AutoUtility currently tracks 125 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Subaru Impreza. Exterior Lighting issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 32 complaints (25.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 10 filings cite a crash, 3 cite a fire, 7 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 125 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Exterior Lighting (32 reports • 25.6% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (25), Electrical System (21)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 10 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 7 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
125
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
10
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
3
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
7
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2017 Subaru Impreza

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 25.6% of complaints

Exterior Lighting

32 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
🔥 1 fire report
#2 Problem Area 20% of complaints

Visibility, Wipers & Glass

25 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#3 Problem Area 16.8% of complaints

Electrical System

21 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 10.4% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

13 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report
#5 Problem Area 8.8% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

11 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🩹 5 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Subaru Impreza

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 2.4% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

3 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Subaru Impreza

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11731598
Filed: 04/16/2026

"I am filing a safety complaint regarding an Engine Control Module (ECM) failure in my 2017 Subaru Impreza and the handling of a prior recall repair. Dealership records show that a recall repair (WRE21 – ignition coil recall) was completed in June 2021. At that time, the dealership documented that..."

Incident Date: 02/07/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11718214
Filed: 02/16/2026

"I noticed that visibility at night was poor. I was pulled over by the police and give a warning that my headlight was out and told to get it fixed. I thought it may be as simple as a bulb but was told the entire left headlamp assembly had to be replaced at a cost of more than $2,000. Just days..."

Incident Date: 01/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11684276
Filed: 09/01/2025

"[XXX] 2017 Subaru Impreza VIN [XXX] Cruze control error. Will it make brake lights fail if not repaired? go look in your database and see if Impreza has more than normal rear end collisions? What else is on bus that might be damaged by spike? Braking? Antilock? Lights? Why is this NOT a recall?..."

Incident Date: 09/01/2017 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11683244
Crash Cited 1 Injury Entry Filed: 08/26/2025

"1. Any and all airbags failed to deploy. The car is currently parked in my garage and is available for inspection. The insurance company has declared the car a "total loss," and would like to tow it away as soon as possible. 2. The driver had a concussion and whiplash after their forehead hit the..."

Incident Date: 08/02/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11682621
Filed: 08/23/2025

"Premature failure of wheel bearings. Both rear wheel bearings had to be replaced after only 54,192 miles. Technician indicated that replacements were upgraded "sealed" systems. At 73,712 miles the front driver's side wheel bearing was also replaced by the dealer after the same symptoms of excessive..."

Incident Date: 03/20/2023 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Subaru Impreza

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Subaru Impreza 79 5 2 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Subaru Impreza 75 7 1 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Subaru Impreza Current Page 125 10 7 Current
2018 Subaru Impreza 149 5 5 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Subaru Impreza 193 6 5 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Subaru Impreza 85 2 1 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Subaru Impreza 14 1 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Subaru Impreza 12 0 1 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Subaru Impreza 4 0 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Subaru Impreza 30 1 2 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Subaru Impreza 5 1 0 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Subaru Impreza 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Subaru Impreza

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 40 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 30 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 18 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 0 1 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 8 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 6 4 0 4 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 1 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (125). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.