There are 4 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2003 Subaru WRX in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 4 of 4 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)THE DRIVER WAS SHIFTING TO SECOND GEAR WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN HE HEARD A POP, AND WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE GEARS, PREVENTING THE VEHICLE FROM MOVING. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR CHECKUP, AND RESULTS SHOWED THAT SECOND GEAR WAS BROKEN, AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.*AK
I HAVE A 2003 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STATION WAGON WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE INCIDENT ON JANUARY 19, 2004 IS ONLY ONE OF AT LEAST FIVE EXAMPLES OF THE PROBLEM DETAILED BELOW. *AK HERE IS THE RECURRING PROBLEM: WHENEVER I BRAKE AT RELATIVELY LOW SPEEDS (UNDER 30MPH AS FAR AS I REMEMBER) OVER EVEN MILDLY BUMPY SURFACES, THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSES COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR DOES NOT BRAKE. THE CAR WILL NOT BEGIN BRAKING UNTIL I REALIZE WHAT IS GOING ON, RELEASE THE BRAKE PEDAL, AND THEN HEAVILY DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AGAIN. I ALMOST HIT ANOTHER CAR BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE ON JANUARY 19, 2004. THIS IS VERY BAD, BUT EVEN WORSE IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST -- I LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOME OF THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALKS IN MY AREA UTILIZE RAISED, WHITE-PAINTED CONCRETE SURFACES TO HIGHLIGHT THE CROSSWALK. THIS RAISED, UNEVEN SURFACE HAS TRIGGERED THE BRAKE PROBLEM I'M DESCRIBING SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST. THIS IS VERY SCARY SINCE MY CAR MIGHT STRIKE A PEDESTRIAN IN THE CROSSWALK BECAUSE OF ITS INABILITY TO BRAKE SMOOTHLY ON UNEVEN SURFACES. I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL ABS-EQUIPPED CARS IN THE PAST, AND NONE HAVE EXHIBITED THIS SCARY BEHAVIOR. AFTER READING ON A SUBARU OWNER'S INTERNET SITE THAT MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE THIS PROBLEM, I CONTACTED A SUBARU DEALER ABOUT THE ISSUE. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS NORMAL FOR ABS-EQUIPPED CARS. I FIND THIS EXTREMELY SCARY AND VERY HARD TO BELIEVE.
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
WHILE ACCELERATING VEHICLE STARTED MAKING LOUD NOISE AND WOULD NOT GAIN ANY SPEED. VEHICLE WAS SERVICED, TECHNICIAN NOTICED THAT TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.