2019 Subaru WRX Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru WRX. The contact stated that the driver's-side rear rim spoke was cracked in two pieces. The contact stated that new tires were installed on the vehicle. The contact replaced the tire with the spare. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the rim was replaced. The dealer indicated that the owner had damaged the rim. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA ID

11745540

Incident

Jun 10, 2026

Mileage

45,000 mi

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 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.

NHTSA ID

11742031

Incident

Jun 4, 2026

fuel pump cut off intermeeting mager loss off power tech at subaru refuse to repair car has 72000 miles on well manetane

NHTSA ID

11733161

Incident

Apr 2, 2026

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 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.

NHTSA ID

11715651

Incident

Feb 4, 2026

At 77,000 miles, my vehicle suffered a major failure where the #2 connecting rod and piston were destroyed, requiring a short block replacement. This repair was performed by Autonation West Subaru in Golden, Colorado and was covered under the SAS gold plan, certified pre-owned 7yr/100,00mi. warranty purchased with the vehicle. According to the technician's report at that time, the failure was so violent it cracked the engine block and contaminated the entire oiling system with metal shrapnel. A short 18,000 miles after receiving the vehicle back at 95,335 miles the clutch went out, needing to be replaced. Keep in mind that this clutch had recently been replaced at 35,757mi. by this same dealership who at the time charged me $900 even though I had just bought the car in July of 2021 with 22,000mi on it. Now, I am at 128,000 miles—only 50,000 miles after the dealership repair—and the engine has failed again. Fortunately, just as I was pulling up to my friend's house, it stalled with an engine code of p0171 present and several dash lights illuminated. And all I've gotten it to do is crank but not start, since early September. In October I had it towed to Subie Smith in Thornton, Colorado. Who did an inspection and compression test, reporting low compression in 2 of the 4 cylinders. And recommended a full engine replacement, either used or new. I don't have the means to afford an engine replacement now out of warranty.

NHTSA ID

11712991

Incident

Sep 7, 2025

There is what looks to be water spots inside the radio screen causing the radio to malfunction. After reading online this is happening to many cars my same year and the website mentioned a recall for this issue. I have less than 60,000 miles on my car.

NHTSA ID

11634458

Incident

Dec 9, 2024

With 61,700 miles on the car the engine lost a rod bearing going around a sharp corner on and off ramp of interstate highway. If failure had caused block to crack or break it would have put oil down on the highway and would of caused loss of control of the car. From research done online it seems sharp corners cause engine catastrophic failure. Car is currently at Subaru dealership. Subaru will not do anything about the issue. Vehicle had fresh oil change 2 days before failure with no noise or warning before failure.

NHTSA ID

11613050

Incident

Aug 26, 2024

Mid-Drive the Airbag (SRS) light came on indicating here was a fault in the system. After some diagnostic testing it was determined that there was a fault in the Occupant detection system causing the vehicle to not activate the airbag regardless of the fact that someone was sitting in the seat. The issue was present in same type of seats (heated) that were previously recalled shortly before this vehicle was produced.

NHTSA ID

11600704

Incident

Jul 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru WRX. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, there was an abnormal popping sound detected, and the engine seized. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who informed the contacts that the repair was not covered under the warranty. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The technician checked the black box, which indicated that the vehicle had been driven at 144 MPH, the turbo was spun, and the warranty was declined. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.

NHTSA ID

11564661

Incident

Jun 1, 2023

Mileage

49,000 mi

Engine failed while driving causing vehicle to stall

NHTSA ID

11556424

Incident

Nov 22, 2023

There is a current drain (approximately 135mA) by the built-in telematics system (DCM) even when the car is completely powered off. The drain will drop battery voltage levels beyond recharge/repair. Dead batteries can leave people stranded in unsafe areas or make them susceptible to potentially dangerous situations such as being approached by bad actors. The vehicle has been inspected by me, who confirmed the current draw through a multimeter and pulling fuses 1-by-1. It has been confirmed by multiple people online with similar symptoms: https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/dark-current-drain.550299/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Subaru_Outback/comments/zzh5d3/drained_battery_and_dcm_fuse/ http://www.subarucomplaints.com/battery-drain/ No warnings, messages, or symptoms. Just kept waking up to dead batteries.

NHTSA ID

11519850

Incident

Apr 10, 2023

at random, the vehicle will shut down for a second and start back up without pressing the start button. usually occurs while using carplay but has occurred without using the stereo. will happen back to back and cause the steering wheel to lock up at highway speeds, taking control of the vehicle away from me (driver). steering wheel has locked up several times when the car shuts off while driving. vehicle was taken to dealership for diagnostics and they were unable to pinpoint an issue.

NHTSA ID

11493131

Incident

Aug 13, 2022

The battery in my 2019 Subaru WRX failed after buying it brand new from the dealer, after less than 2 years of owning the vehicle. Almost one year later, my car now won't start if I leave it off for more than 24 hrs. In 2019 I left the car powered off for over a week and it started right up no hesitation. This is a huge problem now as I work remotely and don't need to drive my car every day however I do need my brand new car to reliably START even if I haven't driven it for a day or so! I took it to the dealership and they state their battery diagnostics and the alternator both pass, and no software updates pertaining to an issue of this nature was available. I'm going back tomorrow for a tech to run "extended electrical diags" on it but I've read about this issue affecting SO MANY OTHERS that there is now a lawsuit about it! Wanted y'all to know I'm experiencing this as well. https://www.torquenews.com/1084/subaru-battery-drain-lawsuit-new-claims-now-include-forester-wrx-and-legacy/amp

NHTSA ID

11492032

Incident

Sep 13, 2022

This vehicle has less than 20,000 miles on it and I’ve had the battery drain on me 3 different times from just leaving a door open with the car off while doing general maintenance things. The car lacks a feature to shut off the dome lights and I thought that was what the problem stemmed from. Each time the car died on me the door was open for no more than 20 minutes or so. Once I saw there’s a class action lawsuit against them for issues related to this I knew this issue is the same one. No battery should be going dead from a light being on for 20 minutes with nothing else running.

NHTSA ID

11486196

Incident

Aug 5, 2022

Battery cannot hold a charge even after jumping the car. Once jumped, the car will drive but when the engine is turned off, it cannot turn back on without a jump.

NHTSA ID

11485126

Incident

Sep 17, 2022

The STARLINK 7-inch Multimedia Plus unit gets locked-up, sometime not responsive to touch, skips around to different songs, in a phantom way scans different radio stations, disconnects phone calls.

NHTSA ID

11480522

Incident

Aug 20, 2022

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru WRX. The contact stated that she was unable to start the vehicle. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that her father was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The contact stated the following morning she experienced the failure for a second time. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

NHTSA ID

11477130

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

Mileage

25,000 mi

I've had two fuel pumps replaced under warranty after the 2nd fuel pump failed hours after the Subaru dealership installed it. They installed the 3rd which worked until a week ago when my car stalled at a red light. The car would not start back up and it has since been diagnosed as a fuel issue.

NHTSA ID

11474719

Incident

Jul 10, 2022

Rod bearing broke on engine at 9k miles, car shuts down. Replaced engine and turbo under warranty. Rod bearing broke again on engine at 38k, car shut down. Both times will traveling on highway posing major safety risk.

NHTSA ID

11467539

Incident

May 14, 2022

Parasitic battery drain, the vehicle dies and will not start after 1 day of not being driven.

NHTSA ID

11461972

Incident

Apr 24, 2022

The contact stated owns a 2019 SUBARU WRX. The contact stated that while her spouse was driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle started making an abnormal sound as if the engine was sputtering. The driver was concerned that fuel was not running through the engine correctly. The vehicle began to fail to accelerate forward then lose motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the driver was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle made a large popping sound and white smoke was coming from the tailpipe. The contact cooled off the timing belt to cool off the vehicle. There was no fire reported. No injuries or medical attention is needed. The vehicle was towed. The contact stated that earlier that day while starting the vehicle it had backfired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the engine was blown due to the failure related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V587000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, there was no response yet. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA ID

11437131

Incident

Sep 28, 2021

Mileage

130,000 mi

Without warning, my brand new car at 1000 miles was found battery dead in my garage. Towed to dealership, I was told that "I got a bad battery". Again, at 7000 miles, car found dead in my garage.

NHTSA ID

11427117

Incident

Jul 27, 2021

I was an hour into a 5-hour trip. I stopped the vehicle at a interstate rest area. I then went to start the car again after 5 minutes or so, and it would not start. After getting a jump start, I drove back to my dealership, and they informed me I needed to replace my battery. This vehicle is only 2 years old. I paid for a new battery.

NHTSA ID

11424522

Incident

Jul 7, 2021

UNKNOWN - Car will occasionally not shift into 2nd gear, and will be able to engage every other gear other than second.

NHTSA ID

11421901

Incident

Jun 22, 2021

THE BATTEREY DRAINS WITHIN A WEEK IF THE VEHICLE ISN’T DRIVEN

NHTSA ID

11416750

Incident

May 2, 2021

Mileage

22,000 mi