2003 Subaru WRX

No clear pattern

25% of complaints about the 2003 Subaru WRX arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2003 vehicle, but with only 64 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is service brakes, hydraulic (20 complaints), typically at 1.1 yr or about 11,000 miles.

Complaints: 64
Median age at failure: 2.5 yr
Median mileage: 31,000 n=53
Crash / fire / tow: 29.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

09V468000 2009-12-04

Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump

SUBARU IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002 AND 2003 IMPREZA WRX VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD IN OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF SOUTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, MINNESOTA, IDAHO, IOWA, MONTANA, COLORADO, WISCONSIN, NEW YORK, WYOMING, MICHIGAN, ALASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, AND MAINE. DURING COLD STARTS, TYPICALLY UNDER EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES, FUEL LEAKS IN THE FUEL DELIVERY LINE COULD OCCUR WHERE THE LINE CONNECTS WITH A RUBBER HOSE.

FUEL LEAKS, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

06E060000 2006-06-29

Exterior lighting

CERTAIN AAI MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION LAMPS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE ABOVE LIST PASSENGER VEHICLES. COMBINATION LAMPS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT."

LACK OF AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS IN THE LAMPS WILL DECREASE LIGHTING VISIBILITY TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MAY POSSIBLY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH

In owners’ own words

Service brakes, hydraulic 500 mi 6 mo in service

ABS FAILED. BRAKE PEDAL WOULD SINK TO FLOOR WHEN ROAD IS BUMPY. TAKES A VERY LONG DISTANCE TO STOP THE CAR. 2 NEAR-MISS INCIDENTS ALREADY. CAR IS BRAND NEW 2003 WRX. IT HAS 500 MILES ON IT. *NLM

Service brakes, hydraulic 3,000 mi 2 mo in service

WHEN BRAKING OVER ROUGH SURFACES ON DRY PAVEMENT THE VEHICLE ENGAGED THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM CAUSING SUDDEN LOSS OF BRAKING THAT WAS NOT RESTORED UNTIL THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS RELEASED AND RE-APPLIED. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT A LARGE AMOUNT OF BRAKING FORCE BEING CALLED FOR.*AK

Service brakes, hydraulic 2,500 mi 8 mo in service

2003 SUBARU WRX SEDAN - WHEN STOPPING ON SLIGHTLY BUMPY SURFACES THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM BECOMES INEFFECTIVE. THE DRIVER MUST LET OFF THE BRAKES AND REAPPLY IN ORDER TO GET ANY EFFECTIVE BRAKING. THIS IS DANGEROUS. I CAN REPEAT IT AT KNOWN PLACES ON MY DRIVE TO WORK EVERYDAY. I COMPENSATE. IF I HAD KNOWN I WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT THE CAR. THIS NEEDS TO BE "FIXED."*AK

Fuel system 34,035 mi 2.3 yr in service

AFTER A COLD WEEKEND THE INSIDE OF THE CABIN SMELLS OF RAW FUEL. I SEE THE MANUFACTURER HAS A TSB FOR FIXING THIS IN THE NORTH AND CANADA, BUT NO MENTIONS OF IT IN THE SOUTH. ALSO, THEY SAY IT HAPPENS IN 02 VEHICLES, BUT I HAVE AN 03 AND IT JUST STARTED. *NM

Other WRX model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2003 Subaru WRX

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other WRX model years

How to read this