🚗 AutoDefect IQ

2005 Subaru Impreza problems, complaints & recalls

Most-reported problem areas: Suspension (10) · Air Bags (9) · Fuel/Propulsion System (8)

🧭 Reliability snapshot

77 /100
⚠ Buy with caution

Compared against other Subaru Impreza model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →

🛣️ Complaints by mileage

<25k miles: 21 complaints 21 <25k 25–50k miles: 3 complaints 25–50k 50–75k miles: 9 complaints 50–75k 75–100k miles: 14 complaints 75–100k 100–125k miles: 7 complaints 100–125k 125–150k miles: 6 complaints 125–150k 150k+ miles: 4 complaints 150k+

64 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.

75
Complaints
6
Recalls
190
Service bulletins
10
Crashes reported
1
Fires reported
1
Deaths

Safety recalls (6)

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2023-02-13 · campaign 23V076000 · 130 vehicles

Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2004-2005 Impreza and WRX vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.

Risk: An incorrectly installed inflator may not properly inflate the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

Fix: Dealers will inspect the passenger inflator and if necessary, install a new inflator kit, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 14, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRF-23.

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2020-01-02 · campaign 20V001000 · 258,813 vehicles

Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passeng

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2020-01-02 · campaign 20V002000 · 127,547 vehicles

Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B."

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2020-01-02 · campaign 20V003000 · 111,562 vehicles

Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." Thes

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2015-05-28 · campaign 15V323000 · 432,016 vehicles

Defect: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to July 21, 2004, 2004-2005 Impreza vehicles manufactured January 28, 2003, to May 31, 2005, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to May 2, 2008, 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles manufactured February 18, 2003, to May 5, 2008, and 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured February 11, 2004, to March 17, 2005. The affected vehicles are equipped wit

Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: Subaru will notify their owners and General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The Subaru recall began on June 17, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. The Saab recall began on July 27, 2015. Owners of Saab vehicles may call 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is WQR-53. Note: The recall completely supersedes recall 14V-399 (WQL-48) and partially supersedes recall 14V-763 (WQP-5

Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2011-09-06 · campaign 11V464000 · 318,215 vehicles

Defect: SUBARU IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002-2007 IMPREZA, MODEL YEAR 2003-2008 FORESTER, AND MODEL YEAR 2005-2006 SAAB 9-2X VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 5, 2000 THROUGH NOVEMBER 26, 2007 ORIGINALLY SOLD, OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN, MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, VERMONT, WISCONSIN, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, IOWA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MAINE, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW JERSEY, OHIO, RHODE ISLAND, WEST VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. THE FRONT L

Risk: A BROKEN CONTROL ARM CAN RESULT IN THE LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Fix: SUBARU WILL HANDLE THEIR VEHICLES AND SAAB WILL HANDLE THEIRS. DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DEGREE OF CORROSION OF THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARMS, AND WILL EITHER RUSTPROOF OR REPLACE THEM. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING DECEMBER 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SAAB AT 1-800-955-9007.

Service bulletins (190)

Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.

Unknown Or Other 2026-10-05 · SubaruNet Announcement (M · Other

this announcement provides information on a new software update for the midtronics dss and dca machines.

Unknown Or Other 2026-09-18 · 13-109-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions

this bulletin provides paint code information for 2027 model year vehicles.

Unknown Or Other 2026-09-15 · SubaruNet Announcement (C · Other

this announcement provides an update to all 2027 model year subaru warranty coverages for wear items and adjustments.

Unknown Or Other 2026-09-14 · 15-333-25R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions

this bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure. this is an revised version of the original bulletin.

Electrical System 2026-09-14 · 15-304-22R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions

this bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but essential information during diagnosis of infotainment concerns. this is an revised version of the original bulletin.

Electrical System 2026-08-20 · 15-308-23R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions

this service information bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw (dark/standby current) in vehicles experiencing battery drain when the ignition is off, leading to no-start conditions or frequent jump-starts.this is an revised version of the original bulletin.

Showing the 6 most recent of 190 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.

What owners report

2025-01-24 · Suspension

“the dealership is refusing to fix my car free of charge on a recall they confirmed would be able to do and now they are refusing to do it due to price and have made me wait two months for this to be the answer while also not giving me any sort of pay for the inconvenience of waiting for so long, while also having already ordering the parts and they…”

2022-09-06 · Unknown Or Other

“in april 2022 hood latch malfunctioned and caused hood to open while driving on interstate. caused damage to hood, fenders, windshield and roof. i was able to get stopped safely without injury.…”

2022-04-28 · Tires

“goodyear all season f1 p225/45 zr 17 psgr right sidewall looks like a few chunks are missing and some tread from tire to sidewall is peeling…”

2021-11-03 · Suspension · 199,000 mi

“the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza. the contact stated while her son was driving and approaching a stop sign, he heard an abnormal noise which caused him to lose control of the vehicle. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. the driver was able to park on the side of the road. the vehicle was not drivable and was towed to her resi…”

2021-04-30 · Unknown Or Other

“the key intermittently gets stuck in the ignition switch when the gearstick is set in the 'park' position. the car can be turned off, but the key cannot be moved forward into the #1 position (lock/off) and cannot be removed from the ignition in the #2 position (accessory). this scenario retains the electrical in the 'on' position which potentially …”

2020-08-27 · Service Brakes · 130,000 mi · 💥 crash

“2005 subaru impreza outback sport on 8/23/2020 the brake light was illuminated. upon returning home, the brake fluid was checked and found to be low. noticed brake fluid on driveway under car. the car was not used until taking it to goodyear for an inspection on 8/27/2020. good year identified that there is a leak in the brake line. they ad…”

2019-12-24 · Suspension · 115,000 mi

“while my son was backing out of the driveway, his passenger side lower control arm snapped in 2. he struggled to get it even back into the driveway. i ran the vin number and it does no show that this car has a recall that needs to be done. does this mean it was already done? or is this car not covered for the recall? …”

2019-12-17 · Suspension · 158,000 mi

“tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza. while the contact's wife was driving 40 mph, she heard a snap in the engine that caused her to lose control of the vehicle without warning. the vehicle was towed to the contact's father's home where he discovered that the front lower control arm was fractured. the manufacturer was notified of the failure…”

2019-10-10 · Service Brakes · 145,000 mi

“i believe my vehicle needs added to the safety recall: wqk47. nhtsa campaign: 14v311000. i own a 2005 subaru impreza rs. driving down residential street i lost all brake pressure coming to a stop. problem was from brake line had leak from corrosion. it's the same problem and exact spot described in the recall for wqk47. yes, i live in the salt belt…”

2018-10-26 · Suspension · 87,000 mi

“while turning to back into driveway control arm broke. it is rusted…”

Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.

Other Subaru Impreza years