Buyer Research

2015 Subaru Impreza — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $9,000–$13,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

The mid-cycle refresh of the fourth-generation Impreza, with a revised FB20 and CVT, and the record thins out: 79 complaints, no fires, and the passenger-airbag sensor that dominated 2013 and 2014 drops to seven reports. What replaces it at the top is small and specific — a quarter of the file is the key refusing to come out of the ignition in park, a known shift-plate fault Subaru covered with a service bulletin. Under that are twelve CVT complaints, including one that locked the front wheels at 65 mph, and eleven engine reports with a rod knock under 100k and a cam-carrier oil leak that a dealer priced near five thousand dollars. Two recalls, both cheap to confirm. If the key comes out cleanly, the CVT is smooth from cold, and the cam carrier is dry, a 2015 is a sound all-wheel-drive compact at this money.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 79 owner complaints for the 2015 Subaru Impreza, and 2 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is electrics and electronics at 25%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

2 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2015 Subaru Impreza

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Key will not come out of the ignition in park — shift guide plate faultMedium

Twenty electrical complaints and most are this: shift into park, turn the key toward lock, and it stops at ACC and will not release. Owners cycle the shifter, pull forward and back, jiggle for minutes. One had it start right after the brake-light switch recall. The cause is the shift guide plate in the console not registering park, and Subaru issued a service bulletin rather than a recall; a dealer replaces the plate or adjusts the cable. A couple of battery-drain complaints and a passenger-seat sensor report round out the cluster. Park the car and take the key out four or five times before you decide anything.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$450 for the shift plate or cable adjustment

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (20).

CVT locks up at speed, oscillates wildly, or stalls — and the extended-warranty questionHigh — wallet impact

Twelve powertrain complaints. The worst is a transmission that locked solid at 65 mph on cruise control, briefly locking the front tires; others describe violent RPM swings, the engine held near redline with no shift, sudden loss of power with the pedal down, a stall at 35 mph traced to the transmission harness, and grinding from the front wheel well. Subaru extended the Lineartronic CVT warranty to 10 years/100k on many 2010–2015 cars; a dealer can confirm whether this VIN qualifies and how much is left, which decides whether a bad one is Subaru's bill or yours. Drive it from cold, ease away from stops, and hold 65 mph on a grade watching the tachometer.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,400 for a torque converter; $4,000–$7,000 for a CVT — around 64% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (12).

Cam carrier oil leak onto the exhaust, rod knock under 100k, and acceleration that cuts out in heatMedium

Eleven engine complaints, no single cause. The FB20's cam carrier (the valve-cover assembly) seeps oil onto the exhaust manifold and O2 sensor — smoke into the cabin, and a $4,973 dealer estimate one owner quoted because the head has to come apart to reseal it. One car developed rod knock under 100k with regular oil changes. One loses acceleration on long hot-weather drives with no warning light. An oil-control valve sludging the engine at 60k also appears. Sniff for burning oil after the drive, look at the exhaust manifold with a flashlight, and check the oil level cold — this engine burns oil in these years and a low dipstick is the tell.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$3,000 to reseal a cam carrier; $2,500–$4,500 for a short block — about 41% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (11).

EyeSight pre-collision braking may not react to an obstacle (recall)Medium

Recall 15V366 covers EyeSight-equipped Imprezas built September 9, 2014 to April 14, 2015: a software fault could leave the automatic pre-collision braking system not functioning as intended, so the car would not brake for an obstacle it should have seen. The remedy is a free reprogram of the driver-assist system. Only cars with EyeSight (the twin cameras at the top of the windshield) are affected. Confirm it on the VIN lookup; seven speed-control complaints with three crashes sit in this record too, and a car that surges or brakes on its own on the test drive is a reason to stop.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under throttle and cruise control (7); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Brake-light switch can stop working (recall)Medium

Recall 19V149 covers 2008–2016 Impreza sedans and 2012–2016 wagons whose brake-light switch can fail from contamination, leaving the brake lights dark when you stop. Dealers replace the switch free. One owner reports the key-stuck problem started a month after this recall was done, which is worth knowing if the seller says the same. Have a helper stand behind the car while you press the pedal.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Passenger occupant sensor and the airbag OFF light — fewer this year, same partMedium

Seven airbag complaints, one a crash, against 38 on the 2014: the passenger seat's weight-sensing mat misreads an adult and switches the airbag off, sometimes only in humid weather. The 2015 seat was revised and the record suggests it helped, but the failure is the same part and the same four-figure seat-cushion repair when it happens. Put an adult in the seat and watch the indicator stay ON for the whole drive.

Repair cost (estimate): $900–$1,800 for the seat cushion and sensor mat

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (7).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Key that sticks at ACC and needs the shifter jiggled to come out
✗Tachometer that hunts or swings at a steady cruise, or any shudder from a stop
✗Burning-oil smell after the drive, or oil on the exhaust manifold under a flashlight
✗Low oil on a cold dipstick
✗Passenger airbag indicator OFF with an adult in the seat

Good Signs

✓Both recalls closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Shift guide plate replaced under the service bulletin, with the invoice
✓Subaru dealer confirms the CVT warranty extension applies to this VIN
✓Cam carrier resealed with paperwork, or a dry exhaust manifold on inspection
✓Oil level full at 1,000-plus miles since the last change