2016 Subaru Impreza Electrical System Problems

The key will not come out of the ignition when the engine has stopped. It has to be restarted (often multiple times) before the key will come out. Does not happen every time but is frequent. This could lead people to leave the key in place if they are in a hurry and result in the possibility of theft. Roommate has 2017 Outback that does the same thing and was told that it could be fixed but the cost would be approx $1300.There are no warning lights on when this happens and there is nothing that indicates whether or not it will happen.

Intermittently unable to remove the keys from ignition after placing the car into Park and shutting off the engine. (Instances where keys remain stuck/locked in the ignition requiring someone to 'muscle' them out of there). I believe this is linked to a faulty sensor not allowing the keys to be released. Second complaint: The headset unit on the car, (starlink), has a touchscreen that no longer responds to touch and I believe is slowly draining the battery from the car. Subaru is unwilling to service the vehicle for either problem without a service fee.

After turning off the engine in Park, the keys are not being released from the ACC position of the ignition in my 2016 Subaru Impreza, which has 32,000 miles. I must repeatedly depress the shift lever and/or shift gears back and forth and/or restart and turn off the car in order to get the key out. This has been going on for two months now for at least half the time although not every time I turn off the car. There are no warning messages or diagnostic lights, just the malfunction itself. The issue has been documented in TSB 16-112-18 in numerous models of Subaru. My spouse and I have contacted Subaru of America and a local Subaru dealer, who have disclaimed responsibility for the problem, but did admit that this was a known issue. The dealer also insinuated that the fault could be the customers' by spilling beverages or something into the shifter linkage. As indicated in the YouTube printout I have attached (Yakfish Taco 2014 - 2018 Subaru Forester Key Stuck in Ignition - Quick fix solution), many people are working around this problem by disabling the key removal safety feature in the wiring of the steering column. This allows the key to be removed from the ignition at any time, such as when the vehicle is driving or stopped but not in Park. It is my belief that people are going to die from this. Subaru should be forced to issue a recall.

There seems to be an issue with keys getting stuck in the ignition on a lot of various years and makes of Subaru's. So much so, that Subaru put out a service bulletin (Bulletin Number: 16-112-18R) to remedy this. Unfortunately, those who are out of the warranty time frame, are no longer eligible for a replacement without charge. This is not a safety issue per-say, but rather an issue of the car possibly getting stole due to Subaru's unwillingness to make this a recall issue and making it free to current owners regardless of the warranty status. What I would like for you folks to do is push subaru's hand into making this a recall issue and fixing the issue free of charge even if the vehicle is outside of the warranty time period. Thank you for taking the time to read my concern. PS: I got the recall serviced on this vehicle on 09/17/2021

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving at a low rate of speed and making a right turn, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the steering and drive into the opposite lane and into the neighbor’s yard. After shifting into neutral, the vehicle decelerated. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. In addition, on several occasions when turning the vehicle off, the key would remain stuck in the ignition switch. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,800. The Vin was not available.

The variable fan speed control for the cabin air melted. The dial could no longer be moved and the assembly, once removed, had parts that were melted. Subaru was not interested. Cost me $1200 to get it fixed. Unfortunately, I cannot locate any pictures.

CAR WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAK KEY OUT OF IGNITION WHEN CAR IS IN PARK.

KEY LOCKS INTO IGNITION AND VEHICLE NEEDS TO BE RESTARTED AND THE SHIFT MOVED FROM PARK POSITION BACK TO PARK POSITION A FEW TIMES BEFORE THE KEY WILL RELEASE. I HAVE SEEN MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE REGARDING THIS ISSUE IE. FAILING LOCK CYLINDER/PARK SENSOR PROBLEMS. WILL THERE BE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS AND A POSSIBLE RECALL? MY CAR HAS LESS THAN 50,000M ON IT.

CAR IS STRUGGLING TO START, AND BATTERY HAS BEE DRAINING AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK BUT NEVER GOT A BATTERY LOW LIGHT. HAVE BEEN DRIVING IT EVERY WEEK DAY FOR ABOUT 5-10 MILES CONSISTENTLY. TOOK IT TO AUTOZONE & THEY RAN SOME TESTS, SAID THERE IS NO POWER LEAK AND THE BATTERY IS STILL IN GOOD CONDITION. HOWEVER THE BATTERY STILL IS DRAINING.

WHEN THE CAR IS STOPPED AND TURNED OFF, THE KEY GETS STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND CAN'T BE REMOVED. SUBARU HAS ISSUED A TSB (TSB 16-112-18R) BUT NOT A RECALL.

THE BRAKE STOP SWITCH FAILS INTERMITTENTLY CAUSING DASH LIGHTS TO SHOW THE HILL BRAKE ASSIST, STABILITY CONTROL, AND ABS SYSTEMS HAVE STOPPED FUNCTIONING. ANOTHER SIDE-EFFECT OF THIS SITUATION IS THE FAILURE OF THE BRAKE LIGHTS CAUSING A RISK OF REAR COLLISION IF THE DRIVER CONTINUES TO DRIVE EVEN WHEN THE DASH LIGHTS GO OFF. AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE DRIVING SITUATION.

BRAKE LIGHTS TURN ON AUTONIMOUSLY WITHOUT HAVING TO PULL THE EMERGANCY BRAKE OR DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE BRAKE LIGHT WITHIN MY VECHILE WILL TURN ON WHILE DRIVING RANDOMLY OR EVEN WHILE IN A STATIONARY POSITION, THERE IS NOT SET TIME INTERVAL TO THE RANDOM ON AND OFF BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH. SOME TIMES IT'LL TURN ON AND OFF WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF DRIVING OR THRITY MINUTES.THERE HAS RECEMTLY BEEN A RECALL BY SUBARU FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE BUT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A DEALER NOTIFICATION YET.