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ProblemsByVin Index / 2019-SUBARU-WRX / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2019 Subaru WRX owner complaints

29 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle . Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.

electrical 10 complaints shown

13 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $850 · see electrical cluster analysis →
11/10/2022 ODI #11493131.0

at random, the vehicle will shut down for a second and start back up without pressing the start button. usually occurs while using carplay but has occurred without using the stereo. will happen back to back and cause the steering wheel to lock up at highway speeds, taking control of the vehicle away from me (driver). steering wheel has locked up several times when the car shuts off while driving. vehicle was taken to dealership for diagnostics and they were unable to pinpoint an issue.

11/03/2022 ODI #11492032.0

The battery in my 2019 Subaru WRX failed after buying it brand new from the dealer, after less than 2 years of owning the vehicle. Almost one year later, my car now won't start if I leave it off for more than 24 hrs. In 2019 I left the car powered off for over a week and it started right up no hesitation. This is a huge problem now as I work remotely and don't need to drive my car every day however I do need my brand new car to reliably START even if I haven't driven it for a day or so! I took it to the dealership and they state their battery diagnostics and the alternator both pass, and no software updates pertaining to an issue of this nature was available. I'm going back tomorrow for a tech to run "extended electrical diags" on it but I've read about this issue affecting SO MANY OTHERS

09/24/2022 ODI #11486196.0

This vehicle has less than 20,000 miles on it and I’ve had the battery drain on me 3 different times from just leaving a door open with the car off while doing general maintenance things. The car lacks a feature to shut off the dome lights and I thought that was what the problem stemmed from. Each time the car died on me the door was open for no more than 20 minutes or so. Once I saw there’s a class action lawsuit against them for issues related to this I knew this issue is the same one. No battery should be going dead from a light being on for 20 minutes with nothing else running.

09/18/2022 ODI #11485126.0

Battery cannot hold a charge even after jumping the car. Once jumped, the car will drive but when the engine is turned off, it cannot turn back on without a jump.

08/22/2022 ODI #11480522.0

The STARLINK 7-inch Multimedia Plus unit gets locked-up, sometime not responsive to touch, skips around to different songs, in a phantom way scans different radio stations, disconnects phone calls.

08/02/2022 25,000 mi ODI #11477130.0

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru WRX. The contact stated that she was unable to start the vehicle. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that her father was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The contact stated the following morning she experienced the failure for a second time. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

07/30/2021 ODI #11427117.0

Without warning, my brand new car at 1000 miles was found battery dead in my garage. Towed to dealership, I was told that "I got a bad battery". Again, at 7000 miles, car found dead in my garage.

07/12/2021 ODI #11424522.0

I was an hour into a 5-hour trip. I stopped the vehicle at a interstate rest area. I then went to start the car again after 5 minutes or so, and it would not start. After getting a jump start, I drove back to my dealership, and they informed me I needed to replace my battery. This vehicle is only 2 years old. I paid for a new battery.

06/04/2026 ODI #11742031.0

The cam carriers for my vehicle are leaking oil. This is an incredible common, seemingly almost guaranteed, issue with these vehicles from Subaru at the 75-90k mile mark. The carrier are dripping oil, so worse than seeping, but not pouring. This runs the risk of the engine bleeding oil fast and running dry without checking oil levels every week or so and carrying extra emergency oil. This is a huge safety risk and given the proliferation of this issue across subaru vehicles and the CVT it needs to be addressed by SOA. There are no warning lights for this issue and this would not have been caught if I hadn't gone to the dealership for a general car inspection as I suspected something may be wrong. The problem has been reproduced at other shops/dealerships and is a very common almost guara

05/15/2021 22,000 mi ODI #11416750.0

The batterey drains within a week if the vehicle isn’t driven

engine 4 complaints shown

6 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $3,100 · see engine cluster analysis →
11/22/2023 ODI #11556424.0

Engine failed while driving causing vehicle to stall

11/19/2020 29,500 mi ODI #11375389.0

The vehicle stalled at highway speed as I began to decelerate on the interstate highway. I attempted several times to restart the engine until the vehicle reach a rolling stop in the middle of the 4 lane highway. I turned on my hazard lights and after approximately a minute I managed engage the engine for a brief period to reach the shoulder of the highway before the engine stalled again. There were no indicators or warning lights on. I tried several times to start the engine with no success so I called for service. After waiting for 30 minutes, I tried to start the car again; this time the rpms stayed normal. I drove to the car dealership for service. On the first day the technicians were able to replicate the issue but could not identify anything wrong with the vehicle. The technicians t

09/06/2024 ODI #11613050.0

With 61,700 miles on the car the engine lost a rod bearing going around a sharp corner on and off ramp of interstate highway. If failure had caused block to crack or break it would have put oil down on the highway and would of caused loss of control of the car. From research done online it seems sharp corners cause engine catastrophic failure. Car is currently at Subaru dealership. Subaru will not do anything about the issue. Vehicle had fresh oil change 2 days before failure with no noise or warning before failure.

06/04/2022 ODI #11467539.0

Rod bearing broke on engine at 9k miles, car shuts down. Replaced engine and turbo under warranty. Rod bearing broke again on engine at 38k, car shut down. Both times will traveling on highway posing major safety risk.

powertrain 2 complaints shown

10/15/2019 30,000 mi ODI #11268703.0

Very similar issues described in previous engine failures reported. New car, off the showroom floor, serviced on frequent. There was a sudden loud clunky noise and complete loss of power. 7 weeks later still at Subaru and dealership not able to identify the issue but not started to say it was driver fault?

06/22/2021 ODI #11421901.0

UNKNOWN - Car will occasionally not shift into 2nd gear, and will be able to engage every other gear other than second.

other 2 complaints shown

07/21/2020 12,000 mi ODI #11340581.0

The screen freaks out. It freezes, jacks up the volume sometimes and just feels like the screen has a mind of its own. It goes black sometimes but overall just freezing. Its really annoying and frustrating when the volume starts blaring or decides to not let you listen to it at all. It's usually when its in motion. It happens randomly. I have not noticed a pattern as to when the faults happen.

07/19/2022 ODI #11474719.0

I've had two fuel pumps replaced under warranty after the 2nd fuel pump failed hours after the Subaru dealership installed it. They installed the 3rd which worked until a week ago when my car stalled at a red light. The car would not start back up and it has since been diagnosed as a fuel issue.

fuel system 1 complaint shown

10/18/2021 130,000 mi ODI #11437131.0

The contact stated owns a 2019 SUBARU WRX. The contact stated that while her spouse was driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle started making an abnormal sound as if the engine was sputtering. The driver was concerned that fuel was not running through the engine correctly. The vehicle began to fail to accelerate forward then lose motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the driver was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle made a large popping sound and white smoke was coming from the tailpipe. The contact cooled off the timing belt to cool off the vehicle. There was no fire reported. No injuries or medical attention is needed. The vehicle was towed. The contact stated that earlier that day while starting the vehicle it had backfired. The veh

airbags 1 complaint shown

07/10/2024 ODI #11600704.0

Mid-Drive the Airbag (SRS) light came on indicating here was a fault in the system. After some diagnostic testing it was determined that there was a fault in the Occupant detection system causing the vehicle to not activate the airbag regardless of the fact that someone was sitting in the seat. The issue was present in same type of seats (heated) that were previously recalled shortly before this vehicle was produced.

Showing 300 of 29 total complaints. The full federal record is available at nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2019/Subaru/WRX#complaints.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-06-14. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
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