Problems · by component

2009 Subaru Impreza power train problems

30 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2009 Subaru Impreza cite power train, 27% of all 113 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
30
27% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the power train

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2009 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the transmission failed to properly shift. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and shut off the vehicle. Once the contact restarted the vehicle, the vehicle started operating normally; however, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the clutch pedal bracket had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was under recall however, the recall had expired. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 54,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 17, 2023Power trainODI 11532736
“09 WRX HATCH, WHEN THE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED IT WILL MAKE A CREAKING NOISE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE FIREWALL FLEXES A LOT WHILE THE CLUTCH IS PRESSED IN. IT IS GETTING LOUDER AND IS STARTING TO AFFECT THE BRAKE PEDAL BY MOVING IT EVERYTIME THE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 20, 2020Power trainODI 11340428
“SUBARU OF AMERICA INC. SHOULD RECALL 2008-2014 IMPREZA, IMPREZA WRX, AND IMPREZA WRX STI. THESE VEHICLES JUST ABOVE THE DRIVERS FEET, USE 6 SPOTS WELDS TO HOLD A MOUNTING BRACKET FOR THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY TO THE INSIDE OF THE FIREWALL.THIS DESIGN FLAW, WHERE THE PEDAL MOUNTING BOX IS SPOT-WELDED TO THE FIREWALL USING ONLY A HANDFUL OF TINY SPOT WELDS IS DANGEROUS. THE FIREWALL ITSELF IS OF A WEAK DESIGN AND INHERENTLY HAS QUITE A BIT OF FLEX AND OVER TIME AND NORMAL USE THESE SPOT WELDS FAIL FROM TOO MUCH STRESS AND THE PEDALS WILL BEGIN TO SQUEAK, CREAK, POP AND EVENTUALLY THE PEDALS WILL MOVE AWAY FROM THE FIREWALL WHEN DEPRESSED. ONCE THIS HAPPENS THE CLUTCH AND OTHER PEDALS WILL NO LONGER PROPERLY ENGAGE OR DISENGAGE AND THE CAR WILL NO LONGER BE DRIVABLE. IN THE EVENT OF THIS FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF LIFE AND ENDANGERING THE PUBLIC. SAFETY RISK FIREWALL FAILURE POTENTIAL RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. THE SUDDEN LOSS OF FUNCTION OF PEDAL ASSEMBLY INCLUDING CLUTCH, BRAKE, AND ACCELERATION PEDALS. LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL MAY LEAD TO OCCUPANTS HAVING SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH ESPECIALLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. REMEDY SUBARU WILL…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 5, 2020Power train, Vehicle speed control, Service brakesODI 11297167
“MOTOR WENT OUT WITH 72000 MILES WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY DRIVING. TRANSFER CASE BEARINGS SHOT. POWER STEERING RACK DONE AND FIREWALL HAS CRACKED FOR A 2ND TIME. SUBARU ARE PROBABLY THE MOST UNSAFE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 21, 2019Steering, Power train, EngineODI 11290613
“DURING NORMAL USE OF THE CLUTCH ON THE STREET , THE FIREWALL WELDS BRAKE OFF CAUSING THE FIREWALL TO BEND. ALSO EFFECTS THE CLUTCH PEDAL MAKING IT 'CLICK' IF NOT FIXED CAN CAUSE MORE DAMAGE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 7, 2018Power train, Structure, Unknown or otherODI 11156870
“CHASSIS FATIGUE AND CRACKING RESULTING IN DAMAGE/POTENTIAL COMPROMISE OF DRIVER CONTROLS. CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY BROKE AND WILL NO LONGER DISSENGAGE THE CLUTCH(DRIVETRAIN SYSTEM). THIS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 45MPH. I WAS FORCED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE OFF OF THE ROAD TO AVOID A POTENTIAL COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY IS COMPRISED OF BOTH THE CLUTCH AND THE BRAKE PEDALS. DUE TO THE ASSEMBLY FAILURE THE BRAKE PEDAL HAS SIGNIFICANT PLAY IN IT AS WELL AND DOESNT FUNCTION PROPERLY. UPON INSPECTION I FOUND THAT STRUCTURAL WELDS ON THE FIREWALL, WHERE THE ASSEMBLY IS MOUNTED, HAVE FAILED. I CALLED SUBARUOFAMERICA ABOUT THE ISSUE ON 08 MAY 2018. I REFERENCED TWO DIFFERENT TSB'S REGARDING THIS ISSUE ON MY YEAR RANGE OF VEHICLE. 1) NHTSA ID: 10090413 TSB ID: WE 2) NHTSA ID: 10090409 TSB ID: 12-184-15 I WAS TOLD THAT THE EXTENSION TO THE WARRANTY EXPIRED IN 2013 AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME. EVEN THOUGH THESE TSB'S ARE DATE 03 FEBRUARY 2017.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 8, 2018Power train, Structure, Service brakesODI 11092436

Showing 6 of 30 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 29, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.