Research · complaint index
Subaru WRX years to avoidWhat NHTSA complaint data does and doesn’t say
We compared 12 model years of the Subaru WRX by owner complaints to NHTSA, adjusted for how long each year has been on the road. No single year stands far above the rest.
Complaints per year on the road
1.0 = typical year for this model
| Year | Complaints | Per year on road | Index | Recalls | Crashes | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | Too new to judge |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | Fewest complaints |
| 2024 | 14 | 5 | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | Typical |
| 2023 | 9 | 2 | 0.6 | 1 | 2 | Typical |
| 2022 | 25 | 5 | 1.3 | 1 | 3 | Typical |
| 2021 | 13 | 2 | 0.6 | 1 | 0 | Typical |
| 2020 | 18 | 3 | 0.7 | 1 | 1 | Typical |
| 2019 | 30 | 4 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | Typical |
| 2018 | 45 | 5 | 1.3 | 2 | 6 | Typical |
| 2017 | 53 | 5 | 1.4 | 1 | 8 | Typical |
| 2016 | 34 | 3 | 0.8 | 3 | 1 | Typical |
| 2015 | 55 | 5 | 1.2 | 3 | 2 | Typical |
- 20261 complaints · 0 recallsToo new to judge
- 20253 complaints · 0 recallsFewest complaints
- 202414 complaints · 0 recallsTypical
- 20239 complaints · 1 recallTypical
- 202225 complaints · 1 recallTypical
- 202113 complaints · 1 recallTypical
- 202018 complaints · 1 recallTypical
- 201930 complaints · 2 recallsTypical
- 201845 complaints · 2 recallsTypical
- 201753 complaints · 1 recallTypical
- 201634 complaints · 3 recallsTypical
- 201555 complaints · 3 recallsTypical
Data from NHTSA Complaints & Recalls APIs · synced Nov 2, 2026
Fewest complaints for their age: 2025.
About this comparison
What Subaru WRX years have the most complaints?
No Subaru WRX model year drew more than twice the typical complaint rate among the 12 model years compared. The highest was 2017.
Is this a reliability rating?
No. These are counts of unverified owner complaints to NHTSA. They are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so a popular year can collect more complaints. Use them to find patterns, then read the reports.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.