2.3

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
68,174 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 Impreza electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Subaru Impreza Owner Comments

problem #13

Oct 222020

Impreza

  • miles

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

The variable fan speed control for the cabin air melted. The dial could no longer be moved and the assembly, once removed, had parts that were melted. Subaru was not interested. Cost me $1200 to get it fixed. Unfortunately, I cannot locate any pictures.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #12

May 022022

Impreza

  • miles
Intermittently unable to remove the keys from ignition after placing the car into Park and shutting off the engine. (Instances where keys remain stuck/locked in the ignition requiring someone to 'muscle' them out of there). I believe this is linked to a faulty sensor not allowing the keys to be released. Second complaint: The headset unit on the car, (starlink), has a touchscreen that no longer responds to touch and I believe is slowly draining the battery from the car. Subaru is unwilling to service the vehicle for either problem without a service fee.

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #11

Jul 112022

Impreza

  • miles
The key will not come out of the ignition when the engine has stopped. It has to be restarted (often multiple times) before the key will come out. Does not happen every time but is frequent. This could lead people to leave the key in place if they are in a hurry and result in the possibility of theft. Roommate has 2017 Outback that does the same thing and was told that it could be fixed but the cost would be approx $1300.There are no warning lights on when this happens and there is nothing that indicates whether or not it will happen.

- Centennial, CO, USA

problem #10

Sep 202021

Impreza 4-cyl

  • miles

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

After turning off the engine in Park, the keys are not being released from the ACC position of the ignition in my 2016 Subaru Impreza, which has 32,000 miles. I must repeatedly depress the shift lever and/or shift gears back and forth and/or restart and turn off the car in order to get the key out. This has been going on for two months now for at least half the time although not every time I turn off the car. There are no warning messages or diagnostic lights, just the malfunction itself. The issue has been documented in TSB 16-112-18 in numerous models of Subaru. My spouse and I have contacted Subaru of America and a local Subaru dealer, who have disclaimed responsibility for the problem, but did admit that this was a known issue. The dealer also insinuated that the fault could be the customers' by spilling beverages or something into the shifter linkage. As indicated in the YouTube printout I have attached (Yakfish Taco 2014 - 2018 Subaru Forester Key Stuck in Ignition - Quick fix solution), many people are working around this problem by disabling the key removal safety feature in the wiring of the steering column. This allows the key to be removed from the ignition at any time, such as when the vehicle is driving or stopped but not in Park. It is my belief that people are going to die from this. Subaru should be forced to issue a recall.

- Troy, MI, USA

problem #9

Sep 202021

Impreza

  • miles
There seems to be an issue with keys getting stuck in the ignition on a lot of various years and makes of Subaru's. So much so, that Subaru put out a service bulletin (Bulletin Number: 16-112-18R) to remedy this. Unfortunately, those who are out of the warranty time frame, are no longer eligible for a replacement without charge. This is not a safety issue per-say, but rather an issue of the car possibly getting stole due to Subaru's unwillingness to make this a recall issue and making it free to current owners regardless of the warranty status. What I would like for you folks to do is push subaru's hand into making this a recall issue and fixing the issue free of charge even if the vehicle is outside of the warranty time period. Thank you for taking the time to read my concern. PS: I got the recall serviced on this vehicle on 09/17/2021

- West Covina, CA, USA

problem #8

May 012020

Impreza

  • 45,000 miles
Key locks into ignition and vehicle needs to be restarted and the shift moved from park position back to park position a few times before the key will release. I have seen many complaints online regarding this issue ie. Failing lock cylinder/park sensor problems. Will there be an investigation into this and a possible recall? my car has less than 50,000M on it.

- Scituate, MA, USA

problem #7

Sep 042020

Impreza

  • 45,000 miles

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

Car will not allow you to tak key out of ignition when car is in park.

- Bear, DE, USA

problem #6

Dec 312019

Impreza

  • miles
Car is struggling to start, and battery has bee draining at least once a week but never got a battery low light. Have been driving it every week day for about 5-10 miles consistently. Took it to autozone & they ran some tests, said there is no power leak and the battery is still in good condition. However the battery still is draining.

- Huntington Station, NY, USA

problem #5

Aug 122019

Impreza

  • 12,500 miles
When the car is stopped and turned off, the key gets stuck in the ignition and can't be removed. Subaru has issued a tsb (tsb 16-112-18R) but not a recall.

- Combined Locks, WI, USA

problem #4

May 012019

Impreza 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Impreza. While the vehicle was in park, the key failed to release from the ignition switch. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to capital Chevrolet (2855 maple ave ne, salem, or 97301, (503) 585-4141) where it was diagnosed that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 15,000. Consumer stated the problem is with defective plate operated by the gear shifter to touch a senor which job is to release the key out of the ignition. This plate doesn't always do the job thereby the failure of the key. I was told this problem is happening in all Subaru models of 2016 and beyond. Consumer stated ignition key gets stuck and not releasing the key.

- Salem, OR, USA

problem #3

Mar 132019

Impreza

  • 66,265 miles

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

The brake stop switch fails intermittently causing dash lights to show the hill brake assist, stability control, and ABS systems have stopped functioning. Another side-effect of this situation is the failure of the brake lights causing a risk of rear collision if the driver continues to drive even when the dash lights go off. An extremely unsafe driving situation.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #2

Jan 022019

Impreza

  • 700,000 miles
Brake lights turn on autonimously without having to pull the emergancy brake or depress the brake pedal. The brake light within my vechile will turn on while driving randomly or even while in a stationary position, there is not set time interval to the random on and off brake light switch. Some times it'll turn on and off within five minutes of driving or thrity minutes.there has recemtly been a recall by Subaru for this exact issue but I have not received a dealer notification yet.

- Buford, GA, USA

problem #1

Jan 222017

Impreza

  • 2,500 miles
I turned my car on one afternoon and found the power steering warning light stayed lit on the dashboard while car was stationary. When I tried to drive, I discovered the power steering was completely gone (I.e., very hard to turn steering wheel). Had car towed to dealer, since only 1 year old. Dealer initially diagnosed the problem as a bad power steering control module. Three days later, after the part arrived, they installed it and found more error codes indicating a power supply error. More new parts were ordered that took another three days to arrive. Upon removal of power steering rack, technician found rodent damage on wiring to module on rack and pinion unit. My online research suggests rodents are attracted to soy wire insulation that is used in newer Subaru vehicles like mine. I am concerned other electrical systems can short out in the car at any time, since I cannot avoid squirrels as my car is parked in an open parking lot at home. My prior car (a 1999 Saturn SL2) was driven at the same intervals and parked at the same location for 5.5 years without a similar problem.

- Arlington, VA, USA

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