Subaru Impreza

Which Subaru Impreza years should you avoid?

Going by 2,655 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Subaru Impreza years to avoid are 2002, 2013, 2012, 2019 and 2008.

• 2002292 complaints, 3.9× a typical Impreza year, most often about the fuel system.
• 2013251 complaints, 3.3× a typical Impreza year, most often about the airbags.
• 2012243 complaints, 3.2× a typical Impreza year, most often about the airbags.
• 2019194 complaints, 2.6× a typical Impreza year, most often about the headlights.
• 2008176 complaints, 2.3× a typical Impreza year, most often about the transmission.

1 more year cleared the same bar; it is marked in the table below.

Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →