2012 Subaru Impreza
Complaints about this year name occupant far more often than the other years of this generation — 9% of them, about 20× the usual rate of 0.5%.
First year of a new generation. The Subaru Impreza was redesigned for 2012. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 242 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 75 |
| Involving a crash | 10 |
| Involving a fire | 4 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 4/5 |
| EPA combined | 24.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- impreza driving — 7% of this year's complaints, against 2.7% across the other years of this generation (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: impreza driving, transmission failed, indicators illuminated.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- passenger airbag — 17% of complaints, 3× usual
- oil — 15% of complaints, 3× usual
- airbag light — 9% of complaints, 8× usual
What owners wrote
WHEN A PASSENGER OF 215LBS OR MORE SITS IN MY 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA PASSENGER SEAT FOR MORE THAN 10MILES THE AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS TURNED OFF.
THERE IS A SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE OCCUPANT DETECTION SYSTEM. WHEN THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT RIGHT SEAT THE AIRBAG SIGN WILL SAY PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF. THIS WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE CAR IS MOVING OR STATIONARY.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V149000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 16V738000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 15V419000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 13V061000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 11V562000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 18V772000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Subaru Impreza was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2012 Subaru Impreza? What happened to yours?
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