Home · 2013 Subaru Impreza · Complaints

What 248 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Impreza

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 (248)Crash / fire / injury (20)Airbags (79)Engine (74)Electrical system (33)Brakes (24)Transmission & drivetrain (23)Steering (14)Speed control (13)Seats (9)Lights (7)Body & structure (6)

2 of 248 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Aug 13, 2023Electrical systemFire

The wires that connect to the climate control have started an electrical fire and burned out my climate control twice. Upon reporting this to Subaru they advised the climate control randomly not working is a very common problem as it can melt due to high heat outside (90-100+ temperature). Now upon replacing the climate control unit, the wire connected was burned as there was an active electrical fire that was the cause of the climate control not working because it could not connect to the wire pack properly due to the fire. Fire started and went out on its own but without my knowledge as it’s internal behind the radio portion of the car. I would not have known about the fire unless I replaced the part, which is what I did.

NHTSA ODI 11538195

Apr 29, 2021Electrical systemFire

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE HAVING THE VEHICLE INSPECTED AT A LOCAL MECHANIC, THE MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE WIRING HARNESS BETWEEN THE FAN MOTOR AND CLIMATE CONTROL FAN SPEED SWITCH BURNED OUT AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 107,000.*DT

NHTSA ODI 11414459

Working with the data? Download all 248 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 12, 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 2013 Subaru Impreza verdict →