2013 Subaru Impreza buying guide

A data-driven checklist for buying a used 2013 Subaru Impreza, built from 248 owner complaints, 4 recall campaigns, 499 service bulletins and federal safety records — not opinions.

Know before you buy

4 recall campaigns affect this model year. Check each one and confirm the repairs were done — recall work is free at any authorized dealer.
Main problem areas: air bags (79), engine (74), electrical system (33), power train (23), service brakes (22).
Symptoms owners describe: airbag warning light (34), check engine light (13), stalling (12), oil consumption (11), loss of power (6), brake problems (6). Test-drive with these in mind.
Reported incident mileage: among 150 complaints with a usable odometer reading, half were filed between 29,463 and 89,750 miles (median 64,000). This describes when owners reported problems — it does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop one.
Fuel economy: 19–30 MPG combined (EPA; engines: 2L 4-cyl, 2.5L 4-cyl).

When problems get reported

Reported incident mileage among 150 complaints with usable odometer readings.

under 20k		31
20–40k		14
40–60k		23
60–80k		34
80–100k		24
100–150k		20
150k+		4

Before you hand over money

Run the VIN through our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact build.
Check open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall that was never fixed is a free repair you can claim.
Get a pre-purchase inspection focused on the problem areas listed above.

This guide is generated from official NHTSA, EPA and FARS records. Complaints are unverified owner reports and raw counts are not adjusted for sales volume.