Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Subaru Forester owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
October 31, 2023 at approximately 11:45 am was slowly pulling in to HEB Curbside parking spot #[redacted] at 651 N U.S. 183 in Leander, Texas and the car accelerated at a high speed without touching the gas pedal. I responded with braking but it did not stop the crash in to the concrete pylon. The pylon is fine but my front end on the 2016 Subaru Forester is not. It will need extensive repair. I got a ride for myself and my groceries, notified my insurance company but unfortunately, I am only covered by liability insurance. I am very fortunate that no-one was hurt including myself. The car remains at the scene of the accident in parking slot [redacted]. I am aware that this is not an isolated incident for this Make, Model, and Year of this vehicle.
I arrived at work. I was placing my car in park with foot on the brake. The car took off and the brakes took time to stop the car. I tried to stop the car as we hit a fence and was headed through it it and into a pond. Pumping the brakes throwing car in reverse stopped us from ending up in the pond. Major car damage incurred. Thank goodness noone was seriously hurt. The car just accelerated with my foot on the brake and with me attemtping to put it in park.
The accident with my 2016 Subaru Forester happened on 07-07-2022. It happened in daylight on our farm. I was the only person in the car and was wearing my seatbelt. I had slowly pulled into a parking spot, had my foot on the brake and had essentially stopped at the 6x6 piece of lumber that was marking the spot. As I was stopping the car accelerated out of control and sped down a very narrow path on a hill diagonally to the right of the parking spot. I struggled to control the car as I sped down the hill toward the gravel driveway. I was able to avoid hitting a large spruce tree and avoid turning over in the deep ditch on the hill. I was going so fast, I ran over a sapling and ran into a large apple tree, tipping it over, damaging my right front passenger side, pushing the wheel back into the wheel well. My brakes were not responding. …
While driving on highway using cruise control at 70 mph my car suddenly stalled .... I was able to get to apron of road , but my steering locked and I had no brakes.. I could put car into neutral but had to "jam" it into park , trying to get it to stop rolling . It would not restart . I had it towed to an auto repair center as there was no Subaru dealer in the area. Because I had kept trying to restart it , my battery was dead . They recharged my battery and the car then started . I took it to a Subaru dealer where I was told they could find nothing wrong .... Except I needed a new battery . This was NOT the reason that my car suddeney lost power ! It had happen once before while on the highway but I was able to restart it at that time . This could have caused a serious accident and I worry that it will happen again. I warning was indicated prior to episode . …
My 2016 Subaru Forester is having acceleration and possibly fuel propulsion issues. It stays in low gear, high RPM when accelerating. This happened after a Yellowstone week long road trip from San Leandro, CA. The MPG has dropped from 24mpg to 12mpg and has been at Hayward Subaru since 8/15/2023. They have not provided a known issue. Still trying to figure out what is wrong. There was a low oil warning light on the way home and we stopped for an oil change in West Sacramento within 15 miles of the light coming on. The issue has been happening since the oil change. Only oil change and air filter replacement done on 8/8/2023. Thought maybe its a fuel injector issue. Still at dealership. We did fill the fuel tank with 85 octane in Elko, NV once.
As I said earlier: car stopped dead in the middle of I-94, going 70 mph. No reason--had 1/4 tank of gasoline, alternator working, etc. Come to find out that you all recalled 2018 Subaru Foresters for this EXACT same problem--cars stalling while driving. That was for a faulty fuel pump. Discussion boards by owners are FULL of the same exact problem from 2014-2019. You should issue a recall there too, IMHO, since obviously the 2018 are the tip of the iceberg!
This 2016 Subaru Forester PCV Valve does not regulate the combustion system properly, this allows oil to enter this chamber. It causes loss of power and acceleration when driving. Hazardous driving conditions can cause accidents. crankcase ventilation issues engine oil system issues
Vehicle self-accelerated abruptly while parked and crashed into another vehicle causing damage to both vehicles
2016 Subaru Forester xt with 57000 miles. The CEL came on during a 5 minute drive and started to stall. After stopping and starting the car, the engine continuously sputtered. CEL came on, stability control disabled, traction control disabled, cruise control disabled. To keep the car from dying, driver had to rev engine. Driver took it to the dealership because the car was unsafe to drive (stalled in the middle of intersections). CEL was reset after dealership changed the o2 sensor. Car ran fine for 50 miles. CEL came on, stability control, traction control and cruise control were all disabled. Car would skid on wet surfaces. Car would stall. Car would lag on the throttle response and then accelerate at a very high-rate, resulting in near miss accidents. Returned to the dealership. Brake-light sensor was replaced first and CEL reset. …
This car will suddenly lose power when underway without any warning or predictability. Extremely dangerous if entering traffic or even when moving on congested roads. No ability to accelerate at all, the car just dies without warning. The problem is intermittent and has happened months and even years apart. All attempts by the Subaru service team have failed to replicate the problem and fixing guesses at to what might be wrong have failed. I am the second owner and have come to find that the first owner returned this as a lemon for the same problem. Now Subaru of America is refusing to acknowledge there is a problem and won't agree to take the car back and get it off the road permanently before someone dies or gets killed as a result of this issue. …
Fuel System complaints in other Forester years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2016 Subaru Forester?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2016 Subaru Forester, 6% of the model year's 415 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2016 Subaru Forester fuel system problems?
No. NHTSA lists no fuel & propulsion system recall for the 2016 Subaru Forester, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2016 Subaru Forester fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 46,000 miles, and 14% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to fuel & propulsion system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.