Subaru WRX reliability by year
7 recall campaigns and 289 owner complaints across 11 model years. Best year to buy: 2022. Year to avoid: 2015.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 11 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 15, more than the 7 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the WRX aggregated across 11 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Subaru WRX?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2022 Subaru WRX scores 8.2/10 — the strongest in the 2015–2025 range. 25 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Subaru WRX year should I avoid?
The 2015 Subaru WRX scores 7.6/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 52 owner complaints with NHTSA, 3 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2015 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Subaru WRX should I avoid?
No Subaru WRX model year currently rises to an "avoid" or "high-risk" verdict on the NHTSA data — either the record is clean or sample sizes are still too thin for a confident call. The year-by-year breakdown below shows what's on file regardless.
How many years of the Subaru WRX are tracked?
11 model years (2015 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 7 distinct recall campaigns and 289 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 15 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Subaru WRX?
electrical is the most-reported category — 53 complaints across 6 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.