AutoUtility currently tracks 193 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Subaru Impreza. Exterior Lighting issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 63 complaints (32.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 6 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 3 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 193 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Exterior Lighting (63 reports • 32.6% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (60), Electrical System (19)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 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
193
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
6
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
3
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2019 Subaru Impreza

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

#1 Problem Area 32.6% of complaints

Exterior Lighting

63 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 crash report
#2 Problem Area 31.1% of complaints

Visibility, Wipers & Glass

60 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#3 Problem Area 9.8% of complaints

Electrical System

19 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.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 4.1% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

8 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#5 Problem Area 3.6% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
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%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 Subaru Impreza

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

Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11754703
Filed: 08/04/2026

"Front right caliper seized less than 3k miles following dealer service including brake fluid flush. Replaced calipers, pads, and rotors at my own expense. Suspect internal degradation of rubber brake lines. Service bulletin exists for year prior model. Many others report rubber brake line/caliper..."

Incident Date: 08/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SERVICE BRAKES
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11752823
Filed: 07/25/2026

"The cowl is the newest cowl on my 2019 subaru impreza and it still bowed like the original. Mine wasn't on the original recall and it bowed."

Incident Date: 07/01/2020 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11747595
Filed: 07/01/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-40 MPH, the vehicle rolled to a stop and stalled in hot and cold temperatures. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was jump-started by Roadside Assistance. The contact purchased a..."

Incident Date: 06/01/2019 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11742641
Filed: 06/08/2026

"When attempting to start the vehicle, randomly, the key loses programming. This is the 2nd time where the keys lose programming and vehicle has to be towed at owners' expense and wait as long as 5 days for dealership to reprogram."

Incident Date: 06/08/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11740850
Filed: 05/29/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, while depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle loss power. An independent mechanic was contacted. No warning light warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken an independent mechanic where the diagnosed the..."

Incident Date: 07/15/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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 125 10 7 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Subaru Impreza 149 5 5 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Subaru Impreza Current Page 193 6 5 Current
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 2019 Subaru Impreza

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 36 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 60 1 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 52 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 6 1 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 4 3 0 5 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 4 0 1 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 3 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 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 (193). 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.