Subaru Impreza
Problems & Worst Years

Headlight and exterior lighting problems run through nearly every model year of the Subaru Impreza in this data, often tangled up with complaints about recalls not getting resolved. In 2018, the worst year for safety-rated complaints (three of six categories), 38 owners described recall-related exterior lighting issues directly, 31 more reported headlight assembly malfunction, and 15 reported windshield wiper problems — all three flagged safety-severity. Recalls 19V743, 19V744, and 21V264 apply to that year, so the recall machinery clearly existed; the complaint volume suggests it wasn't always reaching owners in time.

The 2017 model (99 total complaints) shows the same lighting theme forming: headlight assembly failure (23 reports) and windshield cracking or chipping without apparent cause (20) sit alongside 22 reports specifically describing recalls that went unresolved, plus unexplained engine performance problems (12). Recalls 19V743, 19V744, 19V745, and 21V264 are on file. By 2019 (107 complaints), the lighting complaints shift language slightly — 40 reports describe exterior lighting defects not fixed in a timely manner, and 19 describe headlights failing to provide adequate illumination — while windshield cracking without impact adds another 37. Recalls 19V743 and 21V264 carry into that year as well.

The earliest year here, 2016, is comparatively quieter at 67 total complaints and no safety-rated categories, though it introduces its own separate issue: a random brake light malfunction (28 reports) and keys sticking in the ignition (20), alongside a smaller number of transmission and steering rack complaints.

Given how consistently headlight and exterior lighting problems recur across three of these four years, alongside recall campaigns that were sometimes reported as slow to resolve, confirming that all applicable recall work has actually been completed on a specific used Impreza is a sensible first step — a VIN lookup takes minutes. Beyond that, a night-driving test to check headlight output and a windshield inspection cover most of what shows up repeatedly in this data. These counts reflect what owners chose to report, not a lab-measured rate, so pair them with a real inspection and service history rather than treating the model year as the whole story.