general problems of the 2016 Subaru Outback - part 1

Steering wheel controls frequently fail to work properly on the cruise control system specially the speed control. Also the exhaust system bellow has cracked. The moonroof leaks into the cabin and floor area of the passenger side. Also leaking into the a pillar on the passenger side. I only have a picture of the engine valve cover that is leaking and had to be replaced. I have video of the exhaust leak coming from the crack in the bellow pipe. Do not have video of the cruise control speed issues as I can’t take a video while driving.

Catalytic converter is cracked. This is confirmed by an independent service center. Apparently there is a recall for this issue for 2015 and 2016 Subaru Outbacks manufactured up until September 2015. My 2016 Subaru Outback has the same issue and was manufactured in April 2016. The recall should include all 2016 Subaru Outbacks, not just those manufactured in 2015.

I reached under the steering well to the foot well because it seemed that my ac was not putting out any air. I touched something and received a burn on my hand. I reached out to the soa but was told to take it to the dealer. Then they asked me to call back and discuss further. When I called back I was told to take it to the dealer. I'm not sure I want to take it to the dealer to be charged a diagnosis fee. It seems the "kick panel" should cover this hot part to not allow access.

There’s an open recall on an exhaust leak for similar models and years and my car needs the same work done but it’s not covered under the recall.

Horn quit working.

My 2016 Subaru Outback, manufactured 23 business days after the end date of recall wuj-95, has the same exhaust system and now the same exhaust system failure as the cars covered under the recall. My car is available for inspection. This exhaust failure poses a risk of carbon monoxide poisioning. The problem in my car was identified by an independent mechanic who works exclusively on Subarus and has seen this failure in other clients' vehicles. He referred me to Subaru for repairs and recommended I look into why I hadn't received a recall notice. I contacted Subaru, opened a case, then didn't recieve a response in the timeframe they defined. After waiting a few days, I called back to learned my case had been closed. Their customer advocacy representative responded the next week and said my car was not recalled because it was manufactured on 11/3/2015, after the end date of the recall on 9/30/2015. She also cited a lack of service history with a Subaru retailer (I offered to provide records) and being out of warranty by time and miles (I mentioned 2017-18 foresters received warranty extensions to 15 years or 150k miles for this failure. ) I asked what their escalation process is for making exceptions and was told the representative was the only customer-facing person I would be able to speak with about this and she declined to offer any assistance, but did offer a loyalty discount on a new vehicle. My car has not been inspected by anyone else. I'm willing to take it to anyone who should look at it. There were no warning lights or messages related to the issue. It was diagnosed when I took the car in for regular maintenance and it explains the more noticable smell of exhaust in the car, that I had attributed to other traffic, when I'm sitting at stop lights.

The lock on the side of the door that turns on the child lock so kids cannot open the door from the inside is stuck in the lock position and will not disengage.

The catalytic converter on my vehicle has an air leak causing my engine light to come on and almost all features such as cruise control become disabled. There is a recall that was issued in 2020 for the exact same problem my vehicle is having and the recall covers the same year, make and model of my vehicle. I was told that my vehicle isn’t under the recall but the representative was unable to specify why. I am trying to get the part replaced as the vehicle is polluting the air and causing my vehicle to not perform as expected.

Can not take the key out of ignition.

Travelling on I-95 southbound at approx. 70 mph in the right lane at least 8-10 car lengths behind another vehicle in front of me. Clear skies, f, calm weather. I heard a loud, sudden noise followed by wind and what sounded like glass on my roof, thought it was fireworks or a gunshot. Pulled over to make sure my dogs are ok (all good, just spooked!) and see what happened to the car when I observed a large hole and continued cracking noise in the sunroof - glass was pushed outwards/ convex rather than concave as if an object had struck the glass from above or in front of my vehicle. Notified insurance then carefully drove home the remaining 20 or so miles, called dealership and started researching the issue. There are nearly 40 reports of spontaneous sunroof explosions on NHTSA website for Subaru Outbacks. Dealing with Subaru corporate and a local dealership for repairs.

The child lock of right side is stuck its on on position we can't open the door from inside nd now the button is broken.

The 8 month old battery on my 2016 Subaru Outback just died. I understand that the warranty on the dcm was extended by a year, but the dealership said that if it turned out the dcm was not defective, I would have to pay for the test ($185) . The warranty only covers having the battery recharged or replaced. If the dcm is the cause of the battery drain, than the warranty should pay for replacing the dcm, in addition to replacing the battery. Otherwise the problem will continue to reoccur. There should be a recall on the dcm!.

My Subaru key is stuck in ignition. Two to three times a week the key can not be removed from the key switch . The vehicle will shut off, but the key remains.

Exhaust gas smells in the driver cabin and the exhaust shield and the pipe is breaking off.

My key keeps getting stuck in the ignition, and forced me to have to leave the key in the car while I went in to a store, when I got back someone was in my car. I realize that this is a different type of safety issue, but it truly is a safety issue. I am having to leave my key in my car everywhere I do because it doesn't come out,, eventually it will come out randomly but not everytime I shut the car off. This should be a recall issue for Subaru's that have this problem. I have read many complaints about Subaru owners with this issue happpening to them. I am not the only one. Thank you!.

I bought this vehicle used. I was the 2nd owner. I purchased it on the evening of August 18, 2023. On the morning of August 19, 2023, I drove the vehicle for about 45 miles. I reached my destination, got out of the car, and saw what looked like either smoke or dust from under my car. I worried it might be overheating. A bystander told me the car was on fire. I walked forward to see flames coming from the front passenger side below the grill, possibly in the axle. The fire grew aggressively despite attempts to extinguish it. When the fire department arrived within 5 minutes the car was fully engulfed. The damage is so severe that it may be impossible to determine the source and cause of the fire. The dealer and my mechanic performed inspections on the vehicle before I bought it and found everything to be in good working condition.

Key intermittently stuck in ignition. Unable to lock car doors with key stuck in the ignition. Problem started early on occasionally and now happens nearly every other time and requires a few tries up to 10 minutes of trying to get it out. This is a known issue among my model - service bulletin 16-112-18r.

While driving on the highway at about 60mph my 2016 Outback suddenly accelerated much faster. The only way to avoid collision with another car or cars or end up in a ditch was to drive around them. The brake did not work! after a minute or more(?) I eventually was able to stop using the brake.

Right rear door will not open from inside, child door lock will not shift although child lock not engaged. Incase of crash or fire cannot exit vehicle. Confirmed by repair shop. No insurance inspection. No warning lights associated with this visible.

I have a vehicle built in 11/15. I had an issue with cracked pipes associated with the catalytic converter that appear to match an existing nhsta recall for vehicles built between 12/09/2013 – 9/30/2015. It appears that the previous recall was not expansive enough.

The battery is completely unreliable - I have had 3 batteries since I purchased the car in 2015 - repeated recurrent discharge without apparent cause - such as lights left on - parasitic drain it seems in recent research have discovered this is not a new issue and there is a class action lawsuit settlement - I did not exclude myself and somewhat now wish that I had, in order to attempt to get some buy back incentive from Subaru. Beginning in 2019 - and maybe prior though I had not recognized it as a chronic issue then - I have encountered recurrent issues of complete battery discharge after time periods ranging from 5 to 24 hours. Estimate at least 1 to 2 discharges per month requiring cable jump, and many more times when the car was very difficult to start (almost fully discharged) to minimize risk as consumer I have bought a halo bolt - but Subaru should be held accountable to fixing primary cause of this chronic issue for so many of us.

I was in a parking lot at a near-complete stop. I needed to nose the car about 18 inches to move it all the way into the spot. I lightly touched the accelerator to inch the car forward, and it shot forward as if some outside force had stomped on the accelerator. The car jumped the sidewalk and slammed into the wall of the building. The car inner body bent and the car is totaled. The airbags did not inflate. The passenger in the passenger seat sustained a fractured sternum and two broken ribs from going into the seatbelt. The driver sustained a sore neck and dizziness.

Motorized power liftgate is failing (diagnosed by dealer on 7/7/23) apparently because motor is undersized or 2 motors should have instead been used/designed to deal with load. Safety issue if motor failure causes trunk not to open. Newer models have been redesigned.

Summary of electrical system issues: 1. Pertaining to battery draining and 2. Eyesight randomly goes out and other dash board lights flash and later goes away. As well as, 3. Windows that can not completely close at times. Details: I purchased 2016 Subaru Outback - 4 cylinder in 2019 with 64,000 miles. By 2020, the car experienced random dashboard lights indicator flashing that would resolve itself ( flashing light) in a few days. One issue was the eye sight would randomly inactivate while driving and resolve after turning off car for a half day or a day. However it happens often. Dealer car repair shop said it could not duplicate. Besides the dash board lights issues; the passenger front window and moonroof would not go up to completely close at random times. Rendering the windows useless to use. These issues continued on and off from purchase thru to-date. The biggest issue came in 2021 & 2022, when the battery would drain. A jump of the battery seem to resolve the problem. Auto store would jump battery and show cca and CA and alternator output proficient for the battery. On random times the battery would have the same draining issue. I am not convinced it is a battery issue for these incidents. I believe it is related to an electrical issue for all of these issues. Risk: the components installed and advertised by the Subaru brand influenced me to purchase the vehicle over other vehicles because of its safety records and longevity of the vehicle. This is clearly a false and fraudulent marketing. The Subaru has failed to provide my confidence as a consumer of its safety record. I am extremely uncomfortable driving the vehicle more than 30 miles locally because of fear it will breakdown or I will be stranded. Even locally, I have had to purchase a aaa membership at an extra expense to ensure some means of assistance. Recently, within 2 days I have had ti use my membership for a drained battery. I am now seeing many Subaru owners make similar complaints.

I have had two incidents where my battery has died. The first time it happened I had the keys in the ignition, the car was off, while I was talking on my phone. Weird, but I was told not to do that any more. Since than I have made sure the keys were out of the ignition when sitting in the car with the ignition off. We brought a new battery then. The second happened yesterday 10-14-22. I had gone to a business to pick up items. We loaded my car. No keys in the ignition, the car was off. The door and truck were opened for maybe 10 minutes. I get back in the car to start and it’s dead, does not even try to turn over.

I have owned this vehicle since July 2016 and in Sep/oct 2018, Nov 2020, and Sep 2022 I have had to replace my battery. So I have owned my car for just over six years and have replaced my battery three times. My garage states it should last at least 3-5 years per battery.

Known battery drain likely from dcm and also they designed the alternator not to completely charge battery causing frequent dead battery without warning and for no operator error and causing frequent need to replace car batteries over the years. There was a class action lawsuit but no recall for these issues so has not been addressed properly.

The rear passenger side child lock will not disengage. The child lock is engaged when the dog is in the back seat and disengaged otherwise. The lock was engaged once and will not disengage. If adults are riding in the back seat and there is an emergency, they are limited to the driver's side to exit. If the driver's side child lock mechanism fails, they will be forced to rely on someone to open the door from the outside. I feel this is a massive safety concern and could be potentially dangerous.

Windshield is very susceptible to cracking. I had a small stone hit our windshield in spring 2020 that made a huge crack in the windshield and required replacement and re-calibration of eyesight which was quite an expense. Yesterday, I was driving and a very small stone hit the windshield and again the windshield is cracked and will need replacing. I was not behind a truck or any construction vehicle and the stone was very tiny. I have never had a replace a windshield before and now this is twice in less than two years.

I bought this used 2016 Subaru Outback about a year and a half ago from mccords vancouver dealership. I've had the battery dying problem ever since I got it. I have had to call aaa for jump starts. I took the car into my mechanic because the "change warning light" had been on when I turned off the ignition the night before, and it was still blinking the next morning when I came out to start the car. He suggested that I go to costco to get the battery replaced because it was down to only 22% efficient. They declined for several reasons. It wasn't the battery fault, it was the car! I am 92 years old and disabled. I can't get stuck on a freeway with a dead battery. I am still looking for someone to fix it. I bought this car because I assumed that a newer car would be more dependable. Boy was I wrong! I have already spent a lot of money trying to fix it. Jane cox.

Experienced intermittent starting problems, with other odd warning light behaviors, including unable to turn them off to try again. I know another 2016 Outback owner that was given a new battery at no charge. I paid $203. 60 for new battery on 03/02/2022.

2016 Subaru Outback (purchased new) with severe electrical problems in the form of (frequent) battery discharge/non-start. This has been a reoccurring issue since early 2017 and is still a problem, even after replacement of the previous battery. I've had the replacement battery tested on several occasions after recharging and the result has always been that the battery is in good operating order. Subsequent alternator tests show the alternator is charging within manufacturer specifications. I've performed multiple tests after fully recharging the batter on several occasions, making sure all electrical accessories have remained (off) for extended periods of time, and the battery continues to discharge. The electrical system has been tested with a professional scan tool, on multiple occasions, and has yielded no adverse results. There has never been any vehicle warning indicators activate to indicate a problem. Today (2/25/2022) I had to have my Outback jump started 3 times in route to my home 65 miles away. The car died on the road shortly after the first jump, and again after turning the car off to refuel. I looked online to see if anyone else has had similar issues and found the battery discharge/non-start issue to be widespread. . . . And Subaru seems to have been aware of the issue as early as 2017 according to a TSB Subaru sent to all dealers alerting of a potential electrical problem, but providing no solution. This is a safety issue. If access to an operable car were ever needed in an emergency situation (or) a vehicle lost power while in operation causing an accident resulting in injury or death due to a documented issue Subaru was aware of, but neglected to address, would be tragic. Not only for owners of the affected automobiles, but also any other parties involved. This issue should be immediately investigated & addressed by the NHTSA. Thank you.

The child lock in the back passenger door is stuck .

My car spontaneously burst into flames after I parked it. I had left the car parked and locked in a parking lot next to a rental house and went in to prepare dinner. 20 minutes later my friends arrived at the scene and alerted us to the fact that my car was engulfed in flames. It seems that the fire originated in the engine somehow, but exactly what started it is unclear. There was no accident or collision, and no foul play. Security cameras in the area couldn't see much, but indicate that the vehicle burst into flames pretty much just after I had left it parked and locked.

Multiple instances of the battery dying after being parked for a few days. New battery did not resolve the problem and diagnostics indicate that the battery is not the problem. Unable to use vehicle when it cannot be started. Most recent incident was 1/18/2022. First occurred shortly after I purchased the vehicle.