Subaru Impreza Years to Avoid: Worst Models, Recalls & Reliability Guide
Subaru is another great, reliable automaker from Japan. It has been in the global automotive industry for 72 years. You can confidently say that Subaru was the first brand to mainstream all-wheel-drive systems even in its mid-sized sedans and small cars. But still, there are some Subaru Impreza years to avoid, which will be discussed in the article.
The company initially entered the market for aircraft research, but later, things turned out differently, and they ended up creating one of the safest automobiles. Subaru cars are conventionally known for their solid safety features.
Subaru Impreza came into the limelight as the replacement for Subaru Leone, with just a primary goal of performing well in the compact segment. Nevertheless, within no time, it made records with sales due to its boxer engine and full-time all-wheel-drive system.
Subaru Impreza has been a long-standing model, refined many times across generations to overcome mechanical flaws and design improvements. However, there were and are still some model years that would be your worst decision to buy without knowing why.
Statistically, as an automotive expert authority, we have limited yet solid sources to evaluate the reliability of any vehicle, which include company recalls and complaints reported to the NHTSA.
Subaru Impreza Years to Avoid – Quick Overview
Here are the Subaru Impreza years to avoid:
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Major Recalls | Common Issues |
| 2012 | 332 | 6 | CVT transmission failure, unintended acceleration |
| 2008 | 297 | 15 | Head gasket failure, brake light issues, visibility problems |
| 2010 | 46 | 15 | Electrical failures, brake line corrosion |
| 2009 | ~100+ | 15 | Takata airbag explosion, premature clutch failure |
| 2013 | 320+ | 5 | Excessive oil consumption, valve spring fractures, blower motor fire risk |
| 2006 | ~55 | 10 | Wheel bearing failure, suspension issues, head gasket leaks |
| 2014 | ~140 | 3 | Piston ring wear, PCV system faults |
1) 2012 Subaru Impreza – The Absolute Worst
The 2012 Impreza is one of the most reported among the Impreza model years to NHTSA, going up to 332 complaints and 06 major recalls, including brake cylinder, brake lines replacement, and even engine valve springs. No doubt, this model year was much advanced than previous ones, but some of the common issues:
CVT Transmission Failures
Since this model had a particular TR690 CVT transmission, which does not typically fail, but it did. Among garden variety, the causes were a locked-up valve body solenoid (causing a loss of proper pressure control), and torque converter failure (where the car stalls when stopping). These problems caused transmission failures of around 40,000 miles.
Unintended Acceleration
The 2012 owners also reported issues with unwanted and sudden acceleration when the brake pedal was applied. The most common fault-causing reason involves malfunction of the throttle position sensor and electric throttle control, where sensors would still send signals to the engine to accelerate.
2) 2008 Subaru Impreza
The 2008 Impreza comes second on our list of least reliable model years, only due to its 297 complaints to NHSTA, which is much fewer than the 2012 model. However, this model still has 15 major recalls from Subaru, including airbags that failed to open, brake lights not working, and many others. Besides those issues, some of the common factory issues are:
Head Gasket Failure
The Impreza has many mechanical flaws, such as its boxer engine configuration, which does not allow engine oil to drain back to the oil pan and keeps it in contact with the head gasket. Another common reason is the graphite coating peeling off the gasket, making it no longer able to seal properly.
Visibility Problems
It may sound feather-brained, but the gasket failure impacts windshield visibility. As the hot coolant evaporates under high pressure, the oil-like film on the glass softens and smudges when wipers are used.
3) 2010 Subaru Impreza
The 2010 Impreza stands third among Subaru Impreza years to avoid as it has only 46 complaints reported to NHTSA, but 15 major recalls, which is still not something to ignore. The recall issues were mostly related to electrical problems. Quite a few of its common factory issues are:
Electrical System Failures
Among common electrical failures are a faulty alternator and ignition switch, which will cause stop battery to stop charging and sudden engine power respectively. The only solution to both problems is the full part replacement along with heavy labour.
Brake Line Corrosion
In this model, the brake lines at a point bend around the fuel tank protector, where salt water splashing causes it to corrode, for which no solution is available other than replacing it over time. The same issue was highlighted by owners of the 2008 model as well.
4) 2009 Subaru Impreza
The 2009 Impreza has comparatively fewer complaints, but more unignorable issues have been reported. This model was also recalled 15 times for major parts replacements that caused injury to the owners or their loved ones. Some of these common issues are:
Takata Airbag Explosions
This particular model had a common and most dangerous Takata airbag issue: the ammonium nitrate propellant would degrade due to moisture, causing a sudden explosion and metal fragments to come outward.
Premature Clutch Failure
Besides other issues, one of the most ignorable issues is premature clutch failure, where the manual transmission clutch would prematurely fail around 37,000 miles, with only one solution to completely replace the entire clutch plate, which is not inexpensive at all.
5) 2013 Subaru Impreza
The 2013 Impreza is still from the fourth generation, but it has major engine tuning, structural body upgrades, and better drivetrain components. However, this model had more than 320 registered complaints from NHTSA and five major recalls. Some of the known faults with the model are:
Excessive Oil Consumption
This particular model has a 2.0-litre boxer gasoline engine, but it has a common issue of consuming a quart (approx. 0.94 litre) of engine oil after every 1,200 to 3,000 miles, mainly due to worn pistons and a faulty crankshaft, which allows oil to seep into the combustion chamber and burn. Many owners reported this pressing issue with Subaru, yet the company claimed it was “normal.”
Valve Spring Fractures
Engine valve springs had a manufacturing fault. They contained small traces of impurities, which broke under excessive stress. Metal fragments would enter the combustion chamber and eventually damage pistons and head bores. This issue was sorted out by a major recall of all 2013 Imprezas for replacements under the WTY-84 recall.
Electrical System Failures
More than 30 complaints were reported to NHTSA regarding the 2013 Impreza, and only one of them was related to electrical component failure. All of these issues were reported at an average of 49,613 miles from the factory. The most compromising issue was the melting of the air-con blower motor, which caused a fire due to electrical short circuits.
6) 2006 Subaru Impreza
As the model ages, fewer complaints are reported since people were not very aware of reporting back then. The 2006 Subaru Impreza has only 10 major recalls and nearly 55 NHTSA Complaints. However, some of the known issues with this model that make it one of the Subaru Impreza years to avoid:
Wheel Bearing Failure
The 2006 model had notorious recurring issues with wheel bearings, which let wheels rotate smoothly without any friction between them and axles. No matter what you do, eventually, these wheel bearings will fail, and you will need to replace them earlier than typical ones.
Suspension Issues
The 2006 Impreza also had a poor suspension design, which caused its struts, bushings, and links to fail early, causing clunking noises and eventually poor handling, requiring only around 60,000 miles from the factory or components to be replaced. Besides poor design, the rubber bushings were not designed to withstand harsh road grit, salt, and water.
Head Gasket Leaks
The 2006 Impreza has a 2.5-litre gasoline engine (engine code EJ25), which came with a multi-layered steel gasket. The gasket was initially designed to withstand high pressures and temperatures. However, its design was poor enough to fail, causing oil and coolant to leak outwards.
7) 2014 Subaru Impreza
The 2014 Subaru Impreza is a much modern model year with almost everything upgraded, yet problems are still there if you can manage to repair them. This particular model year had almost 140 complaints reported to NHTSA, and a total of 3 major recalls. Some of the most common issues with the 2014 model are:
Poor Piston Ring Design
As told earlier, the Subaru Impreza, which had horizontally aligned boxer engines from 2011 until 2015, had a common issue with oil consumption, mostly due to the premature wear of oil control piston rings. Interestingly, there’s no solution to the problem except replacing the piston rings.
PCV System Faults
The Positive Crankcase Ventilation system has a valve responsible for venting harmful gases and oil vapours from the engine crankcase to the intake manifold, where they would be burnt during combustion. Over time, this valve malfunctions and sticks open, consuming excessive oil mist.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the Subaru Impreza is an incredible mid-sized sedan with a couple of safety features, yet it might have major reliability issues at any time. Buying a used Impreza narrows down to your intuition, whether you are willing to take the risk or just want to buy something more reliable.
Some of the commonly recurring and expensive-to-repair issues that you might find among all the model years would be excessive oil consumption (due to boxer engine), head gasket leaks (due to poor build quality), and suspension wear (due to early bushing degradation).
However, Subaru has pushed its limits to reassure peace of mind by recalling all these models over the course of two decades. But who knows when the next issue will show up? So, it would be far better to buy a Subaru Impreza model that is reliable enough.
Read about the other Subaru Outback model years to avoid.
