There are 5 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2016 Subaru Imprezain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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 shop told me the grim news that the car was very rusted and should have not been sold like it was. There was nothing on the CARFAX about anything else and the shop told me that the car was a safety hazard. When I purchase the vehicle AS IS all I have seen was a TPM light on and a recall and getting some tires they were also bad but did not have any knowledge of how bad the frame was even there were rust in the engine bay area like it been sitting in water or something but nothing was reported on the CARFAX.
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 from the steer rack and was exactly what was described exactly in the TSB but the only thing was they did not see a visible crack, the repair was denied. I then took the car to another dealer near Beavercreek oh after calling Subaru of America Case # [XXX]. Subaru of America was very certain that the repair was going to get performed. After going to the dealer it was yet again denied again, now it is outside the TSB warranty window. The car has had the entire suspension repaired and the noise is so bad and the steering doesn’t feel right. The car literally is unsafe to drive, i owe money to my loan company for 540 a month, the car just sits in the garage. I am sick of getting put through this nightmare. I want the part replaced or to get out of the loan completely and return the car to Subaru or the bank. Please help i have ran out of ideas. I do lots of driving and dying in a car accident scares me to death. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
ONCE THE CAR IS PARKED, THE KEY CANNOT BE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION. THIS PROBLEM GRADUALLY GOT MORE FREQUENT OVER THE LAST YEAR UNTIL IT GOT STUCK EVERY TIME WE DROVE. IT WOULD TAKE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TURNING THE CAR ON AND OFF TO GET THE KEY OUT. SUBARU OF AMERICA DID AGREE TO FIX IT AT NO CHARGE EVEN THOUGH THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY.
I WAS DRIVING ON A DECLINE AT 10 TO 15 MILES PER HOUR ON A SNOWY EVENING AND WHEN I TRIED TO BREAK, MY BREAKS LOCKED UP AND I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OF MY AUTOMOBILE EXCEPT FOR STEERING AND MADE THE CHOICE TO GO TOWARDS THE GUARD RAIL TO SLOW MY AUTOMOBILE DOWN SINCE I HAD NO BRAKES. I BOUGHT MY AUTOMOBILE 16 MONTHS AGO AND HAVE HAD DIFFICULTIES WITH TIRE LIGHTS COMING ON AND MANY OTHER ISSUES AND I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS AUTOMOBILE.
I TURNED MY CAR ON ONE AFTERNOON AND FOUND THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT STAYED LIT ON THE DASHBOARD WHILE CAR WAS STATIONARY. WHEN I TRIED TO DRIVE, I DISCOVERED THE POWER STEERING WAS COMPLETELY GONE (I.E., VERY HARD TO TURN STEERING WHEEL). HAD CAR TOWED TO DEALER, SINCE ONLY 1 YEAR OLD. DEALER INITIALLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A BAD POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE. THREE DAYS LATER, AFTER THE PART ARRIVED, THEY INSTALLED IT AND FOUND MORE ERROR CODES INDICATING A POWER SUPPLY ERROR. MORE NEW PARTS WERE ORDERED THAT TOOK ANOTHER THREE DAYS TO ARRIVE. UPON REMOVAL OF POWER STEERING RACK, TECHNICIAN FOUND RODENT DAMAGE ON WIRING TO MODULE ON RACK AND PINION UNIT. MY ONLINE RESEARCH SUGGESTS RODENTS ARE ATTRACTED TO SOY WIRE INSULATION THAT IS USED IN NEWER SUBARU VEHICLES LIKE MINE. I AM CONCERNED OTHER ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS CAN SHORT OUT IN THE CAR AT ANY TIME, SINCE I CANNOT AVOID SQUIRRELS AS MY CAR IS PARKED IN AN OPEN PARKING LOT AT HOME. MY PRIOR CAR (A 1999 SATURN SL2) WAS DRIVEN AT THE SAME INTERVALS AND PARKED AT THE SAME LOCATION FOR 5.5 YEARS WITHOUT A SIMILAR PROBLEM.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026