Used 2016 Subaru Outback SUV Consumer Reviews
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Great experience so far
MC, 07/09/2016
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I have had my 2016 Outback for about two months now. So far zero complaints, and while I have not had winter to test the car, the heat & heated seats clearly work very well. I know plenty of others in Maine with 2016 Outbacks and zero complaints about heating, or winter features. I suspect that the previous review is a one off issue. Fuel economy so far has been averaging around 32MPG, with most driving on 35-50mph roads and not much traffic. Very comfortable and relatively quiet ride, and a well thought out car. Lots of space!
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Very pleased
Thomas , 05/28/2022
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
My wife and I were having our first child and I was looking for something safe and reliable. I made the rounds and test drive pretty much every SUV on the market: Toyota’s, Hyundai’s, Fords, Kias, etc. the Subaru caught my eye from the very beginning. It was very comfortable to sit in and it had a smooth ride. We ended buying a 2016 premium outback with 36,000 miles on it. I know no car is perfect but we are very happy with our purchase. Only downside is one of the bearings was bad in the back and made a slight humming noise every time we drove it for the first months. But we got it fixed for free no problem as the 7-year 100,000 mile manufactured warranty covered it. Now it is very quiet, smooth, comfortable ride. We are averaging 26 MPG at the moment. Like I said, no car is 100 percent perfect but we are very happy with our Subaru. We’ve take it on two long road trips and have but 12,000 miles on it since we bought and no problems at all.
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2016 Subaru Outback for sale near you
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It's 50/50
mtnance, 07/15/2019
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
In not so rare form, I actually bought a used 2016 Outback with 28K miles. 2.5L Limited. Because of my extreme satisfaction with Subaru in the past, I felt I saw a good deal, and it was to be a car for my daughter. Something I could buy for her and not worry too much about her safety or reliability of the car. This would be the fifth Subaru owned. For all intended purposes, this is a great car all the way around for almost any person, any environment, at any given time and weather condition. With one exception, and it was the reason I kept this car a total of three days. (I was able to return the car for a "refund" within certain guidelines). I did test drive the vehicle,...but unless you can keep the car for a full day and put it through a battery of testing,...most have you drive on a specific "path". It was a nice comfortable day. Felt no issues with test drive. Next day, hot weather. Turned on A/C medium power and every time I have the car in gear (forward or reverse), foot on the brake, the car would begin to go into a rough idle. Sometimes worse the other times almost to the point I thought it might stall. At one day old (to me), I was concerned. I checked out the car underneath and looked for signs of something that might be loose (i.e. vacuum hose type thing). Nothing and perhaps a fluke. Next day, same thing happened. I researched and found on many forums others complaining of same issue. I had the option to return the car within a certain amount of days and after reading about this common problem, I did. Bought a used 2018 Outback (already had another one) with 10K more miles for almost the same price as the 2016. Either car would be out of manufacturer warranty within 3 months either by time or miles, so having the additional miles wasn't a big concern. For those that complain about the "pep" and "acceleration" woes of the 2.5L engine, aahummm,....it's been classified as a "wagon". For me, it can merge into highway traffic just fine. My vote: pass this particular year unless you can test drive under all circumstances for a rather extended period.
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I may be converted
Lucyb, 07/23/2017
updated 07/25/2019
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
First let me say that my car was recalled for the steering wheel problem two days after I picked it up. Subaru did an outstanding job with that recall effort. I love the car styling and interior as well as the great gas mileage. The car has adequate acceleration for highway driving and passing. The cross-traffic detection and blind-spot features are great. Here are my issues with the car: 1). Navigation/clock/radio freeze at the most inconvenient times and the only 'fix' is to restart the car...this happened on the highways in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Redlands CA...why did I pay $$$$$$$$ for something so unreliable?, 2) the front seats tend to create back aches on long road trips, 3) the lane change detection is overly sensitive and is a constant 'beep' machine, 4) Road and wind noise is substantial and very tiresome on long road trips (a better radio might drown this out). I have about 20k miles thus far and I'm considering trading cars if the navigation freeze issue cannot be fixed. January 2018 update - obviously I was very frustrated when I wrote the original review. However, when I took the car in to the St George dealership to complain about the navigation system freeze again, they were able to install an update they said would fix the problem and it did. I admit I was surprised but it is fixed. I still think the wind and road noise on long trips is bothersome and that the lane departure alarm is too sensitive(mine is turned off). However the front seats are adjusted to be comfortable, the cross traffic, blind spot detection and dynamic cruise control are great. I love the gas mileage. I love the service that I get at the St George dealership. While I don’t love this car as much as some others I’ve owned, I can’t think of any car I’d rather have right now. Updated: july 2018 My Outback is still running great. However earlier this year I got in my car and it wouldn’t start.....nothing...no noise...dead. I called Subaru roadside and they arrived within 45 mins(great service). Jumped the car and I drove to the dealer who replaced the battery without any issue(again great service). Apparently there is some issue that is draining the battery(three out of four people in the service area had experienced the battery problem). I love the Subaru approach to service and dealing with problems. I plan to keep this car for quite a while. Update January 2019 - it’s spring in southern Utah and I have the new car bug (not because anything is wrong). The only thing that I’d like to have on the Outback that I can’t get is ventilated seats...it is hot in southern Utah in summer....I can’t get excited about any SUV option because of price, mileage, or size. Come on Subaru, put ventilated seats in the Outback.... Update July 2019: the Outback is still running great...only standard maintenance required and new tires. I’m waiting for the 2020 Outback to test drive......the touring model has ventilated seats!!!!!!!!!! I guess I have turned in to a Subaru person.
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Good vehicle with some issues
Steve M, 03/15/2017
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Overall this is a very good vehicle and I like it a lot. The roomy interior is very nice, the controls are excellent, performance is good, the CVT is better than I expected and the fuel economy is okay for AWD. This is the nicest vehicle I have owned including previous Subarus. On the downside there have been a number of recalls, though none serious for the one I own. Here are some issues though: 1. Horrible lumbar in the seats, especially the driver's seat. It was killing my back. I killed the motor (replaced under warranty) probably by trying to push the lumbar back when it was already fully back. I fixed the issue by unzipping the seat back and removing the big piece plastic that was pushing into my back. 2. The battery is ridiculously undersized at 356CCA. This has caused issues in my Outback and my wife's Legacy. I had to jump my Outback again today. Leave the keys in the car for a few hours, even in the off position, and it will die. Listen to the radio for a while and it will die. Leave it sitting for a few days and it will day. 3. The car came with terrible tires, a Subaru tradition, negating some of the AWD benefits. My wife's 2015 Legacy actually came with decent Goodyears. No luck on the Outback. I'll be lucky if the Bridgestones that came with car will last the length of the lease. There is a similar named Bridgestone model that performs much better but of course Subaru picked the crap ones. 4. Lastly, one of my biggest complaints is the power rear hatch. It does not open high enough. I'm 6'1" and I never once hit my head on my 2008 Outback's hatch. This one does not go up as high. Even after you learn to watch for it, you end up hitting it anyway. My brother, who is a couple of inches shorter, also hits his head. He has no issue with his Imprezza's hatch.
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New limited 2.5 with nav and eyesite
Bill Ppwell, 11/25/2015
updated 05/31/2017
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
8 of 11 people found this review helpful
I searched for just the right combination of size, cargo capacity, saftey and economy. I decided on a fairly well equipped Limited 2.5 with sunroof nav / eyesite. Once you have decided on sunroof nav the eyesite is just an extra 800 or so. New to car. Will update as I own. Buy experience : ended up working worth Danny at Goldstein Subaru in albany. He was patient, answered all my questions, sought expert advice to answer questions he was not sure on. Saw him at 5 pm Monday. Picked up at 10 am on Wednesday. I recommend this dealer and DNny Update 5/30/16 17,000 miles Car is great. All as expected. Have used for regular dailey driving and a NY to Grand Canyon and back. Car handles well in all situations. Eyesight is gear. Update 5/31/2017 Near 50,000 flawless miles. Replaced stock 18" tires at 45,000 Car equally good around town. Accros state or longer. 2.5 motor is powerful and speedy enough Comfort. Capacity and ride all great.
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The Outback IsNot What It Was
Dissapointed, 11/20/2018
updated 05/20/2020
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
6 of 8 people found this review helpful
So, I really do want to like this car, but it has some problems you need to be aware of. Cv joints: Replaced the first one at 80K, now 2 more are failing. Front and rear brakes worn out at 80k. Rear power gate randomly does not work, passenger window pinches in the door frame erroring out the power windows causing to roll all the way down, leather seats are a joke (driverside leather cracked and tore in 3 spots), car eats tires like crazy (new ones every 35k), coolant leaks, battery is terrible. In short, just under 100k on the car and had more work done on it than my ford truck with 265k. Would not buy another subaru this one.
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Subaru Outback 2016
Mary Spence, 11/16/2015
updated 08/01/2016
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
21 of 33 people found this review helpful
You should drive both the 3.6 and the 2.5i to get a feel for the difference. Also should test the difference between the cloth seats and the leather seats, In my view comfort is important with the leather seats that give more. So I got them.
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bad trans
john doe, 11/13/2015
updated 08/01/2016
2016 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
19 of 30 people found this review helpful
a loud whining noise from trans forward and reverse not in neutral or park,,,,,,and no help from dealer..... don't do it.
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Great car... until I stopped driving it
SNordin, 01/26/2021
2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
I loved my Outback and for the last four years, it's been a solid family car. I felt so safe carrying my infant/toddler around and I loved the roominess inside. Never had a problem. Until... the pandemic hit and everyone stopped driving. Now, normally you wouldn't think this would be a problem. But read back in the reviews and you'll see a thread of people having weird electronics problems. In my case, this shows up as a dead battery every time I don't drive the car every.single.day. And since I'm no longer commuting to work and we're all under lockdown orders, I don't drive it every day. And the battery is dead, dead, dead. This last time, I hit the push button and got the familiar "click" - and a few items turned on - namely the A/C and the moonroof. Nothing else - and then IT WOULDN'T TURN OFF. So I sat in my car, puzzled for 30 minutes wondering what to do and how to get the darn thing to shut down. Finally, it just did it on it's own. The final straw is that the dealerships refuse to acknowledge that this is an issue. They tell you just to keep the battery charged and to jump the car when needed, or - alternately - buy a new battery every six months (!!). I shouldn't have to carry a small jump box around just in case my car dies on the one trip I take away from my home every week! So to sum it up - I loved it, I really did. But I can't have an unreliable car that the dealer refuses to acknowledge that there's even a problem. I'll be selling it as soon as I can.
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