Most common 2005 Subaru Baja problems
Share of the 37 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Subaru Baja complaints by model year
Best Baja years: 2004. Years to avoid: 2003. Compare all years →
2005 Subaru Baja recalls (10)
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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,…
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.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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,…
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.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
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,…
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.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2009 Forester, Legacy and Outback and 2006-2009 Impreza (including WRX and STI models) and Tribeca vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2017. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2006-2008 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), Tribeca, and 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…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 8, 2017.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Subaru Baja, 2006-2011 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), 2006-2012 Tribeca, 2009-2012 Forester, Legacy, Outback, and 2012 WRX vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2017. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783.
Show 4 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, 2009-2011 Legacy, Outback, Forester, 2006-2011 Impreza, Tribeca, 2003-2006 Baja, and 2006 Saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 26, 2016.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, 2006-2008 Impreza, Tribeca, 2006 Saab 9-2x, and 2003-2006 Baja vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri,…
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 24, 2016.
Air bags
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy and Outback vehicles, and 2003-2005 Baja vehicles sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever registered, in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S.
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783.
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Fuel pump
Subaru is recalling 15,761 my 2005-2006 baja vehicles. Cracks May develop in the fuel hose connection on the outlet pressure side of the fuel pump.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump bracket including all nipples with a new and stronger design part. This service will be performed free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during September 2009.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 4 possible defects involving the 2005 Subaru Baja:
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Fuel pump leak
Cracks May develop in the fuel hose connection (nipple) on the outlet (pressure) side of the fuel pump.this condition can result in the leakage of gasoline from the fuel pump.as a result of additional reports and other information provided by Subaru in response to the agency's investigation, this investigation has been upgraded to engineering analysis ea 09-007.
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Fuel pump leaks
Subaru will conduct a safety recall (09v-277) on all 15, 633 model year (my) 2005 and my 2006 baja vehicles, including turbo and non-turbo models.Subaru has identified a defect in which cracks develop in the fuel hose connection (nipple) on the outlet (pressure) side of the fuel pump.this condition can result in a pressurized leak of gasoline from the fuel pump.Subaru's analysis of sample parts collected from the…
What 2005 Subaru Baja owners say
Fuel & propulsion system
It is a commonly known problem with subarus of this era that the high pressure rubber fuel lines underneath the intake manifold will begin to lose their elasticity as they age and leak profusely when the temperature drops below 30 degrees fahrenheit. Mechanics know this and it is discussed extensively on the Subaru forums. This happened to my 2005 Subaru Baja when I was traveling in the mountains. When I started the vehicle in the morning, fuel would begin puddling on the top of the engine. It was very noticeable due to the fuel vapors produced. As the engine warmed the rubber would swell and stop the leak after a good 30 minutes or longer depending on the outside temperature. I had to travel with a fire extinguisher at the ready and could not keep any vents open in the cabin. It was extremely dangerous and could not be remedied until I was back from my trip. …
It's been cold in ma like past winters and this is the first time this happened since owning my Baja for 10 years now, which I bought new. I noticed that when I first start up my car with the heat vents open to warm it inside, the car fills with strong fuel/gas fumes. I took my car to be serviced at a Subaru dealer and they checked all the fuel lines; tightened them, but could not find what is causing this problem. So now I recirculate the cabin air and don't draw in fresh air to try to keep the fumes out. It still continues to emit fumes when it's cold out, but it never happened in the past...10 years of cold winters and now there's a problem with gas fumes? Something is very wrong and I do fear a fire.
Engine & cooling
During the afternoon of the December 21st ice storm in bozeman montana, my 2005 Subaru Baja slid off the road and down a steep incline. Although I only sustained bumps and bruises, the car was totaled. The accident could have easily been fatal. The windshield was heavily damaged, the car axles were broken, there was severe damage to three sides of the vehicle. I wondered why the airbags had not deployed. When I researched the situation I found there was a recall on 2005 Subaru airbags. Supposedly a faulty release switch and potentially a release of metal shards upon deployment. Maybe I was lucky the airbags didn't go off. I contacted Subaru to see if in light of this situation, they would potentially consider assisting me with a replacement vehicle. …
My car began overheating, so I had my nephew (a mechanic) replace the thermostat - twice. My next step was to take it into the dealer, and have them check it over. They told me I needed a new water pump, and had droplets around my head gasket, but it was nothing to worry about (that was at 98,000 miles). I explained that I was taking my 91 year old mom, and 17 year old dog to l.a. From sacramento, and wanted to make sure it was safe. They sent me on my way with the assurance the car would be fine. I overheated going over the grapevine. Subsequently, I've had the water pump, radiator, timing belt replaced, and it's still overheating. In the last month or so, it started leaking so I looked up online any complaints and found multiple complaints regarding head-gaskets, and that Subaru had extended the warranty to 100,000 miles or 8 years. Too bad for me, huh? …
Air bags
Tl* Takata recall. The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Baja. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V016000 (air bags) however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced any failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. VIN tool confirms remedy not yet available.
Tl* Takata recall. The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Baja. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V359000 (air bags) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tools confirms parts not available.
2005 Subaru Baja engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 19 / 25 / 21 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 19 / 25 / 21 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl turbo | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 17 / 23 / 19 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl turbo | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 16 / 21 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2005 Subaru Baja a good car?
Based on 37 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2005 Baja rates average: about as many complaints as a typical year of the Baja at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2005 Subaru Baja?
The fuel & propulsion system — 12 complaints, 32% of all complaints for this model year, most often about delivery › fuel pump. Next are the engine & cooling (7) and air bags (7).
How many recalls does the 2005 Subaru Baja have?
There are 10 recalls for the 2005 Subaru Baja, the most recent from January 2, 2020 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Subaru Baja?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2004. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2003. See the full Subaru Baja years comparison.
At what mileage do 2005 Subaru Baja problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 95,000 miles; 20% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.