Five problems related to ignition switch have been reported for the 2016 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2016 Subaru Outback based on all problems reported for the 2016 Outback.
Key gets stuck on ignition switch when I turn car off and put it in park. Key will not release from the steering column. It takes several minutes, some times up to 20 minutes for the key to release from the column. Vehicle needs to be started and turned off several times before key releases. This has been happening for a few weeks now, very frustrating and dangerous as having to start and stop the vehicle has drained the battery twice now and I have had to get the vehicle jump started. Hopefully this does not happen in the middle of no where. . . . .
Key will not release from ignition switch when parked after driving. Requires multiple shifting from park to drive and back to park before key will release. Frequency of occurrence is now every other day. Vehicle has 48,500 miles on it currently.
I am not able to remove the key from the ignition switch when the vehicle is in park. The vehicle is stationary yet when traveling I need to leave the key in the ignition, restart the car stressing my ignition system, or move slightly in reverse and back to park to remove the key. Each time is different, sometimes I can remove the key, sometimes I cannot.
Subaru service department bertera Subaru of hartford stating ignition switch plate needs replacement $650 job multiple occurrences with other vehicles of same model year.
I was unable to remove the key from the ignition switch with the car stopped and the car was in "park" position. The car remained in the "accessory" ignition position (electrical accessories remained on) because the key would not go to the ignition lock position. I was therefore unable to lock the car steering or leave the vehicle unattended unless I had a separate set of keys with me. Even with another set of keys, the car's electrical system remained on and the car would easily be stolen or driven by an unauthorized user. I took the car to a Subaru dealer and they repaired the car under warranty after a few days waiting for replacement parts. The dealer told me this is a known defect with Subaru of America.