car suddenly made a loud noise and shot forward. I had done nothing to cause this. The car ran over the curb and into a cluster of shrubbery - about 7 feet wide. The car came to a stop inside the shrubbery but the engine was still going. It was the shrubbery that stopped the car. 08/ I was not injured at all. I tried to back up the car but it would not back up. Another driver who saw the incident came over to see if I was okay and helped me out of the passenger side of the vehicle since the driver's side was jammed up against the shrubbery. He could not back up the car either and instead drive the car forward through the shrubs and came around back into the parking lot. We called aaa and I waited for them.

- Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

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