Most common 2006 Subaru Impreza problems
Share of the 56 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Subaru Impreza complaints by model year
Best Impreza years: 2023, 2021, 2022. Years to avoid: 2012, 2013, 2019, 2018, 2017. Compare all years →
2006 Subaru Impreza 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.
Suspension › Front › Control arm › Lower arm
Subaru is recalling certain model year 2002-2007 impreza, model year 2003-2008 forester, and model year 2005-2006 Saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured from September 5, 2000 through November 26, 2007 originally sold, or currently registered in, massachusetts, maryland, michigan, new hampshire, new york, pennsylvania, vermont,…
Remedy: Subaru will handle their vehicles and Saab will handle theirs. Dealers will inspect the degree of corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them.
Air bags › Frontal
On certain vehicles, the wiring harness for the air bag occupant detection system in the front passenger seat May have been pinched during production. Pinching of the wiring harness between the floor crossmember and the seat mounting bracket could result in a short circuit.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect to see if the wiring had been incorrectly routed under the seat bracket. If so, the dealer will repair any damaged wiring, reroute and secure the wiring harness in the correct location, and…
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 2006 Subaru Impreza:
Front suspension control arm failure
On September 6, 2011, Fuji Heavy Industries USA, Inc, on behalf of Subaru of America, Inc notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (MY) 2002 through 2007 Subaru Impreza, MY 2003 through 2008 Subaru Forester, and MY 2005 through 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the District of…
What 2006 Subaru Impreza owners say
Air bags all 20 →
My vehicle contains faulty airbags that can launch shrapnel at the passenger if it goes off, this is a common recall for many vehicles. This airbag system can put everyone in the car at risk if it ever triggers. Subaru has refused multiple times to fix this recall because the vehicle was originally Canadian and the VIN number is not in the US branches data base. Over the past 2 years I have made efforts to both Canadian and American corporate branches as well as multiple dealerships. At the end of the day the duty to transfer the VIN between databases falls on the dealers efforts to reach out and the corporate branches cooperation-neither of which are happening. The vehicle is fully and legally imported, registered in California, stock, and has passed smog very recently.
Possibly related to Takata recall after local dealer serviced the recall, the air bag light came on. Dealer has said it is fault code 26, which is related to a failure of the passenger airbag indicator. This problem is pervasive and wide spread, a simple google search will garnish tens and possibly hundreds of people citing this failure. On top of Subaru not being forthcoming with this information, the dealer has only made problem worse in their attempt to fix what should be a simple wiring issue that many people are able to fix on their own. It is unclear if the passenger airbag will deploy while this code is present. We believe it to be related to recall as the passenger wiring harness is involved in the repair and could have been incorrectly installed or the problem was their and the dealer did not tell us about it.
Engine & cooling
Hard start, rough idle, drove 3 miles, check engine light turns on, code: p0021 bank1/2. Did research. It's a banjo bolt filter/screen mine was cracked in half inside the oil line restricting oil to the turbo. Managed to remove one easily accessible banjo screen which fixed half the problem. The other bolt virtually not accessible by me. Almost all turbo vehicles from Subaru experience this problem as code: p0021 or just catastrophic turbo/engine/coolant failure.
2006 Subaru sti driving home 20 MPH oil light flickered then stayed on for 20 seconds engine starved of oil, shut down. Had engine removed to find oil pick up tube the weld had failed causing no oil to motor, now motor is junk. Now I find out this is a common problem. Subaru of America has made a up dated tube,my question is why? A problem. I have had my car for 3 months now its 6,000 dollar repair, for a poor weld job on a 20 dollar part. The sales on these tubes are not going to reflect on how many have failed because who can afford 6,000 dollars every time it fails. So after market pick up tubes are be purchased that are made to last. I have all old parts and photos of all old parts. I see tons of people have the same problem Subaru is making a killing, selling engines. We need some help here please its time. …
Transmission & drivetrain
2006 Subaru sti driving home 20 MPH oil light flickered then stayed on for 20 seconds engine starved of oil, shut down. Had engine removed to find oil pick up tube the weld had failed causing no oil to motor, now motor is junk. Now I find out this is a common problem. Subaru of America has made a up dated tube,my question is why? A problem. I have had my car for 3 months now its 6,000 dollar repair, for a poor weld job on a 20 dollar part. The sales on these tubes are not going to reflect on how many have failed because who can afford 6,000 dollars every time it fails. So after market pick up tubes are be purchased that are made to last. I have all old parts and photos of all old parts. I see tons of people have the same problem Subaru is making a killing, selling engines. We need some help here please its time. …
Tl contact owns a 2006 Subaru Impreza. While driving at any speed, coasting, and shifting gears, the vehicle loses all wheel drive power. The failure causes the vehicle to shift into neutral. The failure was more apparent at high altitudes and on icy roads. While driving downhill, the vehicle jerks before it shifts into neutral. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. However, they reprogrammed the ECM. A local mechanic stated that the vehicle's torque converter and transmission were working improperly and the engine was six degrees too high. The contact filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. The current mileage was 22,000 and failure mileage was 1,000. Updated 01-30-08. The consumer stated driver's seat would lock into place, windows screeched, and passenger's front door hinges came loose. …
2006 Subaru Impreza engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 20 / 25 / 22 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 20 / 27 / 22 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl turbo | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 18 / 24 / 20 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl turbo | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 17 / 24 / 20 |
| 2.5L 4-cyl turbo | 6-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 16 / 22 / 18 |
EPA ratings. Class: Subcompact car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2006 Subaru Impreza a good car?
Based on 56 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2006 Impreza rates average: 31% fewer complaints than a typical year of the Impreza 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 2006 Subaru Impreza?
The air bags — 20 complaints, 36% of all complaints for this model year, most often about frontal. Next are the engine & cooling (12) and transmission & drivetrain (7).
How many recalls does the 2006 Subaru Impreza have?
There are 10 recalls for the 2006 Subaru Impreza, 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 Impreza?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2023, 2021 and 2022. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2012, 2013, 2019, 2018 and 2017. See the full Subaru Impreza years comparison.
At what mileage do 2006 Subaru Impreza problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 63,000 miles; 44% 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.