2013 Subaru WRX STI
Complaints about this year name light far more often than the model's other years — 36% of them, about 89× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 245 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 3 |
| Involving a crash | 12 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 2 |
Also unusual this year
- off — 32% of complaints, 81× usual
- subaru impreza — 27% of complaints, 67× usual
- airbag — 22% of complaints, 56× usual
What owners wrote
THE SRS SENSOR WAS LIGHTING UP AND THE AIRBAG INDICATOR LIGHT BEGAN TO SWITCH TO OFF EVEN WHEN THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED. I TOOK MY CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONFIRMED THE SWITCH HAS GONE BACK AND NEEDS REPLACED. LUCKILY THE CAR IS STILL UNDER WAR…
MY AIRBAG LIGHT TURNS ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. THE PASSENGER SIDE SOMETIMES SAYS "PASSENGER AIRBAG ON" INAPPROPRIATELY (NOBODY IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT). ALSO IT SOMETIMES SAYS "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" IF SOMEBODY IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I AM…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 14V311000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 14V830000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Subaru WRX STI 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 2013 Subaru WRX STI? What happened to yours?
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