There are 4 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2016 Subaru Legacyin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Sometimes when starting from a stop or slowing down to make a turn the engine revs up like I was pushing the gas pedal. When this happens ( 4 times in the last 6 months) luckily I was covering the break to slow down or going very slow from a stop. Each time I was turning left or right. I was able to push the shifter into neural. After applying the breaks the engine slows down
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with oil leaking from the driver's side front cam carrier, rocker cover, and head gasket. The dealer informed the contact that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,514.
Car battery has discharged on three occasions within the passed 6 months. There is no warning that the battery is failing, turn car off and go to turn on next day and it won’t start. The battery is one yr old and mechanic gave it passing mark when he checked it. When I researched internet to gather more info I found the class action lawsuit describing my problem on other Subarus and felt it should be documented.
WHILE DRIVING, EXHAUST ODOR DETECTED IN CABIN CAUSING HEADACHES/NAUSEA AND EXHAUST BECAME MUCH LOUDER STARTING AT ROUGHLY 185,000 MILES. DISCOVERED SUBARU SERVICE PROGRAM BULLETIN WUJ-95 WHICH IDENTIFIES CRACKS FORMING IN THE BELLOWS SECTION OF THE FRONT EXHAUST PIPE AND ITS REPLACEMENT WITH AN UPDATED FRONT EXHAUST. CONTACTED SUBARU AND REQUESTED IT BE COVERED UNDER THE WUJ-95. THIS REQUEST WAS DENIED AS MY VEHICLE "ALREADY HAD THE UPDATED EXHAUST PIPE". PURCHASED AND INSTALLED THE KIT CALLED-OUT IN WUJ-95 MYSELF. UPON REMOVAL OF THE EXHAUST PIPE, I WAS ABLE TO CONFIRM VISUALLY THAT CRACKS HAD FORMED IN THE EXACT LOCATION IDENTIFIED IN WUJ-95. THE "UPDATED" EXHAUST PIPE THAT MY VEHICLE HAD FAILED. CONTACTED SUBARU SEVERAL MORE TIMES REQUESTING THIS BE COVERED . COVERAGE WAS DENIED. THE "UPDATED" EXHAUST PIPE IS NOT A TRUE FIX FOR THIS SAFETY ISSUE.*DT*JB
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 26, 2026