Problems · NHTSA complaints

2016 Subaru WRX problems

Owners filed 34 complaints about the 2016 Subaru WRX with NHTSA between Dec 2015 and Aug 2024. The most-cited component is electrical system (10).

Complaints
34
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Electrical system10
  2. Engine9
  3. Power train4
  4. Fuel/propulsion system2
  5. Steering2
  6. Service brakes2
  7. Exterior lighting2
  8. Electronic stability control (esc)2
  9. Vehicle speed control1
  10. Tires1
  11. Equipment1
  12. Tether, lower anchor (on car seat or vehicle)1
  13. I suspect the car seat is counterfeit1
  14. Visibility1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20151
20166
20171
20187
20193
20201
20213
20227
20233
20242

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Electrical system

10 reports1 fire
“I have faulty rear lights and a faulty rear view camera. According to MotorSafety.org there is currently a recall for this exact issue for WRX’s from 2015-2021. https://www.motorsafety.org/subaru-recalls-wrx-cars-over-faulty-rear-lights-rearview-camera-issue/”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 22, 2023Electrical systemODI 11508644

Engine

9 reports1 crash1 fire
“I PURCHASED A 2016 SUBARU WRX (PREMIUM) USED FROM A SUBARU DEALER IN ALBANY, NY WITH UNDER 26K MILES FOR APPROXIMATELY $25K IN 2018. ON A DRIVE IN DECEMBER 2022 I EXPERIENCED HESITATION AND/OR STUTTERING UNDER LOAD OR WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE, AND CAR BEGAN GETTING VERY HOT, AND CLOSE TO OVERHEATING, AND THE ENGINE WAS KNOCKING LOUDLY. AFTER TURNING ENGINE OFF AND THEN RESTARTING, THE KNOCKING (INTENSITY) WAS NOT AS NOTICEABLE AS THE INITIAL INCIDENT. INITIALLY I REPLACED ALL COIL OVER PLUGS, AS CYLINDER #4 INITIALLY WAS REPORTING A MISFIRE CODE AFTER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THIS APPEARED TO RELIEVE THE MISFIRE BRIEFLY, BUT THE ISSUE IMMEDIATELY RETURNED, THIS TIME WITH PISTON #3 REPORTING MISFIRES AND ALSO EXHIBITING SIGNS OF A POSSIBLE FAILED RINGLAND, WITH OIL SEEPING PAST RINGS (ON TO / IN SPARK PLUG) CAUSING THE ENGINE TO RUN VERY POORLY. PRESENTLY UPON STARTUP WHITE SMOKE COMES FROM EXHAUST OUT THE TAILPIPE AND THE ENGINE IS HESITATING AND/OR MISSING, RUNNING POORLY AND I FEEL IT CANNOT BE DRIVEN SAFELY WITH THE DIMINISHED PERMORMANCE OR COMPLETE LACK OF ABILITY TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY LIKE A MOTOR VEHICLE SHOULD. I HAVE ENGAGED A MECHANIC TO…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 10, 2023Unknown or other, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11516402

Power train

4 reports
“While driving, the clutch became stiff and unusable. Ultimately the car could not be shifted resulting in using a lower gear than normal to limp the car to safety. The car had to be towed to a mechanic. During the repair the mechanic identified that the cause of the failure was the clutch fork pivot ball punched through the stamped steel clutch fork. Looking online this seems to be a common failure since aftermarket re-designed parts are offered. I feel this is a manufacturer defect which resulted in the clutch failure and a 2500.00 repair. This car is only 7 years old with 67K miles on it. The clutch fork should not have failed catastrophically at this point in the car's life.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 10, 2023Power trainODI 11521395

Fuel/propulsion system

2 reports
“RECALL CLUTCH CHANGE BRAKES ELECTRICAL AND EMISSIONS SEEM TO BE FAILING TUCSON, AZ SUBARU PALM SPRINGS ,CA SUBARU IN MOTION SYSTEMS SYSTEMS FAILURE”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 26, 2019Electrical system, Electronic stability control (esc), Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11210068

Steering

2 reports
“My power steering one day lost all fluid out of no where. I have this awful sound and go buy new power steering fluid. It’s continuing to leak. I joined a Subaru Wrx/STi group on Facebook and found that this is a reoccurring problem for many Subaru sti owners around the year I have. It sounds faulty and defective and sucks that the customer is stuck paying for these issues instead of Subaru fixing their reoccurring issue with many customers. I baby my car to the highest extent and the power steering should not have just gone out after I parked in my drive way. There is a massive stain now due to the leakage, which is fine. But it’s inconvenient knowing I’ll have to fork up hundreds to over a thousand to get this properly fixed instead of a DIY where it has to do with such an important compartment of the car.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 22, 2022SteeringODI 11475251

Service brakes

2 reports
“ABS, cruise control, and other driving assistance features are disabled while driving at night. I checked for recalls on Subaru WRXs and noticed a recall was issued for the same problems on 2011-2015 models. My vehicle is a 2016 model and demonstrates all the same failures observed from the recall of the 2011-2015 models.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 9, 2022Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Service brakesODI 11451282
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.