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What 4 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Subaru WRX

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (4)Brakes (1)Engine (1)Fuel system (1)Transmission & drivetrain (1)

Newest first · 4 complaints

Sep 11, 2017EngineFuel system

MULTIPLE SUBARU'S WITH TURBO ENGINES ARE EXPERIENCING THE P2441 CEL CODE WHICH IS AN ISSUE WITH SECONDARY AIR VALVES BEING STUCK. THIS IS PART OF THE EMISSIONS SYSTEM AND NOT POWERTRAIN SO WARRANTY DOESNT COVER BEYOND A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME. THIS ISSUE HAS ALSO BEEN OCCURING OVER THE PAST DECADE, WITH EXPENSIVE COST TO FIX >$1200 FOR A VALVE REPAIR. IT APPEARS EVEN WITH PROPER MAINTENANCE THE FAILURE OF THIS PART IS UNPREDICTABLE. SUBARU OF AMERICA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FREQUENCY OF THIS FAILURE.

NHTSA ODI 11022591

Aug 27, 2015Transmission & drivetrain

CLUTCH PEDAL MAKES SQUEAKING NOISE WHEN FULLY DEPRESSED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ENGAGE INTO FIRST GEAR. IT WILL ALSO MAKE A CLICKING TYPE NOISE WHEN CLUTCH PEDAL IS ONLY DEPRESSED 25% OF THE WAY DOWN. CAN EASILY BE REPLICATED DAY OR NIGHT, HOT OR COLD. KNOWN ISSUE BUT DEALERSHIP SERVICE HAS NO WARRANT FIX FOR THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 10759861

Jul 4, 2015

CLUTCH PEDDLE SQUEAKS AS IT IS DEPRESSED TO THE FLOOR... APPARENTLY ISSUE HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE 08 MODELS SOMETHING CRACKED ON FIREWALL

NHTSA ODI 10731945

Jul 24, 2014Brakes

WHILE DRIVING, THREE DASH LIGHTS TURN ON-ABS LIGHT, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, AND HILL ASSIST LIGHT. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, ANTI-LOCK BRAKES NO LONGER FUNCTION ALONG WITH TRACTION CONTROL AND HILL ASSIST, FURTHERMORE, THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT ILLUMINATE.THE PART WAS REPLACED BY SUBARU WHEN UNDER WARRANTY. IT HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS OTHER TIMES SINCE BEING REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE DASH LIGHTS WILL RESET WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF, BUT THEY ALWAYS COME BACK AT SOME POINT.THE PART REPLACED WAS THE BRAKE LIGHT STOP SWITCH. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM ONLINE AND FOUND THAT MANY SUBARU WRX DRIVERS EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS UNSAFE AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY SUBARU. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10616122

Working with the data? Download all 4 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Subaru WRX verdict →