VehicleVerdict

2002 Subaru Impreza engine problems

The 2002 Subaru Impreza has 23 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 7% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

23

Engine complaints

7%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Impreza engine complaints by model year76 complaints1995: 7 complaints1996: 2 complaints1997: 1 complaints1998: 8 complaints1999: 1 complaints2000: 3 complaints2002: 23 complaints2003: 5 complaints2004: 6 complaints2005: 8 complaints2006: 12 complaints2007: 13 complaints2008: 28 complaints2009: 20 complaints2010: 10 complaints2011: 6 complaints2012: 56 complaints2013: 76 complaints2014: 20 complaints2015: 11 complaints2016: 3 complaints2017: 14 complaints2018: 11 complaints2019: 8 complaints2020: 3 complaints2021: 1 complaints2022: 1 complaints2023: 1 complaints2024: 2 complaints2025: 1 complaints
Impreza engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“ HEAD GASKETS ON BOTH SIDES OF ENGINE LEAKING OIL AND COOLANT AT 20000 MILES AND 2.5 YRS OLD. OIL AND COOLANT LEAK TRANSFERS ON TIRES AND EXHAUST. THIS CAN CAUSE FIRE AND LOSS OF CONTROL. SUBARU ONLY ACKNOWLEDGES PROBLEM ON OTHER VIN ON IMPREZA (MY VEHICLE 2002 IMPREZA OUTBACK WAGON) AND FORESTER.…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · October 30, 2005

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2002 Subaru Impreza have?

NHTSA has 23 complaints about the 2002 Subaru Impreza engine — 7% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.