How many miles will a 2005 Subaru Impreza last?
Half of the 64 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza that list mileage came after 71,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 144,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 75 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 64 complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza that list mileage, the middle half came between 10,000 and 100,000 miles; 16 (25%) came after 100,000 miles, 4 (6%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2005 Impreza last?
The 64 mileages owners gave run from 365 to 199,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 10,500 miles, half at or under 72,000, three quarters at or under 100,000 and nine in ten at or under 145,000; 16 (25%) came after 100,000 miles, 4 (6%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2005 Impreza wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 365 miles |
| 25th percentile | 10,500 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 72,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 100,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 145,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 199,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 16 (25%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 4 (6%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 1,518 NHTSA owner complaints on the Subaru Impreza that list mileage came after 44,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Subaru Impreza last? →
Common problems with the 2005 Impreza
NHTSA's file holds 75 owner complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza. Owners named the suspension most often: 17 complaints, and half of the 16 that list a mileage came after 71,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 17 | 16 | 72,000 |
| Air Bags | 12 | 6 | 19,000 |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 9 | 9 | 90,000 |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 8 | 8 | 88,085 |
| Structure | 6 | 5 | 120,000 |
Of the 75 complaints, 10 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2005 Impreza a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2005 is a good or a bad Impreza: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2005 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 75 complaints, the 2005 ranks 13th of the 30 Subaru Impreza model years from 1993 to 2024 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most, tied with 2016. The most: the 2002 (292). The fewest: the 2001 (10).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 Impreza | 33 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1995 Impreza | 46 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1996 Impreza | 20 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1997 Impreza | 30 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1998 Impreza | 30 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1999 Impreza | 22 | 10 | 67,500 |
| 2000 Impreza | 41 | 11 | 64,000 |
| 2001 Impreza | 10 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2002 Impreza | 292 | 195 | 63,000 |
| 2003 Impreza | 62 | 52 | 61,000 |
| 2004 Impreza | 96 | 72 | 65,000 |
| 2005 (this page) | 75 | 64 | 72,000 |
| 2006 Impreza | 56 | 34 | 60,000 |
| 2007 Impreza | 68 | 40 | 49,780 |
| 2008 Impreza | 176 | 134 | 47,800 |
| 2009 Impreza | 104 | 81 | 64,000 |
| 2010 Impreza | 46 | 34 | 47,351 |
| 2011 Impreza | 58 | 36 | 38,000 |
| 2012 Impreza | 243 | 186 | 45,750 |
| 2013 Impreza | 251 | 154 | 61,521 |
| 2014 Impreza | 109 | 64 | 49,000 |
| 2015 Impreza | 77 | 55 | 36,000 |
| 2016 Impreza | 75 | 40 | 25,515 |
| 2017 Impreza | 125 | 65 | 14,953 |
| 2018 Impreza | 152 | 51 | 18,500 |
| 2019 Impreza | 194 | 66 | 11,400 |
| 2020 Impreza | 85 | 42 | 7,000 |
| 2021 Impreza | 14 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2022 Impreza | 14 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Impreza | 32 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Impreza year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Subaru Impreza years to avoid →
2005 Subaru Impreza recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 6 recall campaigns that name the 2005 Subaru Impreza. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 23V076000 | Feb 13, 2023 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 20V003000 | Jan 2, 2020 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 20V002000 | Jan 2, 2020 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 20V001000 | Jan 2, 2020 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 15V323000 | May 28, 2015 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2005 Impreza lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2005 Impreza.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 11 of the 75 complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: IMPREZA. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: IMPREZA.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2005 Subaru Impreza questions
How many miles will a 2005 Subaru Impreza last?
Half of the 64 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza that list mileage came after 71,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 144,000 miles. Of the 64 complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza that list mileage, the middle half came between 10,000 and 100,000 miles; 16 (25%) came after 100,000 miles, 4 (6%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2005 Impreza that never had one.
What are the most common 2005 Subaru Impreza problems?
NHTSA's file holds 75 owner complaints on the 2005 Subaru Impreza. Owners named the suspension most often: 17 complaints, and half of the 16 that list a mileage came after 71,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 75 complaints, 10 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2005 Subaru Impreza a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2005 is a good or a bad Impreza: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2005 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 75 complaints, the 2005 ranks 13th of the 30 Subaru Impreza model years from 1993 to 2024 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most, tied with 2016. The most: the 2002 (292). The fewest: the 2001 (10).
How many recalls does the 2005 Subaru Impreza have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 6 recall campaigns that name the 2005 Subaru Impreza. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2005 Subaru Impreza before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2005 Subaru Impreza.