2002 Subaru WRX problems
The 2002 Subaru WRX has 461 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (67%) concerns fuel system. Next are brakes (18%) and engine (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 461 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 67% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 20 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 40,000 miles 352 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 | 55 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 116 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 74 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 47 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 32 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 352 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 40,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 49,000 miles (238 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 20 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 18 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Subaru WRX with enough data (382 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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 2002 subaru wrx sedan has displayed unreliable ABS behavior. This has resulted in my first accident in 10 years of driving. The car appears to loose virtually all breaking power when encountering any road imperfections. While the ABS system should engage in such an even, it should disengage as soon as it clears the problem. However, while driving, I have noticed the wrx continues to loose breaking power.
While driving at 55-60 MPH consumer attempted to turn a corner too fast and vehicle collided with a brick wall. Consumer was thrown against the windshield and broke his nose. The seat belts were not worn , and frontal air bags did not deploy. Consumer was cited by the police for destruction of property.
I drive a 2002 subaru impreza wrx sedan. The ABS system is terrible on this vehicle and has numerous times failed to apply pressure to the brake system, regardless of pedal position. One time specifically this caused me to not be able to avoid hitting a deer, and doing 4000 dollars of damage to my vehicle. The dealership denies any problems, but I way more than enough stopping distance where any vehicle should have been able to stop. The surface was rough asphalt.
I bought a 2002 subaru wrx in september and didn't notice the raw fuel smell until it started getting cold. I noticed it every time I started the car when the temperature was below 30 degrees f. One night I let is run to warm up and saw a large puddle of what appeared to be oil/gas mixture coming from underneath the car. From research I understand that many other 2002 wrx owners seem to have this same problem due to a fuel line leak. I believe that subaru should have a recall to fix this dangerous problem.