general problems of the 2016 Subaru Forester - part 1

This vehicle is not safe to drive since Subaru could not replicate the original overheating problem in the transmission. They made an educated guess repair to see if it fixes the overheating problems in the transmission which may malfunction during driving the vehicle,slippage, to lockingup. This afternoon, while my daughter was driving through the mojave desert on her way back home to mammoth lakes, CA. ; her dash light came on- at oil temp warning, forcing multiple stops to cool the vehicle. The trip back to hacienda heights took over four hours (4) in extreme heat. I’ve attached a photo of the dash warning for your reference. After she called me from the road, I instructed her to turn around and wait for the warning light to turn off. (google’s guidance emphasized cooling the transmission before resuming travel). Thankfully, the route [xxx] from mojave was mostly downhill, which helped reduce strain on the vehicle—but it was still a stressful and exhausting experience. My letter Subaru I need to be candid: my time and patience are wearing thin. I’ve remained cooperative throughout this process and paid about $644 out-of-pocket for repairs specifically recommended by ocean Subaru—including the initial solenoid replacement, cvt oil cooler, and thermostat. While I appreciate that the remaining repairs were performed under goodwill, the original overheating issue remains unresolved, and its root cause is still uncertain. Subaru hasn't repaired the problem. S regarding future repairs or services, we cannot guarantee coverage until the details of any needed repairs are identified and thoroughly reviewed. If there are any updates or if further repairs are recommended, please feel free to let me know in a direct reply, and I will do my best to assist you. Thank you again for your understanding and patience. Sincerely, michael Subaru of America, inc. Customer advocacy department 1-800-subaru3 (1-800-782-2783) ext. 119949 case number: 250725-1500342 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of informa.

When parked on a slope, driver attempted to back SUV out of parking space. Before starting car, with key inserted, ignition on and foot on brake, driver attempted to remove gearshift from park. Car drifted backward rapidly and uncontrollably. The brakes completely failed even with foot on brake. The car was a hazard to anyone in its path and could not be stopped. The emergency brake was attempted but failed to stop the car. Power steering failed. Gearshift could not be put back into park. SUV crashed heavily into a sign protecting the gas pump, but auto suffered major damage: rear wrap around bumper, entire power lift door, and frame, were included in the damage. Driver was the wife of a couple. Very importantly, the husband had experienced the exact same uncontrollable roll-back in the same vehicle at the same place a few weeks earlier, but somehow missed the gas pump and sign. At that time, the car was uncontrollable and caused panic for both drivers in separate incidents. That's not all--of key importance was a conversation we--as a couple--had with the salesman and the dealership's lead mechanic when the auto was purchased in 2017. We pointed out that when backing out of a space on a slight downslope and changing gears, the car drifted backwards uncontrollably a number of feet--at least three to six feet. At that time in 2027, we told them we did not like this feature, and it could be a danger to children playing in the driveway. They said that the manufacturers' engineering department knew about this. And were making improvements. Subsequently we investigated this engineering/design fault online, discussed it again with the dealership, then dropped the issue. The bottom line: this seems to us to be a genuine manufacturing fault. We both experienced this uncontrollable drift back when attempting to brake the car. It is frightenening and dangerous to be in a vehicle weighing tons without any ability to control it. Please investigate.

113,727 miles. 2016 Subaru Forester. 5 different warning lights all came on at the same time. Before that I noticed occasionally there was a delay starting again at a stoplight. Reputable mechanic replaced the valve body of the transmission. They said they service 2-3 Subarus for this same issue every month.

Subaru is aware of issues with their transmission system and previously offered an extension but my car is outside the 100k limit. The transmission started to fail and each time I stopped at an intersection, it would start to idle roughly and try and lurch foreward even with the brake fully depressed. I had to shift to neutral to avoid being pushed into oncoming cross traffice each time for a few weeks and then all my warning lights came on and my usual safety features were shut down.

While driving my vehicle on my daily trip to work, I experience sudden power loss. My interior lights began to blink erratically, as my vehicle loss power and caused me to panic, as I was entering the highway. Some highways have no shoulders, so as quickly as I entered the highway, I pulled off took the next exit. I went into a shopping center, to see what the issue was. I noticed that my radio and my air conditioning loss illumination. I turned the car off, opened the hood. I did not see anything of significance, I started the car up again, now the radio would not even start nor did the air conditioning. I phoned the Subaru dealer, to be told that this happens often! what, I thought to myself? I asked them if this was a well-known problem, why this has not become part of a recall, or why the dealership not contact Subaru of America, to work with their customer base and remedy the issue. I was told, that all that is done in the "diagnostic process", any codes are cleared, and this should get you back on the road. Are you kidding me, this is truly any motorist's nightmare. Losing power on a major highway, any road at night, or on a turn will literally bring catastrophic consequences to us Subaru owners, but all other motorists as well.

When accelerator is slightly pushed after the vehicle has come to stop it accelerates in a jack rabbit manner. The driver stopped at beginning of driveway parking area, and decided to move slightly forward. A slight push on accelerator pedal caused vehicle to lurch forward and do $8,700 damage to the closed 2 car garage door, and $1,000+ to vehicle. Date of accident 02/10/2023.

I bought the car between 82-90k miles. Not long after I noticed when I was at an intersection and went from a stopped position to accelerating it would barely go. Spent over a lot to fix it and the guy who did says he has 2-3 forresters a month in his shop for the same issue.

Check engine light, service emissions, dash lights blinking and loss of power!!! I was pulling out into a busy intersection and warning lights started to flash and I lost power to cylinder #2 (per the technician at van Subaru, he told me the alternator was sending bad info to the computer) and I was almost t-boned as I limped through the intersection.

Pulled into parking space in shopping mall. The car accelerated over the curb and ran into a store front knocking out a wall. The car was still in drive when it came to a stop. No one was hurt in the car, on the sidewalk or in the store. There is a class action law suit on this model of Subaru for uncontrolled/sudden acceleration while coming to a stop, but Subaru does not acknowledge any problem. This was the first indication of a sudden acceleration for this car. It just had its 30,000 inspection from the Subaru dealer.

Aug. 12, 2022. Milage 124,028. Dealer (serra auto park, in akron, OH) had to replace faulty right front axelshaft. Parts and labor $812. Left axelshaft has already started making the same noises and we can expect it to be replaced soon as well. Are we the only ones with this problem???.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started jerking and hesitating while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the transmission fluid was flushed; however, after retrieving the vehicle the failure persisted. The contact stated that several unknown warning messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 126,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, various warning lights were illuminated. After using a personal diagnostic reader, he retrieved two unknown failure codes. The vehicle was taken to an independent where it was diagnosed that the transmission and an unknown sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted and the contact stated that the various warning lights remained illuminated and that when coming to a stop at a stop signal, the vehicle was jerking and lost motive power. The vehicle was able to restart after shifting the gear into park(p) to turn off the vehicle and then restart. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

The ignition key has started getting stuck in the ignition after turning the motor off. It takes several tries, involving turning the motor back on and pulling the key out as I’m turning the motor off and pushing the stick back into park really hard per Subaru. . . . Subaru has acknowledged it’s a faulty part and lots of complaints online. . . They even did a tech bulletin # 16-112-18r but say its a customers problem. . . .

Key stuck in switch when car is put into park. Steering locks up and then can not restart or remove key. This happens almost daily at this point.

Car turns itself off soon after starting when you try and put it into gear. Even after a tune up the car just stalls out when starting or low idle while sitting at light.

When stopping/stopped it will suddenly accelerate/surge forward and I need to slam on brakes.

When vehicle is placed in park after a trip, the key becomes stuck in the ignition. The vehicle is able to be turned off but the key is unable to be removed from the ignition. Cycling the key in the ignition and placing the car back in park multiple times allows the key to eventually be removed from the ignition. Online search showed many complaints from the same year vehicle.

2016 Subaru Forester. Key gets stuck in ignition. Can not be removed. All electrical power still on. This happened after I pulled my SUV into a parking spot. Place in park. Turned off and key was stuck in ignition. This is the 5th time in 2 weeks this has happened.

Vehicle was traveling on highway around 70 mph. Lost power to wheels/vehicle stalled with no warning. Engine revved to high rpm's when I hit gas, as I coasted into the grassy median. I turned off engine, waited for a few minutes. Tried to start again, starter would crank, but engine would not start. Towed vehicle to dealer they were able to start car next day. No error codes in computer. Have noticed this issue on the Subaru message boards, dealership unable to diagnose issue now. Very serious problem, could have been a fatal accident on highway.

The key has started getting stuck in the ignition intermittently after turning the motor off. Sometimes it takes several attempts involving turning the motor back on and pulling the key out as I'm turning the motor off. It may go a couple of days and be fine then do it several times in a row.

Key stuck in ignition when car is in park.

There is a leak in the head gasket which ruined a temperature gauge ($700 to replace). The mechanics say it is a design flaw and there is nothing I could do to avoid the issue and it will keep happening until I fix the leak.

My car is slowing down drastically while my foot is on the gas and rpm is increasing. I suspect that the cvt is slipping and causing the car to engine brake. This is the reason Subaru extended the cvt warranty, but they have refused to replace my transmission because the dealer has not been able to duplicate the problem. There needs to be a recall on these cvts.

On two different occasions 24 hours apart the car stalled (seemed to drop into neutral) at highway speeds ~80mph after greater than 1. 5 hours of driving. The rpm jumped up and the car lost all acceleration despite pressing the accelerator. Once on the side of the road in park the engine died. Both times it failed to start again with multiple spaced out attempts over more than 2 hours. We had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership and both times after being unloaded hours later it started with no issue and the dealers could find nothing wrong and sent us home. A very unsafe intermittent issue with no obvious cause or fix.

2 separate incidents of complete engine power loss while on highway at cruising speeds. First incident occurred while the vehicle was going about 70mph on a highway. We heard a loud bang then engine died and we lost all power to the car. There was a lot of smoke but we were able to coast it to the shoulder of the road. When we opened hood there was oil everywhere and a giant crack and hole in the engine. We had to tow it 170 miles home where it was in the shop 5 weeks getting fixed. After having the car only 3 weeks the second incident occurred where the car lost torque when trying to accelerate into oncoming traffic. It went up to 60 normally but then faltered and dropped down to 20mph. We went to the side of the road, turned off the car and started it back up and it was fine driving normally then did the same thing again. We drove it to the Subaru dealership and right in front of the dealer we heard a loud bang, tons of smoke, and as soon as we pulled up to Subaru we opened the hood and sure enough there was oil everywhere and a crack in the engine in what appears to be the same area. Extremely scary incidents.

On semi-slick patches of road, the 2016 Forester drivetrain wreaks havoc on the control systems and steering causing the vehicle to violently break right or left requiring hard steering to steer forward. Passengers suffer motion sickness; it is that bad. While other traffic (e. G. , semi-trucks, gravel haulers, 20+ foot trailed vehicles) can pass the Forester with no problem at much higher speeds, the 2016 Forester cannot be driven over 40mph or sever loss of control (e. G. , expressway); much like lug nuts loose on one or more wheels. The 2016 Forester is a death trap even at 40mph because unknown when it will just break to right or left. Put new tires on; same problem (factory spec alignment okay). Took to dealer, and rear wheels were adjusted with irregular alignment to try to keep vehicle from tracking in a fashion to try to prevent the problem. A little better with irregular alignment but now 5% to 10% loss mpg and greater tire wear. I still do not trust the vehicle. Just a terrible ride. Even on dry roads, I thought it was the wind; but no wind; just dangerous and unacceptable engineering between steering-drivetrain-wheels-vehicle systems. I have paid over $700 on this problem plus loss of mpg. Looking to trade in but I am not comfortable passing along a death trap to someone else; so I am stuck with a $33,000 piece of junk.

Safety concern regarding manual transmission coming out of gear while engine braking. This has happened on flat roads and while descending hills, and while in first or seconds gear. Issue easily duplicated when in first gear at low speed (between 1,500 and 3,000 rpm) going downhill with foot off gas pedal. As the vehicle descends the hill, the gear lever begins moving and eventually pops into neutral. Issue was reported to dealership at approximately 10,000 miles, but they were unable to reproduce. During regular maintenance at 30,000 miles, the issue was brought up again. Went for a drive with the master technician and duplicated the problem multiple times. Dealership inspected shift cables, bushings on cables, cable adjustment, engine mounts and transmission mounts and deemed them all in good condition. Dealership contacted Subaru technical services which stated that the vehicle coming out of gear is the car "operating as designed" and that it is "normal condition for cable shifted split case 6-speed transmission". Dealership also verified that the issue occurs on another vehicle with the same transmission and shifter. No repair or further investigation was advised.

On five different occurrences while the cruise control was on and we were driving at around 70 miles an hour on an interstate, our car would electronically put itself in neutral, the automatic gear shifter would physically remain in drive, the rpm's would go up to about 5500 rpms, because the car was slowing down and the cruise control was on. We would pull over to the side of the interstate and the engine will shut off after about 30 seconds. Three of the five times, the car would start after sitting for about 15 minutes. The third time the battery died after trying to start it a few times while it was cold out. The fifth time the car left us stranded on the interstate for two hours while we waited for a tow truck. We have notified Subaru every time that the car would do this. On the third time it happened, Subaru had us remove the remote starter we had purchased and installed at best buy. After having best buy remove the remote started, I installed a dashcam behind the driver to record the driver, dashboard and the shifter because Subaru could not find any evidence of this issue happening. The fourth and fifth time happened while we were on a family vacation out of state. The car was left at a dealership out of state and four weeks after the incident they determined it was a faulty fuel pump. I was told on the phone that they were unable to test if the fuel pump they removed was in fact faulty. Subaru told me they had a technician drive it for 500 miles and they didn't experience the same issue. Incidents were at the following mileages - dates: 31190 - may 27th, 2017 34383 - August 27th, 2017 approximately 42300 - February 2nd, 2018 51778 - August 9th, 2018 52129 - August 14th, 2018.

While pulling into a parking lot spot at idle speed, I lightly depressed the accelerator when all of a sudden the vehicle surged forward colliding with the veh parked to my left. My veh jumped the curb with the front end coming to rest on the sidewalk. I have had continuing problems with this sudden surging especially when pulling up a slight incline to enter my garage or starting from a stop. I have brought this to the attenton of Subaru & took it to them for diagnosis only to be told that they cannot replicate the problem & found nothing abnormal in it's operation. Apparently I am not alone in my complaint as I have read in the December 2016 issue of motor trend magazine that they too mention the "jumpy throttle response". I have also read of similar rapid acceleration complaints in your customer complaints section which parallel mine. I have told Subaru that this could result in a serious collision & that I fear that could happen. Even though this collision & resultig damage was minor, I am thankful there was no one walking on the sidewalk that could have been stuck. I am afraid to drive the veh now & don't know what my next step will be. W. A lovold manhattan beach, CA.

Broken transmission due to broken transmission belt at 43,000 miles. I was stopped at a red light, when the light turned green I took my foot off the brake and put my foot on the accelerator. Immediately, there was a huge bang, and my car rocked back and forth. I thought I had been rear ended but there was nobody behind me. My car begin to roll backwards. I tried to get the car to drive by turning the car off and on and utilized other techniques, but I was not able to drive my car. I called for a tow truck and had my car towed to the local naples devoe Subaru dealer. Eight days later, they confirmed my suspicions. My car had a broken transmission at 43,000 miles. This could've ended much differently had I been driving on the highway. I no longer believe my Subaru is a safe vehicle. Subaru has agreed to replace the transmission since the car is still under warranty. Unfortunately, they want to replace it with a remanufactured transmission rather than a new transmission which carries a better warranty. Both Subaru of America and devoe Subaru in naples have been unresponsive, dismissive, disrespectful, and uninterested in fixing my car in a timely, professional manner. I will no longer own a Subaru. 30+ years of owning cars with many of them exceeding 200,000 miles and never have I been in a car that carried the risk of killing me. If my transmission belt had broken while I was driving 75 miles an hour on the highway I might not be here writing this report. Get it together Subaru, not feeling the love!!.

The contact owns 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact stated that she persistently depressed the accelerator pedal until the vehicle responded. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where she was informed that the vehicle was operating as designed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

Tl the contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. While driving various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. Klamath falls Subaru in klamath falls, oregon 97603 was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 7,200.

When making a right or left turn the vehicle will bog down and it will not move. The situation last about 5 seconds and during this time I am unable to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. The happens multiple times per day to none per day. I have brought this to the attention of my service rep and his answer was that this is normal for the transmission in this vehicle. This has been an ongoing issue for about the last 12 months. The last instance was the date selected on the calendar.

While traveling at speeds above 25 mph in mild to moderate winter conditions, the rear end is fishtailing and pushing the front of the vehicle in an unsafe manner. My family and I were nearly thrown into a ditch several times in a 2 mile excursion on the interstate on christmas day. Even at very low speeds, the steering is unresponsive to the force that feels like it is coming from the rear end. The maximum speed at which we could keep the vehicle somewhat under control was around 25-30 mph which caused us to be another type hazard on the interstate. During city driving, this vehicle is unable to maintain single lane presence in mild to moderate winter conditions. Tire pressure was equal on all 4 wheels. Vehicle was within alignment specs. The dealer has acknowledged there is a problem (4 other cars in the same dealership with the same issue) and states that they are unable to make a diagnosis. They have had my car in their possession for 3 weeks as it is unsafe to operate. The Subaru corporate representative has suggested that we "try" several proposed solutions (to a problem which they cannot identify) and continue to drive the vehicle to determine if the problem is fixed. I do not feel safe in this vehicle. It is extremely irresponsible for Subaru to insist that my family and I be used as an experiment in an attempt to figure out why their product put me and my family in grave danger.

I've had the same issue happen on 2 separate occasions (October and November 2016) - while driving the car I bought brand new, and going appx. 75 mph down the interstate, driving approximately 2 hours straight on flat interstate, the rpm's all of a sudden shoot up and it feels like my car falls out of gear. The car essentially shuts down and fails to accelerate and slows down quickly, while totally unresponsive. We have to quickly pull off the road to avoid being hit. Several lights show on the dash (have photo) and the vehicle does not respond to acceleration. We had to shut the car off completely and turn it back on - no response to acceleration or anything. It did not respond until the 2nd time turning it off and back on. Upon bringing to dealership, they have not been able to pull any codes or duplicate the error (either time). They also had a Subaru field engineer look at it and found nothing. I am continuously sent away without a solution other than to "call roadside assistance" if it happens again, which puts myself and others in serious danger. The most recent time they put 300 miles on it and found that it "fell out of cruise control", but aren't offering to fix it and didn't actually duplicate the same error as I had. I'm afraid I'm going to get into a serious car accident and hurt myself or someone else the next time this happens. It feels like Subaru (or dealer) isn't owning up to this problem or possibly trying to cover it up to keep their good safety ratings. The dealership has told me that I'm "the only person in the whole united states reporting this issue", which I find very difficult to believe.