Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition...
Electrical system
Subaru WRX Electrical problems by year
72 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Subaru WRX's electrical system. Dead batteries, warning lights, wiring, alternators, infotainment and electronic module failures.
Electrical complaints by model year
Electrical recalls
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015 WRX and WRX/STI vehicles, equipped with an optional factory-installed subwoofer in the trunk. Items in the trunk may cause the subwoofer wiring to contact the subwoofer metal frame, possibly...
Covers2015 Subaru WRX
Latest WRX electrical complaints
-Flickering head lights -Driver window loose -Windshield wipers did not work on the passenger side (I don't know how it passed inspection) -When shifted into 4th gear the stick was making odd movements and jumping -Mechanical noises like cranking coming from the engine or under the car
Digital gauge cluster (speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, miscellaneous vehicle information and warning/caution lights) went blank and was completely unresponsive while driving at 80 mph. No steering wheel mounted controls (audio, hands-free, cruise control) were responsive. Lane assist, lane departure and collision warnings were also not working. Issue has only occurred once (at time of this report), and has not yet been inspected by a dealership or authorised repair centre. No indications were present before failure. After approximately 20 minutes, the vehicle CCU rebooted and functions were restored.
The car has randomly on multiple occasions failed to accelerate then jump forward hitting the rev limiter. This has happened while merging back into traffic including 55 mph roads creating concern for being rear ended and also concerns for hitting vehicles in front when the car jumps forward as there is no control over it. It has been to 2 separate dealerships totaling almost a year with no resolution and has been communicated with Subaru of America. The car was bought new and has never been modified or tuned, and the issues started with no warning lamps or messages. The issue started somewhere between 60,000 to 80,000 miles and the car currently has 126,000 miles.
I was driving normally, having started my car after leaving a store at the time, while backing up, I received an ad (depicted below) for the SiriusXM limited time offer. This advertisement completely blocked the entirety of the infotainment system, disabling the navigation components completely, disabling my ability to use the backup camera, and did not alert while backing up, nearly causing a serious collision while driving. This advertisement is not safe to be displayed while operating the vehicle, and you are...
Read the full complaint
unable to use anything on the infotainment system (backup camera, safety features and alerting) until you dismiss the ad. Dismissing the ad is additionally in a very unsafe position to be drawing attention while driving the vehicle. This is in direct violation of NHTSA standards listed here: [[redacted]] Based on the information listed therein, the infotainment software violates Section V of the NHTSA Visual-Manual Driver Distraction Guidelines by displaying non-driving related promotional/advertisement text and failing to lock out intrusive screen elements while the vehicle is in motion. The intrusive element physically blocks you from seeing or interacting with driving-critical systems. It blocks your backup camera feed, your onboard navigation system, and climate control menus while driving. Due to the ad or system notification not automatically clearing itself, it forces you to divert your eyes from the road for longer than the recommended 2-second glimpse limit, creating a critical safety hazard. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The cam carriers for my vehicle are leaking oil. This is an incredible common, seemingly almost guaranteed, issue with these vehicles from Subaru at the 75-90k mile mark. The carrier are dripping oil, so worse than seeping, but not pouring. This runs the risk of the engine bleeding oil fast and running dry without checking oil levels every week or so and carrying extra emergency oil. This is a huge safety risk and given the proliferation of this issue across subaru vehicles and the CVT it needs to be addressed by...
Read the full complaint
SOA. There are no warning lights for this issue and this would not have been caught if I hadn't gone to the dealership for a general car inspection as I suspected something may be wrong. The problem has been reproduced at other shops/dealerships and is a very common almost guaranteed issue with these vehicles.
Car battery keeps dying and is inadequately charged resulting in loss of electronics. The problem is a faulty DCM system.
fuel pump cut off intermeeting mager loss off power tech at subaru refuse to repair car has 72000 miles on well manetane
2/17/2026 Mileage 96,000 Subaru case number Case # 260217-2101937 Vehicle intermittently indicates reverse gear while driving forward at speed. Backup camera activates and reverse lights illuminate while in forward motion. This condition matches NHTSA Recall 22V-522000. The recall repair was previously performed but the safety defect persists. Manufacturer was contacted and declined further repair despite active safety condition.
I'm driving down the road and unexpectedly the power steering completely goes out and the car is almost impossible to steer. When I shut the car off it usually resets sometimes for only a couple seconds, sometimes longer before the power steering fails again. It has happened in the middle of multiple turns, highways driving, city driving and is very dangerous. If you look online it is a very common issue amongst other Subaru models with the same steering system, as well as the wrx but not for my year. If you look...
Read the full complaint
online you will see multiple people complaining about it. Messaged Subaru and they said they weren't concerned with the safety issue, they were only concerned about it not being covered under warranty anymore. I did take it to a Subaru dealership and they even said it was very common and didn't even really look at the car to diagnose and its around 3000 to repair. This is going to cause an accident at some point if not in my car someone else's. It doesn't matter either what speeds you are going if it happens. It has happened multiple different days so I'm only putting today in since it happened today as well.
Likely secondary air injection pump and/or its related relays, CEL P2444 came on 3 separate times. November 2024, brought it in to get replaced under warranty, came on again the day after picking her up in December 2024 due to faulty pump, didn't get to bring her back in until March 1st 2025, fixed part again, brought her home [[redacted]]. Car engulfed in flames 10 days later on [[redacted]]. I do have the car's ECU available for scan to check for previous codes. I could have been killed in a car fire, the...
Read the full complaint
building my car was in front of could have been turned to ash. No, the problem has not been reproduced, the car is totaled and in a pile of ash. Yes, the vehicle was inspected by police and fire force after the incident. The CEL light had come back on that morning. 9:11 am, came on, parked at 9:28am, car was on fire by 9:52am. I was parked and in an appointment when the cops came in in order to evacuate us because my car was in flames. Please contact Romano Subaru for information on my car, I do not have all of the paperwork available to me, but all of the work was done through that dealership. 315-475-7933 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Parasitic battery problem My car battery keeps dying on my Subaru sti 2020 after one day of not driving. I have had the car checked with Subaru dealership and a local shop but no issues were found. This morning I had to get my car jumped again after not driving it for one day. This battery was purchased brand new on nov 2024.At this point I am not sure what to do. I don't want to keep changing batteries every 3 months. Already contacted Subaru America and they have asked me to go back to the dealership and have them provide a diagnostic assessment.
The current issues with my recently purchased used vehicle are as follows: Clutch, odometer tampering, steering rack, 2 axle leaks, electrical issues, inspection issues. I tried to see if the dealership that I bought the car from is willing to fix these issues they keep going back and forth with me on these issues even though I just recently purchased the car stating that I have to pay for it. I purchased this car [[redacted]]. There were several issues with this car prior to purchase that were not disclosed when...
Read the full complaint
I purchased it. The dealership that I bought the car from, highline car connection/Yankee Auto sales, insisted we buy an extended warranty. Upon inspection at Dan Perkins Subaru, one of the biggest safety issues with this vehicle is the clutch, I was informed that the clutch cover was missing and there were aftermarket bolts used, I was informed that the clutch is a normal wear and tear item such as an oil change and because of these two issues my warranty will not cover fixing the clutch. As you can see in my documents I just recently purchased this vehicle and had it for 28 days. I also noticed that there was odometer tampering, I reviewed the paperwork the dealership gave me for the carfax report and I went online to retrieve my own carfax report, there are several discrepancies in which I included with my documents. My vehicle has been in the shop since December 6th 2024 it is not safe to drive on the road in the condition it is which is the same condition the car was sold to me in. For the last week I have been going back and forth with the original dealership the insurance company Allstate with the warranty and Dan Perkins Subaru trying to figure out a way to get my car safe on the road and no one is willing to assist me properly. Please review the documents and get back to me at your earliest convenience thank you for your assistance with these issues. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Fuel pump failing Reverse switch failing
The Seconary Air Injection pump stayed on for days. Burnt a hole in the side, relay possibly damaged, and now setting off other components and computers.
Lifetime Tracking Data Displayed Incorrectly with higher data results. High rev's max speed 131mp. I have never gone over 89 mp. MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION NUMBER: 09-79-21 Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING NHTSA ID Number: 10201791 Manufacturer Communication Number: 09-79-21 Summary This bulletin announces availability of ECM reprogramming files to address isolated concerns of inaccurate values being displayed when accessing Lifetime Tracking Data using the Subaru Select Monitor and / or a Generic Scan Tool (GST). 1 Affected Product Vehicle MAKEMODELYEAR SUBARUWRX2021
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data