AutoUtility currently tracks 75 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Subaru Impreza. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 14 complaints (18.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 7 filings cite a crash, 2 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 75 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (14 reports • 18.7% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (13), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 7 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 2 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Subaru Impreza
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Air Bags & Restraints
Brakes & Traction Control
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V149000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Subaru Impreza
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"I contacted Subaru in Mentor Oh at adventure subaru under TSB 19V065000 and was told to take it in to get looked at, my issue when I purchased the car at 67k miles i found that the car had a loud clunky sound while steering and going over bumps. After seeing the dealer and the stated the issue was..."
"Hello, I just purchase this vehicle from a dealership, 615 auto sales. After purchasing the vehicle I decided to go and get the recall done that was never done to the vehicle at the repair shop they did the recall but then ask me where did I purchase this vehicle from then I told them. The repair..."
"While driving a multi lane road with traffic going same direction in front of me, if one or more cars begin to slow for a left or right turn, the auto braking feature begins to slow and will try to stop my car. Problem is that the car in front of me turning isn't in my lane. I have a clear lane..."
"The hood latch system failed and flew open while driving on the highway smashing the windshield. I was unable to see driving, glass shattered everywhere. The car was serviced three weeks prior and there was no notation of an issue with the hood latch. The hood would not latch after the incident..."
"The seat foam has degraded and exposed the metal frame through the seat cover on the driver side front seat. It is not safe to drive with a metal frame being exposed. A service bulletin (12-232-18 dated 2/6/2018) indicates there is an issue with the seat construction that can lead to this..."
Complaint History for Subaru Impreza
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Subaru Impreza | 79 | 5 | 2 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Subaru Impreza Current Page | 75 | 7 | 1 | Current |
| 2017 Subaru Impreza | 125 | 10 | 7 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Subaru Impreza | 149 | 5 | 5 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Subaru Impreza | 193 | 6 | 5 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Subaru Impreza | 85 | 2 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Subaru Impreza | 14 | 1 | 2 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Subaru Impreza | 12 | 0 | 1 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Subaru Impreza | 4 | 0 | 2 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Subaru Impreza | 30 | 1 | 2 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Subaru Impreza | 5 | 1 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Subaru Impreza | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Subaru Impreza
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 36 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEATS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.