Illustration6 LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING REPLACEMENTS IN 3 YEARS, ALONG WITH SPINDLE AND HUB.1ST WHEEL BEARING FAILURE AT 41,000 MILES. LAST WHEEL BEARING LASTED LESS THAN 5 MONTHS.
1997 Subaru Impreza
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1997 Subaru Impreza do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 56.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Impreza years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 3 of 30 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Wheels. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
6 crash reports1 fire reports5 injury reports
What owners actually said
30 reportsREAR AXLE FAILED. *AK
LEFT REAR WHEEL WENT BAD AT 43000 MILES, AND HAS BEEN REPLACED 5 TIMES, LAST REPLACMENT WAS NEEDED AFTER ONLY 3000 MILES. BEFORE REPLACEMENT A LOUD NOISE CAME FROM REAR OF VEHICLE.*AK
I'VE HAD THE LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED 3 TIMES IT HAS BEEN A TOTAL OF 6 OF BOTH SIDES. *AK
CONSUMER HEARD A NOISE COMING FROM WHEELS. DEALER HAD TO REPLACE WHEEL BEARINGS. WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED IN OCTOBER 1999/ OCTOBER 2000, AND AT THIS TIME. *AK
WHEEL WELLS ARE BUILDING UP EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND ICE CAUSING VEHICLE TIRES TO HAVE DIFFICULTY ROTATING AND TURNING DUE TO ICE BLOCKING TIRES IN WHEEL WELLS, CAUSING CAR TO UNEXPECTEDLY SLIDE OR SKID ON ICEY ROADS. ALSO CAUSING EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR AND MISALIGNMENT OF FRONT SUSPENSION. *AK
ENGINE SHUTS DOWN AT HIGHWAY AND CITY SPEEDS UNEXPECTEDLY. OFTEN DIFFICULT TO RESTART. CAR HAS BEEN TOWED ON THREE OCCASSIONS TO SUBARU DEALERS. N…
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ENGINE SHUTS DOWN AT HIGHWAY AND CITY SPEEDS UNEXPECTEDLY. OFTEN DIFFICULT TO RESTART. CAR HAS BEEN TOWED ON THREE OCCASSIONS TO SUBARU DEALERS. NEITHER OF TWO LOCAL AUTHORIZED SUBARU DEALERS ( CASEY OF NEWPORT NEWS VA OR ROUGHTON OF NORFOLK VA ) HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ANALYZE OR REPAIR VEHICLE. WAITED 9 WEEKS FOR PARTS WHICH NEVER ARRIVED FROM JAPAN WHICH ONE DEALER THOUGHT, BUT WOULD NOT GUARANTEE, MIGHT SOLVE PROBLEM. ELECTRICAL FAILURES OCCURRED IN VEHICLE O/A MAY OF 1998. I HAVE ALL MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR RECORDS. VEHICLE IS SO UNSAFE ICANNOT DRIVE IT. I ONLY WISH TO HAVE VEHICLE REPAIRED SO THAT SAFE OPERATION IS AGAIN POSSIBLE. CAN ANALYXE OR REPAIR VEHICLE. ENGINE SHUTDOWN WITNESSED BY WIFE.*AK
WHEEL HUBS DO NOT STAY ON WHILE DRIVING. THEY WILL JUST POP RIGHT OFF, NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK REAR WHEEL COVER CAME OFF WHILE DRIVING AND THE DEALER STATES THAT THE WHEEL COVER WAS NOT OUT ON CORRECTLY. *YH
CONSUMER TOOK HIS VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP. ATTENDANT WENT TO STEAM THE MOTOR AND TO START MOTOR SO HE COULD WAX AND BUFF VEHICLE. BUT, BOTH AIRBAGS WENT OFF. CONSUMER WANTS TO KNOW WHY THE AIRBAGS WENT OFF. *AK
SEAT BELT FAILED TO TIGHTEN, SEAT FELL BACK INTO THE BACKSEAT AND AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY DURING THE ACCIDENT. YH
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.