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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2023 Subaru WRX

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 8 safety complaints about the 2023 Subaru WRX with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the power train.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 2 complaints, 25% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers August 2023 to August 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

8 complaints on file

8

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 2 · 25%
ENGINE 2 · 25%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 25%
SUSPENSION 2 · 25%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 13%
SEATS 1 · 13%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 8.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 3.

4 3 2 1
23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2023 to 2026 , the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2023 Subaru WRX, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 4 DR AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 9.0%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

23V754000 · November 9, 2023

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2024 Crosstrek, Impreza, 2023-2024 Forester, and 2023 WRX vehicles. The front driveshaft assemblies' outer race may develop cracks and break.
The risk
A broken driveshaft can cause a loss of drive power while driving or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is in park without the parking brake engaged. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the left and right front driveshafts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRP-23.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 4,701 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

I was heading to work on a stretch of road. I was traveling at about 45-50mph. A car pulled out in front of me and we had an accident. The airbags in the older Subaru of the person who collided with me went off and mine did not. Surprisingly. My head was slammed against the B pillar and a small bruise on my leg. Insurance is saying my car is totaled. With an accident of that magnitude, my air bags should have deployed. If I was going any faster, I most likely wouldn't be here typing this message. This is a serious concern of mine. I have 0 interest getting back into another Subaru which Consumer Reports quotes as being the safest, most reliable brand.

NHTSA complaint 11711115. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash

Factory brake system is weak to slow down. The tree on the road stopped my car faster than the brakes did. Many videos and internet posts document this. Quick google search will provide a lot of information. Many owners with money upgrade calipers from tr model Amazon reviews purchasing brake pads provides stopping power. Subaru knows this and did it with 2007 wrx

NHTSA complaint 11732084. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The failing component system is the drivers side impact airbags. Subaru of America did their own inspection and has listed their findings in an email (it can be forwarded to you if needed). The vehicle is currently at a collision center appointed by our insurance company but has not yet been inspected there. Our vehicle sat at NEW MOTORS dealership so that Subaru of America could do their investigation. They had our vehicle for 50 days to do this inspection (no repairs). Yes our safety could potentially be at risk as the airbag system deployed while the car was not moving/running in our driveway. We were standing outside of the vehicle both front doors were open when the back driver side

NHTSA complaint 11759540, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
My vehicle has a hand brake built into the vehicle and at 25,000 miles my hand brake started to fail and wouldn’t hold the car in place. I had it repaired under warranty and the whole emergency/handbrake assembly was replaced, I looked at it and tested it before I left the dealership and noticed the same issue, I brought it up to the dealership and they noticed the same issue also after testing it again themselves, and they also stated there were other vehicles of the same model with less miles having the same issue and also said it could possibly be a recall. I drive a car with a manual transmission so the hand/emergency brake is what parks and holds the vehicle in place. I originally took

NHTSA complaint 11704382, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
I am reporting a potential safety-related defect involving the front suspension of my 2023 Subaru WRX. After installing aftermarket lowering springs, I began noticing loud popping, clicking, and cracking noises from the front struts during low-speed turns and uneven road surfaces. To isolate the issue, the springs were completely removed from the strut assemblies. The noise persisted when manually rotating the top hat and shaft, confirming an internal defect in the OEM strut mount bearing (Subaru part #20320FL010). This eliminates the springs as the source of the issue. The component remains installed and is available for inspection. This defect poses a safety concern, as the strut bearing

NHTSA complaint 11659521, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
Popping sound on the right side when i turn the wheel fully to either side and move slowly in either direction.

NHTSA complaint 11626554. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru WRX

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2022 25 1
2021 13 1
2020 17 1
2019 30 2
2018 42 2
2017 53 1
2016 31 3
2015 52 3

Other 2023 Subaru models

Every Subaru on this site — 99 vehicles, 147 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst