AI DamageSubaru Impreza STI: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Subaru Impreza STI across 2 model years: 36 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Engine and cooling 42% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 31% of all complaints
- 3 Service brakes 17% of all complaints
- 4 Structure 17% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 14% of all complaints
- 6 Engine 6% of all complaints
- 7 Vehicle speed control 6% of all complaints
- 8 Electrical system 3% of all complaints
- Engine and cooling: 15 complaints (42% of all).
- Powertrain: 11 complaints (31% of all).
- Service brakes: 6 complaints (17% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Structure: 6 complaints (17% of all).
- Air bags: 5 complaints (14% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 36 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and cooling | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 2 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The airbags did not deploy. The car and the building received extensive damage.
Both headlights going out at the same time. This has happened about ten times over the last four years and now I have no headlights. I have tried three different headlights in the last month, the first two worked briefly and the last one from subaru did not work at all.
What is the issue? Basically the firewall is so thin that it flexes terribly every time the clutch or brake pedal is pressed. The big problem is the way the clutch/brake assembly is secured to the thin firewall. It only has 6 small spot welds that rip off the firewall after time.
We have not heard from the dealer about replacing the air bag we had an email in july 2016 called to make an appointment and they said they did not have the part in thats what they were waiting for this is october 2016 and we have not heard anything yet.
Broken firewall welds/clutch squeak im having loud creaking noise with depression of clutchpedalover last few years which did not respond tolithiumgreaselubricationat pivot bolt whereclutch pedalhingeson bracket attached to firewall.
The clutch bracket on the firewall has only 4 small tack welds from the factory. This bracket takes all the force of your leg pushing in the clutch every time you change a gear.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-06.