2016 Subaru Forester: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
409 NHTSA owner complaints · 3 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Reviewed by the MotorJury data desk · 2 sources · Last updated 2026-08-20
409 NHTSA owner complaints · 3 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 40.9
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
When I drove the car, All most all light on the dashboard are on onthe road, and when I stop and tried to go, the car is somewhat not controled. I immidieatly went to dealership and dignosed P2764 CVT balve problem. And they add wheel bearing is problem. Subaru noticed these problems but my 88,278 mile 2016 forester has all the lights on and it was very scared and it took 4400 dollars for fixing.
SRS airbag error warning appears randomly when driving. It turns off passenger side airbags with a passenger in the seat and makes it unsafe to drive. Narrowing it down to the wiring harness seems to be an issue with a loose connection in the airbag seat sensor. Unplugging and re-plugging plus restarting the car seems to fix it at least temporarily. Others have posted about this issue online as well. No liquid has be…
Problem: Recall for passenger side airbag malfunction in heated seats for my model year. Manufacturer has said they addressed the recall but they have not. My car and thousands of others are unsafe for passengers to ride in because the airbag system does not work. Warning light is the airbag symbol and message that alerts driver that SRS system is not working. Manufacturer and dealers want to charge 200 to look probl…
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 19V701000 | Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification | Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Forester vehicles equipped with heated seats. An electrical connection in t… |
| 16V162000 | Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasolin | Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 WRX vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 21, 2015, an… |
| 19V149000 | Exterior Lighting:Brake Lights:Switch | Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2… |
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Air Bags (97 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is AVOID with a reliability score of 26/100, computed from 409 NHTSA complaints and 3 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 3 recall campaign(s) for the 2016 Subaru Forester, 2 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 03/10/2019. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.