10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,548 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 #5

Sep 102022

Forester

  • miles
Passenger commented, asking why their seatbelt attachment point was not properly anchored and was hanging loose from front seat. Upon investigation, we noticed that the bolt holding the end of the LH portion of the passenger seatbelt had backed out. We were able to make a temporary field repair by tightening the bolt back in with our fingers, and later needed to use a 17mm wrench to further tighten the bolt to the point where it appeared to be reasonably tightened. When tightening the bolt, I did not notice any type of locking washer, or sense there was any type of chemical locking materials on the threaded portion of the bolt and wonder if it was improperly attached when the vehicle was built. In the case of an accident, I think it is reasonable to assume that the loose bolt would have failed and allowed the anchored end of the passenger seatbelt to come loose. The vehicle has approximately 27,000 miles, has never been in an accident, and has never had seats removed or repaired since we purchased it new.

- Temperance, MI, USA

problem #4

Aug 092021

Forester

  • miles
While returning home from a trip in our 2016 Subaru Forester the driver-??s side airbag warning light remained on; additionally, a SRS warning appeared briefly on the screen indicating that the airbag/seatbelt safety system could not be relied upon.This all occurred after restarting the Forester following a brief rest stop. Adhering to the Subaru owner-??s manual guidance we went to our Hendricks Southpoint dealership. The dealership scheduled an appointment for one week later. The occurrence of this problem without a timely resolution by Subaru creates a unnecessary safety situation for owners.

- Pittsboro, NC, USA

problem #3

Aug 122019

Forester

  • 48,600 miles
Intermittent dash light saying the passenger seat belt and air bag is turned off with passenger in the seat and when car is being driven. Comes on in city and highway driving both..

- Spring Lake, MI, USA

problem #2

Mar 052017

Forester

  • 19,118 miles
There were 5 major issues with my vehicle that I want investigated. I was driving straight nb on us-101 in the #1 lane of traffic, going approximately 75 mph, when for no explainable reason, the rear tires of my 2016 Subaru Forester began to skid me across the #2 lane of traffic. I will note that it had just stopped sprinkling and the road was damp. Issue 1: during my skid, the skid control feature never engaged (which is a marketed feature and a reason I purchased this vehicle). I had to fight the skid on my own. Issue 2: the roll over feature never engaged (which is a marketed feature and another reason I purchased this vehicle). After fighting to prevent my vehicle from rolling over and skidding out of control, I ultimately crash on the shoulder of the freeway, hitting a light post. Issue 3: upon hitting the light post, my seat belt flew off. (both my hands were on the wheel at the time and there were no loose objects in the area. Unless this is some "feature" it is extremely dangerous for the seat belt to disengage automatically.) issue 4: the crash notification feature, that I paid extra for, did not do it's job. Even with my cell phone linked to the vehicle, the crash notification never called 9-1-1 on my behalf. I immediately called 9-1-1 to notify chp of my accident because I was fearful of another vehicle also spinning out of control and hitting me. Chp took a report. ** issue 5 **: the air bags never deployed. None of the air bags deployed. My car was deemed totaled by the insurance company and auto body shop. The auto body shop stated vehicle hit the pole so hard all bolts were bent into a 45 degree angle. How does a crash that severe not engage the air bags? I had a scar on my collar bone for a month after the crash. None of the marketed or required safety features worked to prevent the crash nor assist after the crash.

- Petaluma, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 012018

Forester

  • 75,021 miles
This used vehicle was purchased from a dealer as a "great buy", with 74589 miles on May 23, 2018. Less than one week later, bells and dings began sounding while driving, light indicators indicated that the SRS system needed to be checked; that the passenger airbag was not on sometimes, other times it was..intermittent. Car in motion both on city streets and on highway. No recalls were reported at that time, and I never knew while driving whether either side seatbelts were engaged when I knew they were, nor whether airbags were viable. Dangerous for driver and for passenger. Independent dealer and service departments were perplexed, dealerships had no available parts.....here it is, Oct. 2, 2018, over 4 months later, and no parts available to dealers or authorized repair companies to comply with safety regulations. This vehicle is unsafe; Subaru needs to provide parts at no expense to this customer to assure safety. And, they need to issue a recall or face potential lawsuits.... ## VIN passed ## Subaru Forester 2016 ##

- North Little Rock, AR, USA