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2013 Subaru Impreza Recalls & Complaints

4

open safety recalls on record

Critical

343 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.29 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical16V738000

Electrical System

If the air injection pump overheats, it may melt and raises the risk of a fire.

Remedy & full details

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the secondary air injection pump relay, free of charge. The recall began December 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTM-73.

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 model year Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2008-2014 Impreza vehicles and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, all equipped with turbo-charged engines. The relay that controls the secondary air injection pump may fail, causing the pump to continuously operate and overheat.

Critical13V061000

Electrical System

The engine may inadvertently start and run for up to fifteen minutes.

Remedy & full details

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RES key fobs, free of charge. The recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783 for more information.

Subaru is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with an automatic or CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory, certain model year 2012-2013 Impreza vehicles equipped with a CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory, and certain model year 2013 XV Crosstrek vehicles equipped with a CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory. Additionally included are certain model year 2013 Legacy and Outback vehicles that may have received replacement RES fobs. If the RES fob is dropped, the fob may malfunction and randomly transmit an engine start request without pressing the button.

Critical18V772000

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine

engine stall can raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Subaru will notify their owners. Toyota will notify the FR-S owners. Dealers will replace the valve springs, free of charge. The recall began December 26, 2018. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614, Toyota owners may contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-888-270-9371. Subaru's number for this recall is WTY-84.

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Subaru Impreza, 2012-2013 Impreza Stationwagon, 2013 Subaru BRZ, XV Crosstrek and Toyota Scion FR-S vehicles. The engine valve springs in these vehicles may fracture causing an engine malfunction or a possible engine stall.

Serious19V149000

Exterior Lighting:Brake Lights:Switch

Brake lights that do not illuminate properly will not alert other drivers that the vehicle is slowing or stopping, raises the risk of crash.

Remedy & full details

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90.

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2014 WRX sedans (including STI), and 2013-2017 Crosstrek vehicles. Exposure to certain contaminants may cause the brake light switch to malfunction, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and also preventing keyless ignition vehicles from starting and CVT/automatic transmissions from being able to be shifted out of Park.

Complaint volume

343 this model-year 9 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

23Crashes
10Fires
6Injuries
0Deaths

Across 343 complaints. Severity Index 0.29.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Air Bags79 · 23%Engine74 · 22%Electrical System31 · 9%Power Train23 · 7%Service Brakes22 · 6%Unknown Or Other21 · 6%Steering14 · 4%Vehicle Speed Control13 · 4%
  1. Air Bags — 79 reports
  2. Engine — 74 reports
  3. Electrical System — 31 reports
  4. Power Train — 23 reports
  5. Service Brakes — 22 reports
  6. Unknown Or Other — 21 reports
  7. Steering — 14 reports
  8. Vehicle Speed Control — 13 reports
  9. Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification — 12 reports
  10. Seats — 9 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (4) · 1996 (3) · 1997 (3) · 1998 (3) · 1999 (4) · 2000 (4) · 2001 (3) · 2002 (6) · 2003 (6) · 2004 (8) · 2005 (6) · 2006 (10) · 2007 (9) · 2008 (15) · 2009 (15) · 2010 (15) · 2011 (14) · 2012 (6) · 2013 · 2014 (3) · 2015 (2) · 2016 (1) · 2017 (7) · 2018 (5) · 2019 (5) · 2020 (1) · 2021 (2) · 2022 (1) · 2023 (2) · 2024 (2) · 2025

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.