What 149 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Subaru Impreza

A recall was issued for this vehicle about 17 months ago and a remedy is still unavailable. We find this to be unacceptable especially considering it is a safety hazard.

NHTSA ODI 11564077

NOTIFYED 10/2022 OF SAFTY RECALL WRG-22 / NHTSA ID 22V-624 DEALER GRAND PRIX SUBARU 500 SOUTH BROADWAY HICKSVILLE New York 11801 CLAIMS NO INFO ON THIS RECALL. HAS NOT CALLED ME BACK.

NHTSA ODI 11563949

Knocking sound in engine confirmed by dealership service center to be a spark knock in the engine. No fix available and the service center stated "is a common problem in Impreza."

NHTSA ODI 11563245

Subaru Safety Recall WRG-22 is more than a year and a half old. I have checked status regularly. In October 2023, I attempted to contact Subaru and listened to music for 10 minutes. I also contact NHTSA and spoke with a young lady who was quite rude. This recall is not being handled in a timely manner by Subaru or NHTSA. This tool is the only one I could find to report the delay. "If the manufacturer has failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall for your vehicle in a timely manner, please contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at: 1-888-327-4236 or TTY: 1-800-424-9153 or file an online complaint with NHTSA."

NHTSA ODI 11563018

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11561438

Received recall notice 10/22 and still have not received a phone call to have it repaired. I have called the dealer and they said they are starting with the older cars first and I will receive a letter when I can bring it in. Per the recall notice it states "increasing the risk of a crash". I find this to be very concerning because my son drives this car.

NHTSA ODI 11560645

When the car is turned on, all of the lights flicker nonstop to the point of moderately reducing line of sight. I am terrified the headlights are going to just quit altogether. The car also “shimmys” in time with the flickering lights. It appears to get worse when accelerating as well. Also it has been over 2 years since the headlight recall for this model. The dealership keeps saying, we don’t have the parts or just ignoring my requests altogether.

NHTSA ODI 11559364

Engine began failing at 68k miles. The vehicle spews blue smoke from the tailpipe and under the hood and loses power when accelerating intermittently. It also consumes large amounts of oil. I've had the car worked on by an independent mechanic and will have to have the engine rebuilt at a cost of $6500 or more. Local dealership claims car is out of warranty an nothing can be done. The car didn't have a light on despite these symptoms. At 83k miles, the car became completely unsafe to operate.

NHTSA ODI 11558681

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11557298

I can't see far enough at night with the low beams on. I drive to work on coastal roads and have had several near misses. I have been to Tacoma Subaru twice to get this fixed. The first time one if the parts was broken then when I went again this morning I was told that the Subaru Corporation would not approve the work. It has been almost 16 months since the recall was issued and I think that's more than enough time to fix my car.

NHTSA ODI 11557347

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11555682

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11555288

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11554793

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11552661

2018 Impreza, beginning around 2020, has had three dead or damaged batteries (2x OEM and 1x aftermarket) and the car is now on its fourth battery (aftermarket). Vehicle couldn't sit for more than a few days without needing jump started. Dealership performed parasitic draw test and concluded the Data Communications Module (DCM) was the source of the parasitic draw and pulled the DCM fuse while I await back ordered parts (the DCM and DCM battery). From my research, older DCM units rely on 3G cell service that's no longer available and the DCM keeps attempting to phone home telemetry data, but can't, and drains the battery. Thankfully I have an extended warranty to cover this replacement but feel like Subaru needs to be more proactive in solving this issue for its customers by declaring a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11550601

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the repair was not yet available. There was no further information provided. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11549416

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number:  22V624000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11549214

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. .

NHTSA ODI 11546545

This recall 22V624000 was issued in August of 2022 and it is now September of 2023, over a year since it was recalled and Subaru still does not have a remedy according to NHTSA website and my local Subaru dealer. Does it really take more than 13 months to redesign a few parts in a headlamp assembly and get it manufactured? Covid is no longer an excuse. When will someone put Subaru on notice to get this done? Does Subaru have some sort of deadline as to when they are required to get this done? Please help us!

NHTSA ODI 11545574

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11543796

There is an open recall on my car for the headlights which currently has no fix and none of the dealerships I've spoken to have the parts to fix it. At one dealership they even attempted to sell me new headlights, claiming that the dimness of my headlights has to do with the fact that they're not LED bulbs and not the recall. The car is unsafe to drive at night due to the fact that they are very dim, and when the weather is bad the car can't be driven at all due to the fact that you can't see anything let alone that other drivers can't see this car. No dealership will provide any information other than they don't have the parts.

NHTSA ODI 11543193

I was attempting to adjust the recline angle on the car seat in my husband’s car to match on daughter new weight category of over 20 pounds. When I went to adjust it I realized it only locks in positions 1 and 5. Neither of these is the appropriate angle. I have contacted the manufacturer. I have also learned apparently this is a common and know problem with this car seat model and the manufacturer is aware and has taken no action. This failure to lock is placing children at risk and could cause injury if the seat were involved in an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11538287

It has been over a year since the recall was issued for my vehicle. Subaru has yet to make the remedy available in my area. It’s been over a year now and Subaru dealerships near me say that they still have no idea of when the remedy will become available. I replaced my driver side headlight assembly shortly before the recall was issued. Subaru informed me that I could receive a refund for the part that I paid for (headlight assembly) due to the recall.

NHTSA ODI 11538116

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V624000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11537604

Last August, a recall on Subaru Impreza headlamps was issued. To date, these have not been remedied and Subaru has no information about repair dates.

NHTSA ODI 11537403