5.3

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,749 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 Legacy:

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

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #24

Nov 022020

Legacy

  • miles
Battery fully discharges when vehicle sits idle for more than 2 to 3 days. Car does not start. I changed the battery twice in 6 months time and have checked alternator which is okay. Subaru insists it's due to a 'non subaru' battery. The original battery that was exchanged was a subaru battery. The discharged battery has occurred multiple times in the course of 1 1/2 years. I have not taken the vehicle back in for this issue because they cannot solve the problem and charging me for service call.

- Otego, NY, USA

problem #23

Jun 052021

Legacy

  • miles
Battery discharges very quickly and also isn't able to power up the vehicle on a cold day. The original battery on my vehicle (2016 model) was replaced a year (04/2018) before I purchased the vehicle as a CPO (June 2019), but on multiple occasions after purchase I had issues with starting up the vehicle and not having the battery charging despite having it run for 45 min or longer. I finally went to a dealership when in June 2021 since I wanted the battery replaced expecting that it would be covered under the 85 month pro-rated warranty for the battery replacement in 2018. However, I was asked to pay for the battery as the previous replacement was a "good will" according to the dealership and so was not eligible for a free replacement. Just from the history of the batteries in the vehicle, I'm not convinced of the reliability or the reserve capacity of the battery especially in cold conditions.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

problem #22

Feb 102021

Legacy

  • miles
My 2016 Subaru Legacy has a battery issue. I've had to replace it three times. Basically once a year over the past few years. It just drains and is dead. It happens mostly in the winter but not always. Subaru didn't think it was their problem. It is dangerous here in Minnesota to have a untrustworthy electrical system. Recently I did have it brought to a non Subaru shop. It had a new battery so they couldn't seem to find the problem either. I, or could get records as to my past battery purchases if need be.

- St. Paul, MN, USA

problem #21

May 202021

Legacy

  • miles
Battery drain after 2 years. Can be inspected. Not yet confirmed by independent sources or inspected by outside party. No warning lamps, notices, or cause for battery to drain (no lights on, all doors closed, etc). First happened one day ago, jumped the battery and quickly died again.

- Hickory, NC, USA

problem #20

May 152021

Legacy

  • miles
Battery is being drained when vehicle sits. I have replaced the battery 2 years ago and is needing to be replaced again.

- Bend, OR, USA

problem #19

Jan 112021

Legacy

  • 80,000 miles
I had to change my battery already as it wouldn't charge or start the car. Two fuses have been replaced. Also while driving, the computer display screen blinks, freezes or has gone blank. At times, I get an alert while driving that tells me 2 or 3 hours since vehicle ignition. These events seem to occur on long road trips with multiple short stops for refueling. If I stop the car and keep it off of around 15 minutes then restart the car, the screen will begin working again. The date entered on this claim is the battery change date.

- Forsyth, GA, USA

problem #18

Apr 282021

Legacy

  • miles
In the process of turning off the vehicle; the car is in park, and the key intermittently gets stuck in ignition.

- Lancaster, OH, USA

problem #17

Nov 192020

Legacy

  • 32,860 miles
The car was stationary and over time rodents (mice) chew on the electrical wires harness due to the attraction of manufacturing material. Manufacturing material is a soy base electrical wrapping. Both occurrences happened at the same exact junction where wiring housing is attached to the engine. Evidence is first occurrence in November 2021, second occurrence April 2021. Antidotal evidence is the Subaru service department employee stated that this is a usual occurrence from Subaru cars. Both repairs in less than five months charges are over $6000.

- Lafayette, IN, USA

problem #16

Feb 222021

Legacy

  • 33,000 miles
I am not able to remove the key from the ignition when after I park my car and this happen every other day since I started to have this issue.. I have to drive up and down and change the parking mode to different other modes using the gear stick and switch it back to parking mode in order to release the key. It takes me several attempt S of doing this to release the key from ignition.

- Arlington, VA, USA

problem #15

Jan 222021

Legacy

  • 40,600 miles
Vehicle is stopped, shifted into park and parking brake is engaged. Steering wheel is straight. Key is used to shut off engine but will not move into the lock position and can not be removed. Occurring 50% of the time. Restarting engine and shifting through reverse/neutral/drive back to park has eventually allowed key removal.

- Wilmington, NC, USA

problem #14

Oct 192020

Legacy

  • 48,000 miles
The 2016 Subaru Legacy ignition keeps jamming the key after the driver has stopped the vehicle and placed it in park. The key remains jammed and becomes difficult for the driver to remove. Keep in mind the tires are straight when the vehicle is parked and the key is not bent. This incident has occurred several times this month and has never occurred prior.

- Manassas, VA, USA

problem #13

Oct 122020

Legacy

  • 86,000 miles
Unable to remove ignition key from steering column without repeatably shifting car out of and back into park. Dealer charges over $400 to repair a well known defect which was issued a service bulletin in March 2018.

- Terryville, CT, USA

problem #12

Jul 052020

Legacy

  • 53,000 miles
Key intermittently gets stuck in ignition when car is in park and engine turned off (but electric is still on since key cannot be turned to "off"). if left unresolved, the battery will eventually die. Subaru has acknowledged the issue in service bulletin 16-112-18R: "this bulletin announces a design change to the cvt select lever (shifter) mechanism in response to isolated customer concerns of not being able to remove the key from the ignition switch when the vehicle is in park. The cause is contamination of the park-range switch internal components." This is a serious enough problem that it required a redesign; this is a serious enough problem that it requires a recall.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #11

Jun 222020

Legacy 4-cyl

  • 34,000 miles
Am able to shift into park and turn off the ignition but not able to remove key. It takes several tries to shift gears until able to turn the key to release it. This was happening for a while and stopped and has started doing it more consistently now.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #10

Apr 182020

Legacy 4-cyl

  • miles
After placing vehicle in park, roughly 30% of times this is done, key cannot be turned back far enough to remove it. So far the only way to get it out is to restart car, shift through all the gears, and place it back in park. Sometimes this must be done 2-3 times. This started happening around 62,000 miles.

- Columbia Station, OH, USA

problem #9

Feb 052020

Legacy

  • 60,000 miles
Key cannot be removed from ignition after placing car in park. Literally have to either slam car into park or start car and immediately shut it down. Problem started right after hitting 60000 miles.

- Manchester, CT, USA

problem #8

Feb 032020

Legacy

  • 59,000 miles
Key can not be removed from the ignition. It does not help turning the steering wheel to unlock it. Shifting in and out of drive/neutral/park several times will eventually unlock it. Has been happening intermittently for about 2 months and happens now every time.

- Poughquag, NY, USA

problem #7

Jan 022020

Legacy

  • 47,000 miles
The key gets stuck in the ignition. Put car in park and can not get the ignition cylinder to turn all the back to remove the key

- Boonsboro, MD, USA

problem #6

Nov 082019

Legacy

  • 52,000 miles
2016 Subaru Legacy will not release key from ignition even when car is in park. Will take several attempts and often requires forcefully putting gear shift in park for the key to release from the ignition. Problem is getting progressively worse and Subaru of America is claiming no responsibility.

- Lenexa, KS, USA

problem #5

Sep 102019

Legacy

  • 50,000 miles
Failure of the park-range switch resulting in the inability to remove key from ignition when shifter is in the park position.

- Ford City, PA, USA

Read the next 4 complaints »