2005 Subaru Impreza: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2005 Subaru Impreza
On the 2005 Subaru Impreza, the failure owners report most often is fuel leak or fuel odor, and the reports cluster around 85,000 miles. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 72,500 miles. Overall it scores 69 out of 100, high risk for a 2005.
High risk for a 2005 — 135th riskiest of the 320 2005 vehicles we can rate. 95 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 26 named failure modes on the 2005 Subaru Impreza, and the three most-reported carry 31% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Fuel leak or fuel odor leads with 12 reports, about 0.5 per 1,000 vehicles and with the middle half of reports between 62k to 95,000 miles.
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure follows with 10 reports, usually reported between 90k to 125,000 miles.
Other fuel system problem follows with 7 reports, median 90,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into fuel (19), suspension (19) and brakes (7).
At what mileage it happens
81 of the reports on the 2005 Subaru Impreza came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 72,500 miles.
Cumulatively, 40% by 50,000 miles, 74% by 100,000 miles and 95% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 22% of the dated reports.
37% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 26. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 14 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 6 an injury and 1 a fatality. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 5.79, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: fuel leak or fuel odor at $300–$2,500, control arm, ball joint or bushing failure at $400–$2,200, other fuel system problem at $300–$2,200 and other suspension problem at $350–$2,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
13% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel leak or fuel odor | fuel | 12 | 12 | 62k | 86k | 95k | 0.5 | $300–$2,500 | Critical |
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 10 | 10 | 90k | 118k | 125k | 0.4 | $400–$2,200 | High |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 7 | 7 | — | 90k | — | 0.3 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 5 | 4 | — | 63k | — | 0.2 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 5 | 4 | — | 82k | — | 0.2 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Strut, shock or spring failure | suspension | 4 | 4 | — | 8k | — | 0.2 | $500–$2,000 | Moderate |
| CVT failure | transmission | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $3,000–$8,500 | Critical |
| Brake line, hose or caliper failure | brakes | 3 | 3 | — | 130k | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,600 | Critical |
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 3 | 2 | — | 19k | — | 0.1 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Other engine problem | engine | 3 | 3 | — | 90k | — | 0.1 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 3 | 3 | — | 9k | — | 0.1 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 3 | 1 | — | 80k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 3 | 3 | — | 146k | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Turbocharger or supercharger failure | engine | 2 | 2 | — | 63k | — | 0.1 | $1,500–$4,500 | High |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 2 | 2 | — | 26k | — | 0.1 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 2 | 2 | — | 6k | — | 0.1 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin | emissions | 2 | 2 | — | 104k | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | High |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 2 | 2 | — | 3k | — | 0.1 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Differential or transfer case failure | drivetrain | 1 | 1 | — | 5k | — | 0.0 | $900–$4,200 | High |
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 3k | — | 0.0 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Parking brake failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 21k | — | 0.0 | $250–$1,300 | Moderate |
| Power steering pump or fluid leak | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 51k | — | 0.0 | $350–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Wiper or washer failure | glass | 1 | 1 | — | 3k | — | 0.0 | $120–$800 | Moderate |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 100k | — | 0.0 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 63k | — | 0.0 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other seat belt problem | airbag | 1 | 1 | — | 5k | — | 0.0 | $200–$900 | High |
| Unclassified problem | other | 13 | 7 | — | 60k | — | 0.5 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2005 Subaru Impreza draws about 3.7 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 78th percentile of complaint rates among 2005 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 25,412 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2005 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Fuel leak or fuel odor
Gas leak in the fuel line causing a strong raw odor inside the vehicle on cold days. This is a known issue for impreza models and there is recently a recall for the 02-03 models. Currently there is no recall for the 04-05 models yet. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza wrx. The contact was driving 25 mh when there was an overpowering gasoline odor emitting from the air vents. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The dealer tightened two hose feeder clamps that were connected to the fuel rail to correct the problem. The failure recurred two weeks following the repair. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
My brother was driving his 2005 wrx sti on a clear morning on dry pavement and lost control. The car slid off the shoulder of the road and then crossed back over the road where it collided sideways with a tree. The vehicle made contact with the tree on the driver's door post, killing him instantly and injuring the passenger. Upon inspection of the car, we found that the driver's side ball joint seperated from the a-arm. It appeared that the threads on the ball joint were worn excessively and may have seperated or were seperating prior to the collision. We suspect that this could have even caused the loss of control. I know the car has an excellent safety record, but we contacted subaru about the ball joint/a-arm. Their response was that it is not a known problem. In addition, there have been no recalls or service bulletins on this. When we sold the car for salvage, the dealer who bought it told us that he deals in wrx sti parts. He told us that this is the fifth subaru impreza he has purchased with the lower ball joint seperated from the a-arm. Because of the frequency of occurence, I think it warrants tracking, even if the ball…
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, he noticed a loud clunking noise. He later inspected the vehicle and discovered that the driver side front lower control arm was fractured due to corrosion. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised him that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 11v464000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower arm). The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
Other fuel system problem
Exact to the subaru recall issued in '09 (2002-2003 impreza only), my 2005 subaru impreza wrx smells terribly of gas on cold morning when I start the vehicle. The smell is so bad that I cannot sit in the car without feeling faint if I do not roll the windows down, and cannot have any passengers in the car at startup until the car is warm and driven around the block for five minutes, which is the worst considering the cold winters I face in connecticut. This smell occurs upon starting the vehicle and letting it idle for about after a minute, but about after five-ten minutes of driving the smell finally goes away. I am aware of the issue with earlier year models, but am surprised at the fact that there is a grand amount of people with the same exact issue with 2004 and up imprezas as well, and a recall hasn't been issued yet (and my local subaru told me that I would have to pay full price for this repair which might take two days and cost around 500$ and up..wow!). This only occurs when it it below zero, but for me that is quite common during winter. I have seen numerous reports online that people with my year have called subaru of…
Fuel lines shrink under temperatures of 30 degrees. A strong odor of fuel coming from the engine bay. Seems like a very dangerous situation that may result in a explosion or fire. I took my car to the dealership and they wanted to charge me $900 to replace 2 rubber fuel lines that are 3 inches long. There is a recall on the 03 subaru impreza for the same issue. I don't know why there is no recall on the 04/05 subaru impreza. *tr
Recalls on the 2005 model year
NHTSA has issued 6 recall campaigns covering the 2005 Subaru Impreza, affecting an estimated 57,436 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
130 vehicles 2023-02-13- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2004-2005 Impreza and WRX vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.
- Consequence
- An incorrectly installed inflator may not properly inflate the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the passenger inflator and if necessary, install a new inflator kit, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 14, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRF-23.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
127,547 vehicles 2020-01-02- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
111,562 vehicles 2020-01-02- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
258,813 vehicles 2020-01-02- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
432,016 vehicles 2015-05-28- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to July 21, 2004, 2004-2005 Impreza vehicles manufactured January 28, 2003, to May 31, 2005, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to May 2, 2008, 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles manufactured February 18, 2003, to May 5, 2008, and 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured February 11, 2004, to March 17, 2005. The affected vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture…
- Consequence
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners and General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The Subaru recall began on June 17, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. The Saab recall began on July 27, 2015. Owners of Saab vehicles may call 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is WQR-53. Note: The recall completely supersedes recall 14V-399 (WQL-48) and partially supersedes recall 14V-763 (WQP-51) in that model year 2004 through 2005 Subaru Impreza and model year 2005 Saab 9-2x…
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM
318,215 vehicles 2011-09-06- Defect
- Subaru is recalling certain model year 2002-2007 impreza, model year 2003-2008 forester, and model year 2005-2006 saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured from september 5, 2000 through november 26, 2007 originally sold, or currently registered in, massachusetts, maryland, michigan, new hampshire, new york, pennsylvania, vermont, wisconsin, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, maine, minnesota, missouri, new jersey, ohio, rhode island, west virginia and the district of columbia. The front lower control arms may break at the hanger brackets due to corrosion if the hanger…
- Consequence
- A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Subaru will handle their vehicles and saab will handle theirs. Dealers will inspect the degree of corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during december 2011. Owners may contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2005 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 2005 — 135th riskiest of the 320 2005 vehicles we can rate. Every score on this site is a rank inside its own model year, which is what makes a 2004 and a 2019 comparable at all.
Across the 27 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2015 comes out best at 65 and 2021 worst at 84, with 2005 itself at 69.
If the model year is negotiable, 2015 and 2003 score lower than 2005 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2002–2007 generation specifically, 2003 is the strongest year at 66 and 2007 the weakest at 72.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2002-2007 generation, 2003 Subaru Impreza scores best at 66 and 2007 Subaru Impreza worst at 72.
What to look at before buying one
The mileages below are where the first quarter of reports for each mode had already been filed, which makes them the point at which a fault is worth looking for rather than the point at which it happens: fuel leak or fuel odor from about 62k and control arm, ball joint or bushing failure from about 90k.
On a 2005 Subaru Impreza with more miles than that on it, the useful question to put to a seller or a mechanic is whether fuel leak or fuel odor has been dealt with, and if so with what parts and at whose expense. A car that has already had the repair is in a different position from one that has not.
Treat it as where to point the inspection, not as a prediction. A well-maintained example can sail past every mileage on this page, and a neglected one can fail well before the first of them.
The limits of complaint data
95 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 95 reports, 81 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 85% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2005 Subaru Impreza?
The most-reported failures are fuel leak or fuel odor (12 reports, median 85,000 miles), control arm, ball joint or bushing failure (10 reports, median 120,000 miles) and other fuel system problem (7 reports, median 90,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
At what mileage do 2005 Subaru Impreza problems start?
Fuel leak or fuel odor is the earliest failure mode to show up, with a median reported mileage of 85,000 miles and a quarter of reports before 60,000 miles. Across all failure modes on this year, the median report sits at 72,500 miles.
Is the 2005 Subaru Impreza reliable?
It scores 69 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 135th riskiest of the 320 2005 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2005 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Subaru Impreza is best?
Within the 2002–2007 generation, 2003 scores best at 66 out of 100 and 2007 worst at 72. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed