2019 Subaru Wrx: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2019 Subaru Wrx
On the 2019 Subaru Wrx, the failure owners report most often is other electrical problem, with 7 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 30,000 miles. Overall it scores 74 out of 100, high risk for a 2019.
High risk for a 2019 — 168th riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. 44 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What owners report breaking
Owners have reported 17 named failure modes on the 2019 Subaru Wrx, and the three most-reported carry 36% of everything filed.
Other electrical problem leads with 7 reports and about 0.7 per 1,000 vehicles.
No-start or intermittent start failure follows with 5 reports.
Other engine problem follows with 4 reports, median 30,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into engine (17), electrical (8) and transmission (3).
The mileage the reports cluster at
12 of the reports on the 2019 Subaru Wrx came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 30,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 83% by 50,000 miles and 83% by 100,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 20,000 and 30,000 miles, which alone holds 25% of the dated reports.
75% 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 17. 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
What happens when these parts fail
Nothing in the reports on the 2019 Subaru Wrx mentions a crash, a fire or an injury. That is the ordinary case and it is worth stating: most defect complaints are about a car that stopped working, not one that hurt somebody.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.43, 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: other electrical problem at $250–$2,000, no-start or intermittent start failure at $200–$1,800, other engine problem at $300–$4,000 and complete engine failure or seizure at $4,500–$12,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
45% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 7 | 2 | — | 24k | — | 0.7 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.5 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 4 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 0.4 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Complete engine failure or seizure | engine | 3 | 1 | — | 49k | — | 0.3 | $4,500–$12,000 | Critical |
| Stalling while driving | engine | 3 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 0.3 | $300–$2,500 | Critical |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 3 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 0.3 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure | engine | 2 | 2 | — | 130k | — | 0.2 | $1,200–$4,500 | Critical |
| Fuel pump failure | fuel | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | $600–$2,600 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Parasitic battery drain | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Infotainment screen failure | infotainment | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $400–$2,600 | Low |
| Audio or connectivity failure | infotainment | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $150–$900 | Low |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Windshield cracking | glass | 1 | 1 | — | 100 | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 1 | 1 | — | 350 | — | 0.1 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 5 | 2 | — | 21k | — | 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 2019 Subaru Wrx draws about 4.5 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 83rd percentile of complaint rates among 2019 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 9,776 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2019 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2019 model year
NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns covering the 2019 Subaru Wrx, affecting an estimated 18,338 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 exterior lighting:back up lights:switch and fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump. 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.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BACK UP LIGHTS:SWITCH
59,934 vehicles 2022-07-21- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2021 WRX vehicles. The backup light switch may corrode and become inoperative, which can result in the backup lights not illuminating and the rearview camera image not displaying when the vehicle is in reverse.
- Consequence
- Inoperative backup lights and an inoperative rearview camera can reduce vehicle visibility and driver awareness, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the backup light switch, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE-22.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
175,968 vehicles 2021-07-29- Defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
- Consequence
- Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.
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 2019 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
Where 2019 sits in the model line
High risk for a 2019 — 168th riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
Across the 15 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2008 comes out best at 64 and 2022 worst at 83, with 2019 itself at 74.
If the model year is negotiable, 2008, 2009, 2004, 2016 and 2005 score lower than 2019 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 2015–2021 generation specifically, 2016 is the strongest year at 69 and 2018 the weakest at 79.
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 2015-2021 generation, 2016 Subaru Wrx scores best at 69 and 2018 Subaru Wrx worst at 79.
Where these figures stop being useful
44 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 44 reports, 12 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 27% 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 2019 Subaru Wrx?
The most-reported failures are other electrical problem (7 reports, median 25,000 miles), no-start or intermittent start failure (5 reports) and other engine problem (4 reports, median 30,000 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.
Is the 2019 Subaru Wrx reliable?
It scores 74 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 168th riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2019 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 Wrx is best?
Within the 2015–2021 generation, 2016 scores best at 69 out of 100 and 2018 worst at 79. 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