There are 13 owner-reported tires & wheels complaints for the 2016 Subaru Foresterin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Lug nuts stripped off on the drivers rear wheel, that was corrected. Now my right rear lug nuts have been stripped completely off.
We have had numerous problems with the wheel lug stems on this car. One issue was very serious. We were driving from New Jersey down to Florida, and two of the lug stems snapped off.. we had to have these replaced in South Carolina. I’ve looked on many websites and this is a well known problem with the 2016 Subaru Forrester. I don’t know why you do not think this is a big safety problem as losing a wheel driving at 70 miles an hour on [XXX] is very serious. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicles wheel studs and nuts striped. Common complaint with Subaru's. Nuts won't come off and unable to completely put back on to contact with rim. Nuts also won't come off all together, frozen on stud, studs breaks when trying to remove. Unable to remove with extension bar or impact wrench.
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic on four separate occasions to rotate the tires; and each time the contact was notified that one lug bolt on each wheel had fractured. The contact was notified that excessive force was needed to remove the bolts and that the mechanic was not responsible for any damages caused while removing each wheel. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they were unaware of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
THE VEHICLE WAS MAINTAINED REGULARLY IN DEALER'S SERVICE CENTER. IT IS A LOCAL COMMUTE VEHICLE AND HAS LESS THAN 40000 MILES. IN NOV 2019, THE VEHICLE WAS FOUND OUT OF ALIGNMENT, FOUR TIRES WERE WORN OUT AND TWO BREAKS WERE OUT TOO. ALL FOUR TIRES AND TWO BREAKS WERE REPLACED. IN JUNE 2020, I REPORTED BAD SMELL TO THE SERVICE CENTER BUT NOTHING WAS FOUND. IN SEP 2020, BAD SMELL WAS NOTICED AGAIN. THE SERVICE CENTER FOUND OIL LEAK IN THE ENGINE FRONT AND BACK. THE ENGINE WAS OPENED AND SOME PARTS WERE REPLACED. SERVICE CENTER ALSO FOUND THE CONDENSER WAS LEAKING AND REPLACED IT. IN LESS THAN A YEAR, THREE DEFECTS HAPPENED AND TWO WERE RARE BUT MAJOR DEFECTS. DURING THIS TIME, THE CAR WAS ONLY DRIVEN AROUND 2000 MILES. I REPORTED TO SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE. THEY JUST TOLD ME TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT.
WHEEL BEARING HAD TO BE REPLACED. NOISES OCCURRED WHEN DRIVING. DEALERSHIP FIXED WITHOUT CHARGE.
COULDN'T START CAR FOUND OUT IT WAS BECAUSE MY BRAKE LIGHTS WERE NOT WORKING HAD TO HAVE REPLACE AT MY OWN EXPENSE. NOW I CANT ALWAYS GET MY KEY OUR OF THE IGNITION. ALSO MY TIRE PRESSURES DON'T STAY UP. I HAVE HAD TO INFLATE THEM ABOUT 3 TIME IN AS MANY MONTHS.
I HAVE A 2016 FORESTER WITH YOKOHAMA G91F TIRES AND JUST HAD INSPECTION THEY SAID TIRE TREAD WAS GOOD EXCEPT THE SIDE ARE WORN DOWN SO I REQUIRED NEW TIRE TO PASS. I FOUND MULTIPLE ISSUES WITH THIS TIRE ONLINE. THE TIRE IS FOR PASSENGER VEHICLES BUT SAYS IT CAN BE USED ON CROSSOVER AND SUV BUT TALKED WITH SEVERAL TIRE SHOPS THAT ALL RECOMMEND USING SUV SPECIFIC TIRES AS THEY SEE THE SAME ISSUE OVER AND OVER WITH CERTAIN MULTI CATEGORY TIRES LIKE THIS WHERE BECAUSE OF RIDE HEIGHT, VEHICLE WEIGHT AND CENTER OF GRAVITY WHEN ROUNDING CORNERS THESE TIRES GET WORN DOWN REALLY QUICKLY BECAUSE OF IT BEING MORE PASSENGER VEHICLE CENTRIC BECAUSE THE EDGES ARE MORE ROUNDED WHERE AS SUV SPECIFIC TIRES HAVE MORE OF A FLAT BOTTOM AND SQUARE EDGES SO THEY DON'T SLIP. I ALSO BELIEVE THIS IS WHY A LOT OF COMPLAINTS TALK ABOUT POOR PERFORMANCE IN WET WEATHER AS THE SLIP IN CORNERS. THESE ARE STANDARD ON FORESTER AND YOKOHAMA WON'T COVER OEM TIRES AT ALL. I BELIEVE THIS NEEDS INVESTIGATED ESPECIALLY SINCE THEY JUST STARTED SELLING THEIR NEW ASCENT 3 ROW SUV NOT SURE IF IT HAS SAME TIRES. IF YOU WISH TO CONTACT ME MY EMAIL IS [XXX] I WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP RESEARCH AND SEND PROOF FROM USER REVIEWS AND TIRE DEALERS PLUS CAN TAKE PHOTOS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, there was a loud humming noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear wheel bearing failed but the contact was unaware which wheel needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired but years later the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that both rear wheels bearings failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,050.
APPARENT DEFECTIVE VALVES ON YOKOHAMA GEOLANDER G91-F STOCK TIRES THAT CAME WITH THE NEW VEHICLE. CAR WITH ONLY 7,626 MILES, MINIMAL TREAD WEAR, TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY @ 65MPH LOW TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR COMES ON, AND ~ 5 SEC LATER THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE JUST COMPLETELY SHREDDING. OUTSIDE WALL COMPLETELY SEPARATING AND TIRE VALVE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. DRIVEN MINI SPARE TO LOCAL FIRESTONE TIRE CENTER. TOLD TO KEEP THE TIRE AS EVIDENCE, NO PUNCTURE NOTED. NOT ONE MONTH LATER, LOW PRESSURE LIGHT AGAIN WHILE DRIVING @ 65MPH ON ANOTHER HIGHWAY, THIS TIME THE FRONT PASSENGER TIRE NOW WITH A LEAK. CHECKED AND STOPPED MULTIPLE TIMES TO ENSURE ONLY A SLOW LEAK. ABLE TO BE SEEN AT A NEARBY COSTCO TIRE CENTER AND DIAGNOSED WITH A SLOW LEAK COMING FROM THE TIRE VALVE. 2 DIFFERENT STOCK YOKOHAMA TIRES BOTH WITH VERY LOW MILES, ONE WITH DEVASTATING BLOW OUT APPARENTLY OCCURRING ABOUT THE TIRE VALVE, THE SECOND TIRE WITH A SLOW DEFECTIVE VALVE LEAK. NO PUNCTURES NOTED WHEN EXAMINED AT EITHER TIRE CENTER.
THE BASE MODEL STEEL WHEEL HAS A TROUGH RUNNING AROUND THE INSIDE OF THE WHEEL, TWO INCHES WIDE AND ONE INCH DEEP. SNOW PACKS INTO THE WHEELS, MELTS, AND OVERNIGHT THE WATER THAT ACCUMULATES IN THE TROUGH AT THE BASE OF THE WHEEL FREEZES SOLIDLY. IT WILL NOT BREAK LOOSE. THIS ICE BLOCK IS THE EQUIVALENT OF A VERY LARGE WHEEL BALANCE WEIGHT. THE CAR SHAKES VIOLENTLY AT SPEEDS OVER 45 MPH. THIS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT IMMEDIATE SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS A LONG TERM SAFETY ISSUE DUE TO THE LIKELY DAMAGE TO THE ALIGNMENT AND FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENED TWICE WITHIN SIX WEEKS. THE DEALER'S RESPONSE WAS TO TAKE IT TO CAR WASH. I WROTE SUBARU OF AMERICA AND WAS TOLD THEY WILL PASS MY EXPERIENCE ON TO NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.
AFTER ABOUT 2 INCHES OF WET SNOW MY WIFE WAS DRIVING UP A SLOPED STREET. SHE CAME TO AN AREA WHERE SHE COULD SEE 2 CARS WAITING AFTER A COLLISION. SHE STOPPED. ANOTHER CAR STOPPER BEHIND HER. A POLICE CAR PASSED THE CAR PARKED BEHIND MY WIFE. THE POLICE CAR BUMPED THE CAR PARKED BEHIND MY WIFE AND PARKED. MY WIFE TRIED TO TURN AROUND. AS SHE DID HER CAR LOST TRACTION AND SLID INTO THE PARKED POLICE CAR. THERE WAS NO VISUAL DAMAGE TO MY WIFE'S CAR. I DO NOT BELIEVE THERE WAS ANY DAMAGE TO THE POLICE CAR. A REPORT STILL HAD TO BE FILED EVIDENTLY BECAUSE IT WAS A POLICE CAR. LATER I CHECKED THE RATING ON THE TIRES. PER THE RATINGS GIVEN IN TIRE RACK THESE TIRES HAVE BEEN DETERMINED TO BE UNSUITABLE FOR USE ON ICE.
2016 SUBARU FORESTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO EXCESSIVE WEAR ON VEHICLE TIRES. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE OUTER EDGES OF THE VEHICLE'S TIRES WERE EXCESSIVELY WORN. ALL FOUR TIRES WERE WORN OUT IN LESS THAN 20,000 MILES. *JS
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