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Light NHTSA footprint — 34 owner complaints and 1 active recall campaign. Either a clean record or thin data; we'll show what's there.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Buyable on the data — keep up the usual maintenance and inspect normally.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
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.
2016 WRX drains its battery while the vehicle is turned off. After 3 days of being outside in 20-40 degree Fahrenheit weather, the battery was completely flat and would not start. This has happened 2 winters in a row now.
There is a clunking noise coming from the steering wheel when moving left to right while the car is stop. It also makes a clunk noise while going over small bumps. The dealer replaced the struts, but the problem continues. I'm afraid the steering wheel gets loose while driving…
I started having problems with the clutch/transmission in my 2016 wrx at 580 miles. I was exiting a highway and pulled the transmission out of 6th. As I was about to shift into 3rd to go through the intersection I was unable to shift into any gear (stuck in neutral) with the…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
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.
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 34 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2016 Subaru WRX is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
On the NHTSA data, the 2016 Subaru WRX does not need avoiding. Buyable on the data — keep up the usual maintenance and inspect normally. The record behind that call: No systemic severe-failure pattern in the complaint record; Reliability score 8.2/10 — above the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is electrical, with 10 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 44,300 miles. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop.
The electrical is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 44,300 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 34 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $850, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.