2016 Subaru Wrx problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (8) · Engine (7) · Power Train (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Subaru Wrx model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Exterior Lighting:back Up Lights:switch 2022-07-21 · campaign 22V522000 · 59,934 vehicles
Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2021 WRX vehicles. The backup light switch may corrode and become inoperative, which can result in the backup lights not illuminating and the rearview camera image not displaying when the vehicle is in reverse.
Risk: Inoperative backup lights and an inoperative rearview camera can reduce vehicle visibility and driver awareness, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the backup light switch, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE-22.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/Supercharger 2016-03-21 · campaign 16V162000 · 18,187 vehicles
Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 WRX vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 21, 2015, and Forester 2.0XT vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 20, 2015. The turbocharger air intake duct may crack and possibly result in an engine stall.
Risk: An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the turbocharger air intake duct, and replace it as necessary, free of charge, depending on the lot number found on the duct. The recall began April 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTA-62.
Forward Collision Avoidance: Crash Imminent Braking 2015-06-12 · campaign 15V366000 · 71,710 vehicles
Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015 Legacy vehicles manufactured March 10, 2014, to April 16, 2015, Outback vehicles manufactured February 24, 2014, to April 16, 2015, Impreza vehicles manufactured September 9, 2014, to April 14, 2015, XV Crosstrek vehicles manufactured October 16, 2014, to April 15, 2015, and 2016 WRX vehicles manufactured March 23, 2015, and equipped with the Eyesight Driver Assist System. If the switch that activates the brake lights fails,
Risk: If the automatic pre-collision braking system does not function as intended, the vehicle will not react to an obstacle in its path, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the driver assist system, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQS-54.
Service bulletins (406)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-05 · SubaruNet Announcement (M · Other
this announcement provides information on a new software update for the midtronics dss and dca machines.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-18 · 13-109-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides paint code information for 2027 model year vehicles.
Electrical System 2026-09-18 · 18-244-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
"this bulletin announces additional troubleshooting steps for the following dtcs: dtc c1956: rh actuator circuit dtc c1957: lh actuator circuit"
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-15 · SubaruNet Announcement (C · Other
this announcement provides an update to all 2027 model year subaru warranty coverages for wear items and adjustments.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-14 · 15-333-25R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure. this is an revised version of the original bulletin.
Electrical System 2026-09-14 · 15-304-22R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but essential information during diagnosis of infotainment concerns. this is an revised version of the original bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 406 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-08-27 · Electrical System · 🔥 fire“the seconary air injection pump stayed on for days. burnt a hole in the side, relay possibly damaged, and now setting off other components and computers.…”
2024-03-01 · Unknown Or Other“driving and a loud explosion, sound, like a gunshot then a ton of pinging. the sunroof exploded and glass flew down my car and chipped a bunch of paint. …”
2023-05-10 · Power Train“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 …”
2023-04-10 · Unknown Or Other“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 t…”
2023-02-22 · Electrical System“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/…”
2022-12-30 · Electrical System“recurring battery drain, which has happened before. subaru dealer replaced the battery for the same reason less than 2 years ago. now it needs it again. car is inoperable as is.…”
2022-11-02 · Engine“started having issue with the engine making loud rattle noises and oil pressure was not consistent. upon further investigating i removed the oil pan and removed the oil pickup. the oil pickup screen was full of rtv sealant causing the oil pickup to struggle with maintaining proper oil pressure and flow to the engine. i ended up having to change my …”
2022-07-22 · Steering“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 stuc…”
2022-02-09 · Vehicle Speed Control“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. …”
2022-01-21 · Electrical System“several batteries that have died prematurely, last one only 2 months since last use. vehicle has refused to start on several occasions, despite the battery being okay. suspect issues with controller area network.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.