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242 owner complaints and 1 active recall campaign on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
The AC unit suddenly shutoff and there was a burning smell while I was driving. It turns out that the connector on the back of the climate control unit had either drawn too much current, or the resistance was too high, and the connector had started burning. Fortunately, the…
Hard left steering sudden loss of control to right while in motion 97k miles faulty rack and pinion mechanic verified 12/31/2018 860-774-4514 (ron-owner) *dt consumer stated design defect. *jb
2012 impreza... Bought new, nothing but headaches. All problems listed below occurred before I had even owned the car 2 years. 1. At 8-10k miles - while driving car would randomly turn off passenger airbags and illuminate no passenger seatbelt on the dash. Took car to dealer…
Oil keeps running dry before next oil change. It has been requiring about 1 quart every 3,000 miles. This has the ability for the engine to run without oil and seize. This can cause drastic damage and injury along with greater wear. I have been mitigating it with keeping oil in…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
If the ODS deactivates, the front passenger air bag will be turned off and the front passenger air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.2 out of 10 based on 242 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2012 Subaru Impreza is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2012 Subaru Impreza is acceptable, with specific caveats. Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy. The record behind that call: Electrical system: 25 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 16,850–71,000 mi; Reliability score 7.2/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is airbags, with 91 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 46,311 miles. Average repair cost runs about $1,100 at an independent shop.
The airbags is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $1,100 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 46,311 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 242 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $1,100, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.