2006 Subaru Impreza problems
The 2006 Subaru Impreza has 68 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (29%) concerns air bags. After that come engine (18%) and fuel system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 68 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 43 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 | 15 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 11 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 43 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 60,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 22nd most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Subaru Impreza with enough data (32 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 10 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.
I was forced off the road by a car that pulled out in front of me from my right and stopped in my lane. I swerved to the left to avoid the car and corrected to the right, at this time there was no more road to drive on. My car went off the shoulder and into the ditch, striking a concrete drainage colvert ,head on. The left front bumper, from the headlights down and left front tire were completely demolished. The airbags did not deploy! The impact was in excess of thirty-five miles per hour.
90 MPH head on crash, and neither the driver nor the passenger airbags deployed, resulting in severe hyperextension of the neck and back of the passenger, causing 4 herniated disks, as well as a severe concussion resulting in post concussive disorder with permanent short term memory loss. When subaru was contacted listing the 2006 impreza and the above information, we were told that the federal crash test ratings are only for head on collisions with a brick wall, and if we had hit a brick wall then they would be…
I hit a bear at 55MPH with the cruise control on. The bear leaped off the bank in directly in front of the vehicle. The crash that resulted in the bear being killed instantly, about 600 lbs. Of bear. The car came to an instant halt with the front end being pushed back, lights,grille,fender, hood, ect. No air bags deployed. After calling subaru of america, I was advised to let my insurance handle it, but after much argument was assigned a case number of 1020805 by subaru.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 subaru impreza. While driving at any speed, coasting, and shifting gears, the vehicle loses all wheel drive power. The failure causes the vehicle to shift into neutral. The failure was more apparent at high altitudes and on icy roads. While driving downhill, the vehicle jerks before it shifts into neutral. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. However, they reprogrammed the ECM.
Possibly related to takata recall after local dealer serviced the recall, the air bag light came on. Dealer has said it is fault code 26, which is related to a failure of the passenger airbag indicator. This problem is pervasive and wide spread, a simple google search will garnish tens and possibly hundreds of people citing this failure.