Other engine problem on the 2002 Subaru Wrx
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Subaru Wrx report other engine problem at a median of 35,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 108,454 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
44% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27,746 miles | 29,500 miles | 37,000 miles | 63,176 miles | 136,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 8 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 105,000 miles.
By volume the 2002 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Temperature gauge fluctuated wildly while driving, and consumer felt that this should not be happening. Vehicle was taken to the dealer, and was given back to the consumer, dealer claimed that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. *ak
Vehicle: subaru impreza wrx 2002. Fuel smell noticeable in engine compartment and passenger cabin in cold weather. Smell most noticeable in passenger cabin when vents are open to outside air and heater/fan is on. Smell became noticeable in december and has persisted. It is currently february 16th as I file this report.*ak
I drive a 2002 subaru impreza wrx. A week and a half ago we had temps below zero. While driving I noticed very strong gas smells coming through the vents while using the defrost. After some online investigation I have found that this is a fairly common problem with these vehicles for anyone living in a colder climate. I belive the problem has to do with the fittings that attatch the metal fuel lines to the flexible hoses in the engine compartment. In cold weather these fail, spilling gasoline onto the engine block. Now the problem is more common, even on cool, but not cold days. I understand that subaru is aware of the problem and has even issued a service bulletin to dealerships advising them of the fix for this (which is very expensive). However, it should not be the consumers responsiblity to pay for a potentially dangerous fix that is common on these cars. Strong gas fumes in the passanger compartment and gasoline spilling onto the engine block should constitute enough of a safety hazard to justify a recall of these vehicles. Thank you for your attention in this matter. *ak
Also reported on the 2002 Subaru Wrx
Fuel leak or fuel odor
Other fuel system problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Loss of braking
Other powertrain problem
Engine bay fire
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2002 Subaru Wrx?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 35,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2002 Subaru Wrx?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 8.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
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