10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
11,056 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Subaru Forester:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #9

Apr 252024

Forester

  • miles
I backed out of a parking space, put my foot on the brake and shifted into Drive to finish maneuvering out of the space. Although I didn't remove my foot from the brake, my Forester immediately accelerated at extremely high speed, striking the two cars parked next to me, and seriously damaging both. Rather than slowing down after hitting the other two vehicles, my car continued to speed up, only coming to a stop when it hit, head-on, a cement barrier surrounding the lot. My car hit with such force that every airbag in it deployed, and its front end was totally destroyed. No one was in the other two cars; I suffered minor injuries.

- Albany, NY, USA

problem #8

Apr 252024

Forester

  • miles
I was driving very slowly in a long line of traffic due to a sudden downpour of hail, ice pellets, and frozen rain which blanketed the road in white. Suddenly, without warning, my 2016 Subaru Forester accelerated and veered to the right and into a grove of trees doing extensive damage to the front end. The vehicle was totaled by my insurance company. I suspect that there was sudden acceleration and because of the icy road conditions my car left the road instead of plowing into the car ahead of me. The airbags didn't go off and I wasn't hurt at all but the entire front end was beyond repair.

- Issaquah, WA, USA

problem #7

Apr 022023

Forester

  • miles
I purchased on March 18, 2023 at HGREG West Palm Beach dealership. The salesperson did not disclosure the previous car incident information, I found it later that car has 2 car incidents. After purchasing a car on April 30, after I parked my car, its started unprovoked alarms. I have no control over my car for about 15 min. I knew that my car has an anti theft device so I contacted MagniShield and Road Vantage- the companies affiliated with HGreg Dealership where I purchased my car. I spoke with the MagniShiled representative- Edter but they refuse to explain what is the service installed in this car and refuse to cancel this service by my request. During this time, I have been contacting Dealership almost every week trying to get any clear explanation but they refused to give me any information or cancel the warranty contract. The fact that the car had several severe safety issues. On April 3, 2023 I was driving my kids from school and my car started to burn on the road. Heavy smog and explosions started coming from under the hood - inside the car. I had to do an emergency stop on the side of the road, quickly grab my two boys and run away from the car. I called 911. The police came and they called the fire station. Police officer made a police report, I have a case number. Same day my car was taken to the Midas. Midas specialist explained to me that this car was under the risk of fire to drive and can start burning at any time. The air conditioner exploded because it was under very high pressure. The mechanic found another safety issue - suspension was not attached properly and it was very loose. It might have caused a loss of control over the car, while driving, ultimately resulting in a severe accident Also, less than a week before, on March 28, 2023 I had to do another major service at Midas for the same car. This was just 10 days after the purchase. I changed oil, all filters and did wheel alignment, because they were heavily misaligned.

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

problem #6

Mar 272023

Forester

  • miles
Car unexpectedly accelerated when turning into a parking space. Gradually braking going in to the space and then car suddenly accelerated across the curb and hit a building. Car can be available for inspection. No one was hurt but only because of being lucky that no one was on the sidewalk by the building. Emergency services were called and police made a report and all is reported to the insurance company. There has been no inspection yet by manufacturer. Called Subaru and they said to get the body work done first and then bring the car in for inspection. No warning sounds or lights noticed prior to the problem.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #5

Mar 252020

Forester

  • 38,000 miles
Steering wheel locked while car was being driven on highway, causing car to crash into guardrail on median, causing extensive bent frame of car and extensive body damage, causing car to be declared a total loss, and causing nerve damage in the neck of driver.

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #4

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

problem #3

May 162017

Forester

  • 34,500 miles
Front end total collision traveling approximately 30mph on a residential section of a main street. Hit, and broke, a telephone pole. Car deemed totaled. No airbags deployed.

- Seven Valleys, PA, USA

problem #2

Mar 232017

Forester

  • 12,000 miles
Vehicle suddenly accelerated when I had my foot on the brake pulling into a parking space. It went over an embankment and crashed nose first into the parking lot below.

- Landrum, SC, USA

problem #1

Jun 152016

Forester

  • miles
The tailgate on my 2016 Forester is so low when opened that I hit my head on it every time I reach into the car. I am 6 feet tall. Other people have the same experience with my tailgate. I had an earlier model Forester where this was not an issue. The Subaru dealers I complained to said that the hinges were designed so that a longer shock absorber or other after-market fix was not available and the problem could not be fixed until the model design was changed. This is dangerous!!

- Tucson, AZ, USA