NHTSA Safety Recalls
2016 Subaru Forester Recalls
The 2016 Subaru Forester has 3 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on October 3, 2019.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2016 Subaru Forester. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 3
- Owner complaints
- 416
- Crashes reported
- 40
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
3 fires
overall, 5 stars max
On a 2016 Subaru Forester, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
3 recalls on the 2016 Subaru Forester
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- Campaign
- 19V701000
- Reported
- October 3, 2019
- Vehicles affected
- up to 366,282
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2015, 2017–2018 Forester
Exterior lighting: brake lights: switch
- Campaign
- 19V149000
- Reported
- February 28, 2019
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,303,530
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2014–2015 Forester, 3 other models
Engine and engine cooling: engine: gasoline: turbo/supercharger
- Campaign
- 16V162000
- Reported
- March 21, 2016
- Vehicles affected
- up to 18,187
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2015 Forester, 1 other model
2016 Subaru Forester complaints by year
NHTSA has received 416 owner complaints about the 2016 Subaru Forester, the newest on October 22, 2026. Of these, 40 describe a crash (10%) and 3 a fire; owners reported 17 injuries.
In complaints about the 2016 Subaru Forester, the component group named most often is the air bags (24%), followed by the electrical system (22%) and the engine (14%).
1 of the 2016 Subaru Forester's 3 recalls also concerns the air bags.
Where 2016 Subaru Forester owners gave the mileage (218 complaints), the median was 39,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Air Bags100
- Electrical System93
- Unknown Or Other69
- Engine60
- Power Train51
- Vehicle Speed Control37
Complaints received, by year
| 2015 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 30 | |
| 2017 | 19 | |
| 2018 | 36 | |
| 2019 | 80 | |
| 2020 | 63 | |
| 2021 | 36 | |
| 2022 | 40 | |
| 2023 | 39 | |
| 2024 | 29 | |
| 2025 | 20 | |
| 2026 | 20 |
Complaints about the 2016 Subaru Forester peaked in 2019, when NHTSA received 80. 41% arrived between 2015 and 2019, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2016 vehicles, the 2016 Subaru Forester drew 2.4× the complaints of the median Subaru Forester year in the same window: 7th highest of the 23 ranked years.
That makes 2016 one of the Subaru Forester years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: ★★★★★
- Frontal: 4/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 4/5
The 416 complaints about the 2016 Subaru Forester are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Subaru Forester by model year
Other 2016 Subaru models
Newest record on this page: October 22, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted