Having recently moved to a cold weather state, I discovered that when the temperature is below freezing there is a smell of gasoline in the passenger cabin. After doing some research, subaru appears to be aware of this problem and in fact issued a recall on earlier model vehicles for the same issue. The fuel lines and clamps shrink in cold weather allowing fuel to leak at the fuel filter or more problematically onto the intake manifold near the turbo. This has been resolved in newer model vehicles, but for some reason subaru decided not to issue a recall for the 2004-2005 vehicles having this problem. When the vehicle warms up, the heat of the engine reduces or eliminates the leaks. Although I was able to tighten the hose clamps, I suspect that next winter I will be facing the same issue and/or a $500-1000 repair bill from the dealer.
The worst 2004 Subaru WRX problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Fuel system35
- Engine4
- Airbags3
- Suspension2
- Brakes1
- Transmission1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2004 Subaru WRX
Recalls 4
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2004-2005 Impreza and WRX vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.
- Risk
- An incorrectly installed inflator may not properly inflate the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the passenger inflator and if necessary, install a new inflator kit, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 14, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRF-23.
Recall number 23V076000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.
Recall number 20V001000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.
Recall number 20V002000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
Recall number 20V003000 · Recall details
See all 4 recalls for the 2004 Subaru WRX
Defect investigations
Fuel line leak
Complainants report fuel leakage most frequently in winter during initial cold engine startup.owners will either notice a fuel odor inside the occupant compartment or fuel odor/leakage at the fuel lines on the right side atop the engine. Once the engine has warmed, the odor/leakage may cease.subaru revised the fuel pipe/hose design for model year (my) 2003-04 wrx vehicles produced after august 2003.subaru also introduced a my 2004 impreza sti vehicle with a different engine and fuel pipe/hose layout.out of the total of 994 complaints, 944 concern my 2002-03 wrx vehicles built through august 2003.subaru also reports one fire on a my 2002 wrx vehicle that occurred in february 2006.in march 2009, odi inspected and video taped a my 2002 wrx vehicle with a fuel leak during cold engine start up.the video was provided to subaru and is in the investigation file. This investigation is being upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-011) to further study this issue.
PE09017
Technical service bulletins for the 2004 Subaru WRX 183
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This is an update announcement regarding the TechShare & NorthStar Integration
- This announcement provides information on the connected services platform for Subaru EVs.
- This bulletin provides a step-by-step diagnostic procedure for resolving Remote Engine Start (RES)...
- This Service Information Bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but...
- This announcement provides information on DCM replacememts due to a parasitic draw.
- This announcement provides information on an outage affecting the Subaru Select Monitor 5 application.
- This Service Information Bulletin announces the availability of ThreeBond 1216J (SOA868V9640) designed for...
- This announcement provides information on a new software update for the Midtronics Dss and DCA machines.
- This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a...
- This bulletin provides paint code information for 2027 model year vehicles.
What 2004 Subaru WRX owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
During cold weather fuel smell coming from engine and is leaking
I have a 2004 wrx and whenever it gets cold lots of fuel leaks from under the intake manifold theres a recall for the same issue in 2002 2003 but it still does it on my car
Takata recall/subaru recall campaign wqr-53 the federal safety agency recall no. 15v‑323 received a recall notice in may 2015 explaining that the airbag was recalled and would need to be replaced. Letter states that until the repair is preformed, do not allow passengers to ride in the front passenger seat. I recently received another letter with the same information stating that when subaru acquires a sufficient supply of parts to perform the repair, they will contact me about making an appointment. I called subaru 6 months ago and was told that a dealership should "lend" me a vehicle until the repair is complete. I left several messages with dealerships in the area and no one returned my phone call. It has been over a year and I am not able to have passengers in my vehicle. I use my car for work and I need this fixed. It is not safe to drive this vehicle and I do not want to have my children in the car until it is fixed.
During vehicle operation in colder weather (32 deg f or colder), there is a strong fuel smell coming from the engine bay. Fuel lines are leaking in an area close to the air intake. This does not happen during warmer weather.
Was notified in july 2015 of defective passenger side air bag with warning to not use the passenger seat.upon followup with subaru on 10-1-2015 was told that parts would not be available until after 12-1-2015. This means 5 months without full use of my vehicle. Their letter regarding the federal safety agency recall 15v‑323 informed m to contact the federal safety agency at this website if subaru failed to remedy the veicle without charge in a timely manner. 5 to 6 months is not a timely maner.
Strong smell of raw fuel coming into passenger compartment during very cold outside temperatures.
In below-freezing temperatures, there is a fuel smell coming from the engine bay. It seems to start at approximately 20 degrees fahrenheit, and becomes increasingly strong at lower temperatures. On a recent morning when the temperature was 9 degrees fahrenheit, the smell was strong enough to cause a light-headed sensation. This appears to be a known problem, with there already being a recall for similar vehicles. Many vehicles excluded from the recall, including my own, seem to experience the same problem. Even worse, some who have had the recall fix performed have stated that the fix prescribed by the recall does not always resolve the problem completely.
As a result of a multi-vehicle traffic accident the passenger side airbag deployed causing the female occupant to have a frontal skull fracture from shrapnel like pieces and neuro trauma. These injuries lead her to be unconscious and on life-support for 6 days and ultimately her death......updated 11-24/14
Fuel lines leak upon cold start up in the winter. Fuel leaks all over engine block, my fear that this can cause a fire. Subaru's answer is to bring it in, spend money to have the car looked at. All the while they will not provide me with a comp car and this is my only car. With work, school and trying to move at that time it was not possible to release the car to them and hope it leaked on that day for the tech or risk handing out cash every time I take it in for them to look at. They know they have an issue they don't want to fix any longer. This is a known issue for some wrx's and they say the problem was taken care of in 2004, obviously not. It appears my car was built in mid 2003...... And is possible in my opinion that my car could have been built with these faulty parts.
Compare the 2004 Subaru WRX
Other model years
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Questions about the 2004 Subaru WRX
Is the 2004 Subaru WRX reliable?
Owners have filed 42 complaints about the 2004 Subaru WRX, 1.7 times a typical WRX model year.
What is the 2004 Subaru WRX year score?
The 2004 Subaru WRX scores 54 out of 100 (below average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Subaru WRX: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 Subaru WRX?
Fuel and propulsion system, with 35 complaints, typically around 75,000 miles. Next is engine (4).
How many recalls does the 2004 Subaru WRX have?
4 recalls, covering air bags.
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