2017 Subaru Impreza Owner Complaints

I am filing a safety complaint regarding an Engine Control Module (ECM) failure in my 2017 Subaru Impreza and the handling of a prior recall repair. Dealership records show that a recall repair (WRE21 – ignition coil recall) was completed in June 2021. At that time, the dealership documented that the ECM calibration was up to date and functioning properly. However, I later experienced a check engine light and drivability concerns. Diagnostic records from February 2026 indicate: •Camshaft slow response codes •Persistent sensor issues •A technician recommendation to replace multiple components, including the ECM, stating that codes were “burned into the ECM” The dealership has since attempted to attribute the ECM failure to “engine sludge” and lack of maintenance. Concern with Dealership Explanation: This explanation is inconsistent and raises serious concerns: •Engine sludge is a mechanical lubrication issue and does not directly cause an ECM (electronic control module) to fail or become “burned.” •The ECM is an electronic unit, and failure typically results from electrical defects, internal faults, or manufacturing issues—not oil sludge. •The dealership has not provided technical evidence showing how sludge could damage or “burn” the ECM. •This appears to be an attempt to shift responsibility away from a potential defect or improperly completed recall repair. Safety Concern: The ECM is critical to safe vehicle operation. A failure can result in: •Engine malfunction or reduced power •Unpredictable vehicle behavior •Increased risk while driving If ECM failures are being misdiagnosed or incorrectly attributed to maintenance issues, this could allow serious safety defects to go unaddressed. Requested Action: I request that NHTSA: 1.Investigate whether ECM failures are being improperly attributed to maintenance issues such as engine sludge. 2.Review whether the recall repair (WRE21) was properly completed and whether it is related to thi

NHTSA ID

11731598

Incident

Feb 7, 2026

I noticed that visibility at night was poor. I was pulled over by the police and give a warning that my headlight was out and told to get it fixed. I thought it may be as simple as a bulb but was told the entire left headlamp assembly had to be replaced at a cost of more than $2,000. Just days later my Dealership send me a service notice which also stated that the left headlamp should be inspected. This was after I had already had it replaced at a local garage. The dealership confirmed that their was a recall but when I tried to get reimbursed by Subaru thru the safety recall WRG-22/NHTSA 22V624000 they said my vin# was excluded from the recall!(?)

NHTSA ID

11718214

Incident

Jan 20, 2026

[XXX] 2017 Subaru Impreza VIN [XXX] Cruze control error. Will it make brake lights fail if not repaired? go look in your database and see if Impreza has more than normal rear end collisions? What else is on bus that might be damaged by spike? Braking? Antilock? Lights? Why is this NOT a recall? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11684276

Incident

Sep 1, 2017

1. Any and all airbags failed to deploy. The car is currently parked in my garage and is available for inspection. The insurance company has declared the car a "total loss," and would like to tow it away as soon as possible. 2. The driver had a concussion and whiplash after their forehead hit the steering wheel. 3. No safety inspector has inspected the car yet. The insurance appraiser has inspected the car for the insurance company. 4. There were no warnings or dashboard lights indicating that the airbag had a problem and would fail to fully deploy.

NHTSA ID

11683244

Incident

Aug 2, 2025

Premature failure of wheel bearings. Both rear wheel bearings had to be replaced after only 54,192 miles. Technician indicated that replacements were upgraded "sealed" systems. At 73,712 miles the front driver's side wheel bearing was also replaced by the dealer after the same symptoms of excessive noise and poor mileage occurred. Concern is that high resistance in the failing bearings creates a lot of heat and could eventually cause catastrophic failure. In 40+ years of driving and owning cars with mileage accruals up to 229,000, this is the only one that ever required a wheel bearing replacement. This, and the technician's reference to upgraded bearings makes me believe that this is a manufacturing defect that should have been covered by a recall.

NHTSA ID

11682621

Incident

Mar 20, 2023

After reading forums online and my own experience I’m convinced the Subaru sun visors are improperly installed or fitted and pose a danger to drivers and those on the road. The sun visors on the driver and passenger side are incredibly loose and prone to falling off while I’m driving. I cannot use it to deflect sun because it will fall off while I’m driving - creating incredibly dangerous driving conditions. It has fallen in my lap but I’m afraid it might fall down to where the pedals are and cause further issues. This has been an issue since I purchased the vehicle in 2019 and happens almost weekly It doesn’t appear that Subaru sells the parts separately so replacing it would be costly.

NHTSA ID

11678597

Incident

Aug 5, 2025

The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH, she crashed into the rear of another vehicle on the front passenger side of her vehicle. The contact mentioned that the seat belt did retract during the impact. No air bags deployed.  The vehicle was towed to IAA by the insurance company. The insurance company inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the air bags should have deployed. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The contact stated that she sustained a neck and brain injury from the impact that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.

NHTSA ID

11656333

Incident

Apr 23, 2025

Mileage

69,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that the "Check Headlight Assembly" message was displayed, and the front passenger’s side headlight occasionally turned off or on, while attempting to start the vehicle and while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the front passenger’s side headlight assembly was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING); as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,534.

NHTSA ID

11651397

Incident

Oct 28, 2024

Mileage

69,534 mi

I hit the guard rail going 35 mph on an exit ramp because of the low visibility because of the safety recall. I went to get the recall fixed when I found out and they refused to fix the recall because my bumper is messed up.

NHTSA ID

11640254

Incident

Sep 21, 2024

Parked at a store. Car caught on fire while in store. Car had been parked approximately 10 minutes. Left side headlight spontaneously ignited.

NHTSA ID

11606177

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate without warning. The contact then stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle stalled upon the depression of the accelerator pedal with the traction control symbol flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle failed to restart after several attempts. An attempt to jumpstart the vehicle also failed to start the vehicle. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it was initially diagnosed with defective spark plugs and contaminated fuel. The contact was later informed that the failure was caused by a defective fuel pump that needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 68,500.

NHTSA ID

11589288

Incident

Apr 24, 2024

Mileage

68,500 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had experienced the failure causing the low beam reflector to inadequately reflect light. The failure mileage was 60,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11581375

Incident

Apr 5, 2024

Mileage

60,000 mi

Brunswick Subaru refuses to do headlight recall. I was told there is no fix yet over 6 months ago. I called again 2 weeks ago and told the same thing. I called Subaru directly and was told there is a fix and that they would contact me in two days. They still have not gotten me information on how to resolve recall 22v624000

NHTSA ID

11580649

Incident

Jun 22, 2023

The clutch release bearing seized while driving preventing the clutch from being depressed. The only way to stop the car was by overpowering the clutch with the brakes and pulling the emergency brake. There is a service information bulletin (NUMBER: 03-82-18) currently for the known defective part. There were no dash lights on at the time.

NHTSA ID

11580215

Incident

Mar 29, 2024

Hard to see at night

NHTSA ID

11573890

Incident

Jan 1, 2022

Since new, maybe once a month, Cruise control idiot light comes on and flashes until car is turned off. usually no bother but one day it started braking without me and I bought the DUMB base model!!! before extended warranty expires, this august, hopefully dealer will replace wheel speed sensors on rear wheels. not sure if this will fix problem. I have asked them to check this six or seven times now. they tell me warranty may not cover it unless code is stored? hopefully they will stand behind product and fix it anyway. 2017 Impreza with 33000 miles and have done ALL recalls and maintenance!

NHTSA ID

11573219

Incident

Feb 2, 2024

I was driving on the freeway and the all the airbags in my vehicle deployed, sides, front and under the steering wheel. I did not have an accident or hit anything in the road. The airbags blocked my view of the road, and the cabin filled with smoke. I was traveling at a freeway speed. I do not know if the issue has been reproduced. I have contacted my insurance company, and they are handling the claim. There was no prior indication of an issue and no dashboard lights indicated that there was an issue with any of the components of my car. There are no added components or modifications to my vehicle. I purchased the car new.

NHTSA ID

11572344

Incident

Feb 14, 2024

I was involved in an auto accident 9/18/2023. An SUV ran a red light and struck my care on the drivers side. The SUV struck me going between 45 and 50 mph according to the police report. My car was pushed over 20 feet and struck a traffic sign in the center median. My car was equipped with side curtain airbags and they did not deploy. I struck my head on the drivers side window. The front airbags failed to deploy also.

NHTSA ID

11571688

Incident

Sep 18, 2023

I received recall notice WRG-22 in October 2022. If this is a safety issue 15 months and no follow up is ridiculous.

NHTSA ID

11562882

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact who is active Military stationed outside of the US, was unable to import the vehicle back into the USA due to the vehicle being under recall. The contact stated that the country where the vehicle was located, the local dealers stated that the recall did not apply to similar vehicles of the same year and manufacturer in the country. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11562248

Incident

Aug 12, 2022

I have NOT been on an accident or anything related, my complaint is about my car's current recall that the manufacturer cannot fix. My husband is military and we are currently stationed in Spain, the car has a recall to be fixed before shipment to the new duty station. As per the shipping rules, there cannot be any recalls active on the vehicle and we have done our part to contact the manufacturer both in Spain, United States and Puerto Rico (where the car was purchased originally). We are expected to ship the car in January 31st, 2024 from Spain to the new duty station which this matter has an urgency as it is the only car we have. I have done my part of contacting all Subaru manufacturers so someone can fix the issue before the ship out date, and even they say the manufacturer has no idea HOW they will fix the recall. We need help! The car is in perfect condition we have NOT have any issues with the related 'recall' as of today. Again, we are NOT in the United States but stationed in Spain for military purposes and we are expected to move out at the end of January, this matter has great urgency!

NHTSA ID

11562240

Incident

Dec 27, 2023

I received the recall notice that shows "WRG-22, NHTSA ID 22V-624, October 2029." I have been waiting for Subaru to fix this. It seems a year later, it should be taken care of? As per the NHTSA site, it says to file a complaint if this is not fixed in a timely manner, so I am submitting this.

NHTSA ID

11560486

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

I am logging a complaint regarding my Subaru Impreza 2017 windshield. I bought new in 2017, and it currently has only about 55k miles. The windshield is completely covered (literally thousands) of tiny pinpoint chips. At certain times of day (usually sunset) the glare that this causes is so bad that visibility is very poor and driving is almost scary. I contacted the dealership and they said they haven’t heard of this issue. I drive regular roads and with this low of a mileage, I shouldn’t be having to think about replacing my windshield. I’ve driven cars with triple the mileage and windshields don’t look like this.

NHTSA ID

11557801

Incident

Nov 30, 2023

Premature failure of wheel bearing .at low mileage intervals .

NHTSA ID

11548937

Incident

Sep 28, 2021

The rear wheel bearing hubs continuously have to be replaced due to failure. I have 110,000 miles and have replaced the same rear wheel bearing 3x since buying the vehicle new. The 1st occured withing the first 30,000 miles

NHTSA ID

11545009

Incident

Sep 16, 2023