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What 75 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Subaru Impreza

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (75)Crash / fire / injury (7)Electrical system (14)Transmission & drivetrain (13)Airbags (8)Speed control (8)Brakes (6)Steering (5)Visibility & wipers (5)Body & structure (4)Lights (4)Engine (3)

5 of 75 complaints match · Visibility & wipers · clear filters

Apr 23, 2022Visibility & wipers

In June 2020, 3 months after buying my 2016 Impreza used, the windshield randomly cracked from the bottom of the windshield and travelled upwards on the passenger side. Over the couple of weeks it took before getting replaced, the crack continued to spread splitting in multiple directions, including travelling across the bottom of the windshield and coming up the middle. By the time I was able to get the windshield replaced, there was about 3 and half feet cracked in total. When this crack occurred, I realized that it was a PGW windshield and not the original, meaning that it had been replaced before my purchase. The windshield was replaced with a XYG windshield by a third party and paid for by Subaru. Now in April 2022, I went to get into my car one morning and noticed that the windshield had spontaneously cracked from the bottom up in the middle of the windshield and the crack stretches about 10 inches. Additionally, the crack can only be felt from the inside and there is no damage to the outside. Based on me now needing to replace it for at least the third time since 2016, I question the quality of how the windshield fits and the seal if this is such a frequent issue.

NHTSA ODI 11461901

Sep 4, 2021Visibility & wipers

Windshield spontaneously cracked. Additionally, windshield wiper reservoir leaks but dealer says it’s fine.

NHTSA ODI 11431751

Oct 13, 2019Visibility & wipers

GOING A VERY LOW RATE OF SPEED A SMALL ROCK WAS ABLE TO CRACK MY WINDSHIELD. I WAS MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY WITH A WORK VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. THE WINDSHIELD APPEARS TO BE VERY WEAK AND BRITTLE. I HAVE NOT EVEN HAD MY FORESTER FOR A YEAR AND IT SEEMS AS IF DINKS AND CRACKS APPEAR VERY EASILY. I HAD SAFELITE COME TO FILL IN THE CRACK AND ONLY 80% WAS ABLE TO BE CORRECTED.. ON A CRACK SMALLER THAN A SAND DOLLAR. THINGS CONSTANTLY SEEM TO BE HEADED TOWARDS THE WINDSHIELD. I DON'T KNOW WHO TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH, I FEAR SUBARU WOULDN'T CARE ABOUT WHAT SEEMS LIKE A MINOR COMPLAINT. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF GETTING INTO A ACCIDENT AND MY WINDSHIELD RAINING OVER ME. OR A SMALL OBJECT BLOWING THROUGH MY WINDSHIELD.

NHTSA ODI 11268130

Feb 26, 2019LightsVisibility & wipers

2016 SUBARU IMPREZA. CONSUMER WRITES WITH CONCERN FOR VERY DIM HEADLIGHTS AND EASILY SCRATCHED/SOFT WINDOW SHIELD. *AS *TR

NHTSA ODI 11175630

Nov 1, 2016Visibility & wipers

TWICE WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY, I BLACKED OUT. FIRST TIME, RAN OFF EDGE OF ROAD; SECOND TIME, RAN OVER INTO ON-COMING LANE. TWICE, I HAD MAJOR ALLERGIC SYMPTOMS. FIRST, RIGHT AFTER BUYING CAR; SECOND, SIX MONTHS LATER. TWICE, I GREW BREATHLESS AFTER DRIVING CAR FOR SEVERAL HOURS. ONCE, I COULD NOT KEEP MY BALANCE AFTER DRIVING CAR ON A HIGHWAY. ALL OF THESE EPISODES OCCURRED AFTER LONGER THAN USUAL DRIVES. NORMALLY, I DRIVE SHORT DISTANCES AROUND TOWN. TWICE, AN OPAQUE FILM FORMED ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE FRONT WINDSHIELD, OBSCURING VISIBILITY - ONCE ON A DARK HIGHWAY; ONCE ON ENTERING A GARAGE. WIPERS, WASHER FLUID, RAIN DID NOT AFFECT THE FILM. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10920499

Working with the data? Download all 75 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 12, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Subaru Impreza verdict →