2016 SUBARU IMPREZA Complaints

Transmission failure while at high speed on an interstate highway resulted in disengagement, immediate deceleration and limited steerage in an area with limited breakdown lane. Subaru reports this is a known issue for which they extended warranty but it is incomplete and does not include any safety check prior to failure!

I was driving on the highway when I experienced a sudden jerking and my car stopped accelerating while going about 67 miles an hour and came to a stop on the highway. It was dark outside and I was left in the road without the ability to turn my car back on. I towed the car to the dealership, and they couldn't diagnose a problem. The same thing happened two weeks later and they told me that because the car was less than a quarter-tank both times, that I shouldn't drive my car with less than a quarter tank of gas or I'd be at risk of this happening again. Being on the highway with cars rushing past in the dark several times put my safety at risk and the safety of other drivers. I later experienced knocking/jerking around 10 miles an hour, that led to a suspected problem with the transmission. The car would also hesitate accelerating when stopped, and would experience the same jerking motion with a thud at the same time. I brought the car in again, and they couldn't diagnose the problem, but recommended a service that may fix the issue. I experienced the same issue so I brought the car back in. They replicated the issue and did work under warranty to replace the torque converter. I experienced the same problem and brought the car back in, but they can't diagnose the issue now. I believe my car transmission is still faulty and puts me at risk of stalling while driving at highway speeds, which could very easily put me and others at risk. I had to bring my car in several times for them to acknowledge a problem, and have been put into the same car which i believe is unsafe each time. When the car stalled on the highway there were blinking warning lights, but there was no diagnosis at the dealership. The car is currently at the dealership and they want me to drive it for them to show them the problem again with jerking/knocking. I'm getting all my invoices together to have more documentation, and will have more by the end of the day.

I bought my 2016 Subaru Impreza brand new and take great care of it. The car has 80,300 miles and when I did a sharp U turn the car stalled out and I was almost rear-ended. At a busy intersection a few weeks I was at a red light and my car was noticeably idling rough and when the light went green my car stalled out causing the road to be blocked. After taking my car to a certified mechanic I find out that the head gasket has already failed and has coolant leaking into it. It aslo showed a PO302 code. Subaru years before stated that this problem had been fixed when it clearly has not been. I purchased this car because it was suppose to be reliable and now I owe $5,500 to have my car repaired and hopefully run well & safe.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while the operating the vehicle, the front driver’s side floor mat detached and slid underneath the brake pedal and accelerator pedal. The contact stated that one of the pegs used to secure the floor mat fractured, allowing the floor mat to become unsecured. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 35,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH and while attempting to avoid a collision with a second vehicle, the contact lost control of the steering and crashed into a tree. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle was damaged but no air bags were deployed. The contact sustained facial and dental injuries along with injuries to the left knee, left arm, and chest which required medical treatment. The vehicle was not towed. A police report was taken at the scene. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not yet notified. The failure mileage was 46,000.

Intermittently unable to remove the keys from ignition after placing the car into Park and shutting off the engine. (Instances where keys remain stuck/locked in the ignition requiring someone to 'muscle' them out of there). I believe this is linked to a faulty sensor not allowing the keys to be released. Second complaint: The headset unit on the car, (starlink), has a touchscreen that no longer responds to touch and I believe is slowly draining the battery from the car. Subaru is unwilling to service the vehicle for either problem without a service fee.

The key will not come out of the ignition when the engine has stopped. It has to be restarted (often multiple times) before the key will come out. Does not happen every time but is frequent. This could lead people to leave the key in place if they are in a hurry and result in the possibility of theft. Roommate has 2017 Outback that does the same thing and was told that it could be fixed but the cost would be approx $1300.There are no warning lights on when this happens and there is nothing that indicates whether or not it will happen.

In June 2020, 3 months after buying my 2016 Impreza used, the windshield randomly cracked from the bottom of the windshield and travelled upwards on the passenger side. Over the couple of weeks it took before getting replaced, the crack continued to spread splitting in multiple directions, including travelling across the bottom of the windshield and coming up the middle. By the time I was able to get the windshield replaced, there was about 3 and half feet cracked in total. When this crack occurred, I realized that it was a PGW windshield and not the original, meaning that it had been replaced before my purchase. The windshield was replaced with a XYG windshield by a third party and paid for by Subaru. Now in April 2022, I went to get into my car one morning and noticed that the windshield had spontaneously cracked from the bottom up in the middle of the windshield and the crack stretches about 10 inches. Additionally, the crack can only be felt from the inside and there is no damage to the outside. Based on me now needing to replace it for at least the third time since 2016, I question the quality of how the windshield fits and the seal if this is such a frequent issue.

In November of 2018 and again January 31, 2022. In November 2018, I was backing up in small parking lot tap the gas pedal. and my car speed up going backwards, even when I was pushing the brake. What stopped the momentum was another car, my car crashed into caused extensive damage to that car( it was totaled) . The second time; I turned the wheels to back-in as I had a several times into my driveway. The car was to far over, but because I was not centered enough in the driveway, I moved forward to realign myself. The car seemed to hesitate as I moved forward, before putting it in reverse. I Put the car in reverse, lightly hit gas the car seem to take off as if it was a rocket backing up into driveway and went through the back wall of my garage ( because there was so much snow it came to a stop). My daughter was observed on the ring camera. I have been very sensitive to making sure since first time to be more aware. It is significant to note prior to this occurrence my car did this in smaller spurts ,( but did not think anything of it , I took my car in for all of the checks) but I was able to control it by putting foot on brake, It's like this time the engine revved up on its own. This time the car was totaled. ( The back window shattered. A lot of damage underneath the car. I will not be buying another Subaru. It was my dream car:(. I was very traumatized.)I was diligent with the maintenance of the car. I informed my insurance company.

Recently, when trying to park and turn off the vehicle, the key gets stuck in the battery position. The engine will turn off, but the car doesn't fully turn off so you can remove the key. The shifter is in park and there is no steering wheel lock or anything else that might ordinarily prevent the vehicle from being turned off. This process is no different from every other time I've turned the vehicle off previously. To finally retrieve the key, the car needs to be restarted numerous times (often 1-3 more times) while trying a combination of moving the steering wheel, putting the shifter into drive and back into park, and/or releasing the brake pedal and reapplying it firmly. My car is only lightly used and judging by internet research, this is a common issue with Subaru vehicles around this age due to a faulty part, not normal wear and tear.