Coscienzios

Model years to avoid

Subaru Impreza

What it says about you

Opinion

All-wheel drive on a budget, bought by someone who has driven a winter they did not enjoy. Sensible. Slightly noisy. You have stopped noticing.

Not measured, not from the data, and offered in fun. Everything below this is not.

22 model years on record, 1,993 complaints filed.

The years to look at closely: 2019 (exterior lighting), 2013 (engine engine), 2012 (occupant), 2008 (clutch). Everything else drew a normal number of complaints for this model.

What owners report, and when

Faults that dominated the complaints of more than one model year. Not the same question as which year to avoid — a car can have an ordinary number of complaints every year and have most of them be about the same thing.

  • clutch 2008, 2009 peak 37.8% of that year's complaints
  • pedal 2008, 2009 peak 27.7% of that year's complaints
  • required 2014, 2017 peak 11.2% of that year's complaints
  • defective 2015, 2019 peak 10.1% of that year's complaints

Every year

  1. 2026 0 recalls 1 complaints
  2. 2025 0 recalls 5 complaints
  3. 2024 2 recalls 30 complaints
  4. 2023 2 recalls 4 complaints
  5. 2022 1 recall 12 complaints
  6. 2021 2 recalls 14 complaints
  7. 2020 1 recall 85 complaints
  8. 2019 exterior lighting 193 complaints
  9. 2018 5 recalls 149 complaints
  10. 2017 7 recalls 125 complaints
  11. 2016 1 recall 75 complaints
  12. 2015 2 recalls 79 complaints
  13. 2014 3 recalls 108 complaints
  14. 2013 engine engine 249 complaints
  15. 2012 occupant 242 complaints
  16. 2011 14 recalls 57 complaints
  17. 2010 15 recalls 45 complaints
  18. 2009 15 recalls 112 complaints
  19. 2008 clutch 209 complaints
  20. 2007 9 recalls 68 complaints
  21. 2006 10 recalls 56 complaints
  22. 2005 6 recalls 75 complaints

What does a Subaru Impreza say about you?

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Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints — compared against itself rather than against other cars, so popularity and age do not decide the answer.