Buyer Research

2016 Subaru BRZ — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $14,000–$21,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 10 Subaru BRZ years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Three complaints on this model year, and one of them is filed three times over — a single owner's account of a collision, logged under suspension, wheels and brakes at once. There is nothing in that record we can honestly turn into a defect finding, and we are not going to pretend a near-empty file is a clean one. It means almost nobody wrote to NHTSA about a 2016 BRZ, which is a fact about paperwork, not about pistons. The real risk on a car like this is how the last owner used it: light, cheap, rear-drive and superb on a circuit, the BRZ attracts track days, and the FA20 does not forgive being run hard on low oil. Check for track evidence, pull the dipstick, listen at idle, and treat the 4,000 rpm flat spot as normal rather than a fault.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 3 owner complaints for the 2016 Subaru BRZ, and no recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under the suspension (1), wheels and bearings (1), the brakes (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2016 Subaru BRZ

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

FA20 drinks oil, and a track-driven one can damage its bearingsMedium

Nothing in this year's three-complaint record touches the engine, so this is knowledge about the FA20 rather than something the filings show. Two related things happen on these cars. First, oil consumption between services is common enough that Subaru had a measured test procedure for it, so a car that has been run low is not a rare event. Second, with a shallow sump and no factory oil cooler, sustained hard cornering can pull oil away from the pickup, and bearings that have been starved even briefly announce themselves later as a knock at idle that gets louder when warm. Pull the dipstick yourself, check it is on the full mark and not black, and listen at idle with the bonnet up.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$6,000 for a rebuilt or replacement engine if bearings have been damaged — about 34% of what this car is typically worth

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Fuel pump whines or chirps once the car has warmed upLow

Not in the 2016 record at all — this comes from owners of the early BRZ and its Scion twin, who report a metallic chirping or whirring from the in-tank pump that appears when the car is warm and is loud enough to hear standing behind it. It is more irritating than dangerous and a pump assembly is a normal, bounded repair, but it is worth knowing before you hear it on the drive home and assume something serious. Let the car idle until the temperature gauge settles, then stand at the rear with the engine running and listen near the fuel filler.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$900 for an in-tank fuel pump assembly

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Soft paint and thin clear coat mark up faster than the car's age suggestsLow

A cosmetic point rather than a mechanical one, and again absent from the NHTSA record because nobody reports paint to a safety regulator. Subaru's finish in these years is thin, so a BRZ that has been driven on the highway usually shows a heavily stone-chipped nose and front bumper, and cars parked outside can show clear coat lifting on the roof and boot lid edges. It affects what the car is worth rather than whether it runs. Look along the panels from a low angle in daylight, and check whether the front bumper and bonnet match the doors in colour and texture.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$900 per panel to respray properly

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Knocking from the engine at idle that gets louder as it warms up
✗Oil level below the mark, or oil that is black on the dipstick
✗Roll bar holes, harness bolt points or decal shadows that point to track days
✗Brake pedal that sinks steadily while you hold it at a stop
✗Heat-blued brake rotors with the outer tyre shoulders worn away

Good Signs

✓Oil on the full mark and still honey-coloured between services
✓Steady idle with a clean, even boxer note and no knock when warm
✓Documented oil changes at or inside Subaru's interval
✓Original brake rotors with clean, evenly worn faces
✓Front bumper and bonnet matching the doors in colour and paint texture