2005 Subaru Impreza problems
The 2005 Subaru Impreza has 95 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (20%) concerns fuel system. After that come suspension (18%) and air bags (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 95 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 8 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 72,000 miles 81 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 26 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 81 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 72,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 8 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 86% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Subaru Impreza with enough data (37 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
My brother was driving his 2005 wrx sti on a clear morning on dry pavement and lost control. The car slid off the shoulder of the road and then crossed back over the road where it collided sideways with a tree. The vehicle made contact with the tree on the driver's door post, killing him instantly and injuring the passenger. Upon inspection of the car, we found that the driver's side ball joint seperated from the a-arm.
I was travailing 40-45 MPH on a 2 lane road in my 2005 subaru wrx sti. I came out of a small s curve and went over a rough patch of road, and the tail end of the car started sliding out to the right, the next thing I knew I had ran into the bank and I was facing traffic, I hit the bank at least 40 MPH, there was a car in front of me and one behind me, and one coming in the other lane of traffic.
I have a 2005 wrx sti, and the paint has been chipping off!!! I store my car privately, it only has 18,000 miles on it, and the paint gets chipped off by anything and everything. I wax the car monthly and get it detailed quarterly. What kind of paint chips that fast? I have other friends with subarus and they have the same problem. Thanks for the 32,000 dollar lemon.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza. The contact stated that fuel fumes were emitted inside the vehicle. The dealer stated that the fuel lines and the intake manifold gaskets needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,476. Updated 10/02/14 updated 10/23/14 updated 3/30/15