This subaru takes synthetic oil, which should last a minimum of 6000 miles between oil changes. Every oil change I have had on this car (I change it every 7500 miles), I have had to add an extra quart of oil by about 3000 miles into an oil change. This has done this from the very beginning of ownership. A brand new car should not burn up oil so quickly. This can has been so many headaches from the moment I purchased it. Electrical failures, passenger airbags not working, GPS system failure, brakes not responding as they should...the list goes on.
2012 Subaru Impreza engine complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 56 of 56, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Oil light came on. Subaru manual says to change oil every 7,500 miles. They use synthetic oil which is more expensive. Had to find a dealer who added a quart of oil. Had the 15,000 mile service and light came on again at 18,000 and at 19,800. Both times oil was added. Subaru says this is normal. However, I don't feel I can make a trip of any extensive mileage safely. Especially when subaru is putting in a synthetic oil that might be difficult to find.
I sideswiped a parked car and the momentum caused my car to flip over and land on its roof. Have not heard from the adjuster but it is obvious the car is "totaled". Writing to you to let you know that I also wrote to subaru to advise them that I think that the airbags should have deployed but none of them did. The accident occurred in union, n.j.
Gas pedal is ultrasensitive leading to surging at low speed. Hard to control vehicle at low speed maneuvering in parking lot. Dealer says this is normal. You will find many discussions on the web if you search for "subaru sensitive gas pedal, a generally known issue. Find many discussions about "remapping" and jack-rabbit starts.
I have been having continuous issues with oil consumption in my 2012 impreza 2.0i. I have only driven 2500 miles since my oil change and my low oil light is on. This is the third time I've had to top up the oil and the problem is only getting worse!
Excessive oil consumption: I am experiencing a significant problem with my subaru impreza 2012 with excessive use of oil and the oil light going on. I understand from the service people that this is caused by "blowback" past the cylinders, causing excessive oil use, inconvenience to owners, and an inflated cost of ownership (synthetic oil is $8/qt.) subaru insists this is normal but when I traded in my lexus at 257,000 miles with never an additional drop of oil between oil changes, I certainly didn't expect to trade it in for an oil guzzler like the subaru impreza. Subaru will do nothing and insists this is normal - - at least for them! It was fixed for the 2013 and 2014 models but they are avoiding doing anything for those who purchased the 2012 model and are experiencing very inflated cost of ownership as well as tremendous inconvenience.
11/30/2013 while I was driving I received a phone call on my iphone 4 at 9:35pm. The engine stopped but blower for heater, lights and radio remained functional. I pulled over coasted to a stop and restarted the vehicle. My phone was not connected via bluetooth to the vehicle. 1/24/2014 while I was waiting at a stop light (0 MPH) at 7:45 am I unplugged a headphone cable from my iphone 4. The engine stopped but blower for heater, lights and radio remained functional. I restarted the vehicle. My phone was not connected via bluetooth to the vehicle.
While driving in normal circumstances, engine power cut out, and complete loss of throttle control occurred. The car could only accelerate extremely slowly, and not past 20-25 MPH. Thankfully not on a high-speed road. Managed to get home (barely), car worked fine the next day. Dealer found obd code p0128, reprogrammed ECM to remove the code. The same problem had occurred ~1 year previously due to a faulty accelerator position sensor (the federal safety agency complaint recently filed). Dealer claims causes are unrelated. This can be a serious safety concern if it occurs on a highway, we no longer feel safe driving this car.
Addendum to 12/30/13 complaint: in addition to the previously outlined problems: 1. Car is now loosing oil. At 26,500 miles the low oil level light came on. Checked oil level and revealed car had lost approx 1.5-2 qt since last regularly scheduled oil change. 2. Brakes squeal when you first compress the pedal. I had the brakes inspected and was told nothing was wrong with them or the brake pad. I do not think this is normal to occur every time you touch the brakes unless something is wrong. Brakes did not start making noise until 25,000 miles. **no confidence this car is trustworthy. Seriously worried about its reliability/ cost to repair after warranty expires.**
2012 impreza... Bought new, nothing but headaches. All problems listed below occurred before I had even owned the car 2 years. 1. At 8-10k miles - while driving car would randomly turn off passenger airbags and illuminate no passenger seatbelt on the dash. Took car to dealer 3 times. Dealer refused to fix as the "error was not stored in the computer." suggested cell phone was the problem even though cell phones were not near the seat during each of the multiple incidents. I had to complain to corporate who told the dealer to replace the sensor in the seat. No problems since. 2. At 15k miles - multiple times car would turn on check engine light and traction control light simultaneously. First incident dealer said "dirty camshaft sensor." second incident I had to refuse to take the car back until they actually fixed a part. Dealer kept car a whole week and made calls to corporate engineers. Tests revealed it was a "failed oil pressure valve." replaced the part and no more problems. 3. At 25k miles - bad battery. Had to replace when car was only 1 year and 10 months old.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. The contact stated that he the vehicle exhibited excessive oil consumption. The contact added one quart of oil to the vehicle, which only lasted approximately 900 miles. The vehicle was inspected. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The failure mileage was 7,500 updated 01/14/14
My subaru imprera's low engine oil light has been on multiple times since april of this year and has been brought to the attention of subaru dealer to no avail. Though the oil consumption rate is abnormal and the problem appears to be common among certain subaru models, subaru of america has been asserting that it is normal for an automobile to consume a quart of oil about every thousand miles.
Low oil warning light on dash. Brought to dealer. No action. Oil warning light on 3 times since then. Still no action taken by dealer. Subaru dealer does not deny oil is being burned but states that this is normal for a new car. We have begun an oil consumption test but the car continues to burn oil. We will have to drive another 2400 miles to get the results of the test. The car only has 17,000 miles but oil warning light comes on indicating low oil every 1,200 to 1,500 miles. Still awaiting response from subaru.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, there was a knocking noise coming from the vehicle. The contact also saw oil leaking from under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated that there was a rod loose in cylinder four. The engine was replaced. The failure was reported to the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 21,000. The current mileage was 21,100.
Followed too closely through a double intersection with a non-functioning light. Police officer directed traffic through the intersection but apparently we had to stop before the second intersection. Apparently I slowed down enough that the airbag did not deploy. I indicated 20 but surely my airbag would have deployed at that speed. Was able to drive the car under its own power off the road into a subway parking lot. As I was maneuvering into a parking spot the engine caught on fire. It seems strange to me that if I was going slow enough for the airbag not to deploy but for some components to catch on fire that the car is road worthy. Worth looking into?
I purchased my 2012 subaru impreza sport premium on 12/24/2011. It had less than 100 miles when purchased from the dealer. At 1200 miles, the oil light came on. I checked the oil level and it was very low. I called broadway subaru in oakland,ca about the problem. I explained, how can a brand new car have low oil? They said this is common and to add oil. Added oil and the light went off. Today, the light appeared again at 5560 miles. Oil again is low but within normal levels. I called broadway subaru and told them the problem. Again, the guy explained this is normal for all cars to burn oil, whether it's an american car, japanese, or anything else. Is he serious? I hondas for close to 20 years and never ever did an oil light come on, let alone on a new engine which is not due for its first oil change until 7500 miles. I made an appt for 8/24/2012.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2012 Subaru Impreza?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history