10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 87,113 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
During cold weather, a strong fuel odor permeates the cabin of my 2005 Subaru Impreza wagon. Upon engine warm up the fuel smell goes away.
- New Braunfels, TX, USA
Fuel lines shrink under temperatures of 30 degrees. A strong odor of fuel coming from the engine bay. Seems like a very dangerous situation that may result in a explosion or fire. I took my car to the dealership and they wanted to charge me $900 to replace 2 rubber fuel lines that are 3 inches long. There is a recall on the 03 Subaru Impreza for the same issue. I don't know why there is no recall on the 04/05 Subaru Impreza.
- Reno, NV, USA
Exact to the Subaru recall issued in '09 (2002-2003 Impreza only), my 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX smells terribly of gas on cold morning when I start the vehicle. The smell is so bad that I cannot sit in the car without feeling faint if I do not roll the windows down, and cannot have any passengers in the car at startup until the car is warm and driven around the block for five minutes, which is the worst considering the cold winters I face in Connecticut. This smell occurs upon starting the vehicle and letting it idle for about after a minute, but about after five-ten minutes of driving the smell finally goes away. I am aware of the issue with earlier year models, but am surprised at the fact that there is a grand amount of people with the same exact issue with 2004 and up Imprezas as well, and a recall hasn't been issued yet (and my local Subaru told me that I would have to pay full price for this repair which might take two days and cost around 500$ and up..wow!). this only occurs when it it below zero, but for me that is quite common during winter. I have seen numerous reports online that people with my year have called Subaru of America, and that they had paid for the car to get repaired as if it was a recall type of procedure, but personally called them today and was told by the rep that there were no such reported cases with Subaru of America... sure! quite disappointing, but most of all dangerous, and I dread driving the car and putting myself and others in danger. I was told by a tech at Subaru that if there was any sort of ignition or spark around this area for any malfunctioning reason, or an accident, that there would be a good chance that the car might ignite. Help me out here, I know I am not the only one with this issue with this year and model Subaru.
- Norwalk, CT, USA
On Jan 12 2011 my 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX started to have a raw fuel smell coming into the cabin area when it was cold outside no matter if it was in a garage or outside. On further inspection I could see raw fuel streaming out of the fuel lines onto a hot engine block. There is a recall for 02-03 Subaru Imprezas with the same problem, but it does not cover any newer models with the same fuel delivery system problems. Nothing was done to correct it by the dealer because it was not covered by the recall. It should have been covered by some type recall because of found defects in just slightly older models but the same engine configuration and fuel system.
- Butler, PA, USA
I have raw fuel smell upon start up during cold weather. Fuel drips from the fuel line under the intake manifold on the drivers side of the car and/or drips from the fuel rail. This is a continuing problem for Subaru Impreza's for years beyond the recall that was entered for the 02-03 models. Research on several Subaru forums reflect it is still a very significant problem on 04-05 year WRX Imprezas. There have been several fires and accidents caused by the raw fuel dripping on the hot motor block. At this time there is no action being taken by Subaru for the later years.
- Abingdon , MD, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX. The contact was driving 25 mh when there was an overpowering gasoline odor emitting from the air vents. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The dealer tightened two hose feeder clamps that were connected to the fuel rail to correct the problem. The failure recurred two weeks following the repair. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
- Peninsula, OH, USA
: the contact stated the vehicle's cruise control turned itself off without warning. The service dealer determined the electronic control module was not coded correctly and could not be fixed. Updated 1/19/2007 - the consumer explained that this problem occurred when the tank was half full. When the tank was completely full the problem never happened.
- Potomac Falls, VA, USA
- Jersey City, NJ, USA