Vehicle Data Hub

2016 Subaru Forester electrical system problems

94 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2016 Subaru Forester, which is 15% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
94 15% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
40,000 miles 37 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
4 and 1
Injuries and deaths
0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 2016 Subaru Forester Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 40,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 8 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 11 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 14 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 1 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 0 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 1 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 1 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 40,000 miles
Based on 37 complaints that include mileage. 89% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles8
20k to 40k miles11
40k to 60k miles14
60k to 80k miles1
80k to 100k miles0
100k to 120k miles1
120k to 140k miles1
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 37 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 40,000 miles, and 89% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 4 crashes, 1 fire.

What owners wrote

Tl* the contact owned a 2016 subaru forester. The contact stated that the vehicle had been parked for approximately 5 minutes before the neighbor noticed flames coming from under the hood of the vehicle. Moments later, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The nearby motor home and house also caught on fire and were destroyed along with the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not determined. The fire department was called to the scene to extinguish the flames. The cause of the failure was not determined.

Reported at 45,000 miles, May 2018 Fire

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the battery had drained and was replaced by an independent mechanic. A few months later, the vehicle received an oil change by a dealer. After leaving the dealer, the vehicle failed to startup while in a parking lot. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drove back to the dealer. The contact was informed that the battery was defective, and the battery was replaced a second time.

Reported at 108,000 miles, April 2023

Other problems reported for the 2016 Subaru Forester

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Subaru models