Buyer Research

2024 Subaru Impreza — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $20,000–$27,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 15 Subaru Impreza years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

First year of the sixth-generation Impreza — hatchback only now, with the 2.5L in the RS — and a first-year record that reads like one: 31 complaints, two crashes, two fires, and two recalls that both end in the car losing drive. The front driveshaft outer race can crack, which can leave you without power on the road or let a parked car roll, and a dash harness can chafe through and short. Both are free fixes and both are the first thing to check on the VIN. Owners' most common complaint is odder than either: the driver's-side mirror blurs at speed and dealers have not found a fix. Then there is EyeSight braking hard for reflectors and turning cars, and two reports of the pedal going to the floor, one ending in a crash. This is a good car by design and a young one by record; buy it with both recalls closed, a hard brake test done, and the mirror checked at 50 mph.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 31 owner complaints for the 2024 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 glass, wipers and mirrors at 26%. 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 2024 Subaru Impreza

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

Front driveshaft outer race can crack and break — loss of drive or rollaway in Park (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 23V754 covers 2024 Impreza and Crosstrek (plus some Foresters and the 2023 WRX): the outer race of the front driveshafts may crack and break. A broken one means the car stops pulling while you are driving, or, because a Subaru CVT holds the car in Park through the driveline, a parked car with the handbrake off can roll away. Dealers inspect and replace either front shaft, free; letters went out in January 2024. Check the VIN and ask for the repair order. A click on tight turns at low speed or a shudder pulling away from a stop is a CV joint that wants looking at regardless of the recall.

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

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Dash harness chafes on the steering beam bracket and shorts — loss of drive power (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 23V551 covers 2024 Impreza and Crosstrek vehicles where the instrument panel wiring harness sits too close to the steering beam bracket; it rubs through the insulation and shorts, and the short can cut drive power on the road. The fix is an extra clamp and, if the wires are already damaged, tape or a repaired harness, free. One owner in this record describes the whole dash going dark at 3,500 miles with a stop-driving warning and a two-week dealer visit, which is what this looks like when it happens. Confirm on the VIN. On the test drive, watch for any flicker across the cluster when you turn the wheel lock to lock at a standstill.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (3); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Driver's-side mirror shakes and blurs at speed; windshields cracking from the baseMedium

The largest cluster on this year, and five of the six sampled complaints are the same thing: the driver's door mirror vibrates from about 25 mph up until headlights and plates behind you smear, while the passenger side stays sharp. It happens on base cars and on the auto-dimming mirror alike; one owner glued foam behind the glass, another had the dealer swap in a plain mirror, and dealers have generally said they see it but have no fix. The other two complaints are a windshield cracking from the base of the glass with no impact, which is a Subaru-wide complaint in these years. Drive it at 50 mph and look in the left mirror; that is the whole test.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$450 for a replacement mirror glass or assembly; $500–$1,200 for a windshield with EyeSight recalibration

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (8).

EyeSight brakes hard for a reflector, a turning car, or nothing at allMedium

Six complaints, several also filed under brakes: pre-collision braking slamming on at 25 mph with a car 40 feet ahead, a hard stop at walking pace in traffic that felt like being rear-ended, a deceleration on a curve that the owner traced to a road reflector. The stereo cameras behind the windshield are sensitive to glass quality, a dirty inner surface and calibration, so an Impreza with a replaced windshield and no recalibration invoice is the one to worry about. There is no repair for the behaviour itself. Ask about the windshield, then drive a mile of mixed traffic with the system on and see whether it does anything you would not have done.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$600 for an EyeSight recalibration if the windshield has been replaced

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (6).

Brake pedal went to the floor with no warning light — two reports, one crashMedium

Six complaints sit under brakes on this year; half are the EyeSight events above, and one is a dealer eventually admitting to defective rotors and weak struts after first saying all was fine. The two that matter most are a pedal that sank to the floor with no resistance and no warning light, once ending in a crash, and once at 50 mph until the collision system stepped in. Two reports do not make a pattern on a car this young, and we are not calling it one; a pedal to the floor is still the thing you test hardest. Pump the pedal with the engine off, hold it, start the car and feel it sink slightly; then, on an empty road, brake hard from 40 mph and hold pressure for ten seconds — the pedal must stay where it is.

Repair cost (estimate): $500–$1,200 for a master cylinder or booster

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (6).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Either recall (23V754 driveshaft, 23V551 harness) open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗Left mirror image that shakes or doubles at 50 mph
✗Brake pedal that sinks under steady pressure at a stop, or feels different from one stop to the next
✗Replaced windshield with no EyeSight recalibration paperwork

Good Signs

✓Both 2024 recalls shown complete with dealer repair orders
✓Front driveshafts replaced under 23V754 and listed on the invoice
✓Left mirror image sharp at highway speed, or a receipt for a replacement mirror that fixed it
✓Pedal that holds firm under ten seconds of hard pressure with the engine running