Owners have filed 93 complaints on the Subaru BRZ, covering 2013–2024. The system named most often is Engine (54 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2022, 2017; cleanest: 2018, 2019, 2020. 2 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire. On average the car was 4.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Subaru BRZ
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 93 BRZ complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 54 Read
I was driving the car on the Highway & the car caught on fire from the engine bay area. I drover the car for about 5 miles before the fire. The car has no modification & everything in OEM/Stock condition. Many people reported having the same issue with engine catching on fire for Subaru BRZ Toyota 86 & Toyota FRS…
Blown short block / cracked cylinder head, broken connecting rod, $7000+ estimates for engine rebuild. My brz stalled while traveling on the freeway
Stock fuel lines on the driver side of vehicle are having rubbing/clearance issues with the hood and are causing engine fires for the 2022+ Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86 model vehicles
Exterior Lighting 4 Read
When the sun is facing the rear of the car, the rear turn signals do not activate, and the turn signals flash rapidly. It is exactly what happens in this youtube video: https://youtu.be/dHwMCdlJfYQ This is a danger, because my car will not properly signal when I change lanes or take a turn. Subaru will not look at the…
During my early commute on a sunny morning shortly after sunrise with the sun at the rear of the vehicle, when selecting the turn signal, the dash display flashes rapidly, i.e., hyperflashing, and it has been confirmed that the rear signal light does not operate during this anomaly. The forward turn signal does…
Stock blinkers rapidly flash faster than normal, blinkers cannot be seen in the rear at the time when signaling left or right during this time
Electrical System 4 Read
The stock head unit (Model #: CA645UL) in my vehicle has been having Bluetooth issues. Every since I purchased the vehicle in 2016, from time to time, the audio from my Bluetooth would cut out and then come back on. It was only once in a blue moon ever since I bought the car, so I never paid much attention to it.…
My brz is experiencing battery drain issues. I have replaced the battery with an oem battery from subaru, but my car still has a drain on the battery. I had to purchase a portable jump starter kit to ensure that if the car didn't start that I had a jump available. I have not brought the car in for service as of now.…
Rear lights leak and fill with half inch atleast of water, subaru's idea of a fix is let it evaporate, it takes weeks to evaporate and in the mean time your brake lights are fogged up making them less effective and duller, also the water can short out the light. They keep replacing with parts that are and have the…
Power Train 4 Read
-Manual Transmission issues with grinding or failure to go into gear. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. -Merging into highway traffic can be dangerous when I'm more focused on my transmission grinding loudly and having difficulty shifting gears to get up to speed. -Unknown -Unknown -No warning lights…
Terrible rattling/knocking engine seems to struggle when coming to a stop and will unexpectedly stall/shut off on highway and street use
Engine failure following the valve spring factory recall. The incident occurred while cruising on a highway. Vehicle suddenly lost all power. Electronics still functional
Engine And Engine Cooling 3 Read
See attached document for complaint
The contact owns a 2013 Subaru BRZ. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with maintenance failure. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number:…
Chirping/squeaking sound possibly from the engine's high pressure fuel pump noise occurs upon de-acceleration at 28mph w/ car in neutral see subaru TSB 2013my brz no. 09-54-12r dated 10/03/12
Suspension 2 Read
On the day before Easter, while driving down W. Colonial Dr., a car suddenly pulled out in front of me, causing me to slam on the brakes. Immediately after, it seemed like the brake booster blew out, as my brakes started making a hissing sound and felt like they were losing pressure. Additionally, I noticed a clunking…
At 20,000 miles I notice a popping coming from the right front wheel area at low speeds or turning to park. 2 dealerships told me nothing was wrong. At 45, 650 I insisted the dealership fix the problem as it was now on both sides of the front wheel area. Top hats and motor mounts needed replacement. The car only had…
Air Bags 2 Read
The passager air bag turned off with me in the seat
This week when I started my car, a yellow caution light appeared on my dash and a “check SRS warning light” appeared next to it. It would turn on and off, so i am unsure of what the problem is. I brought my car in for an inspection on January 28th, and they didn’t detect any issue regarding airbags or anything related…
Fuel System 2 Read
Subaru brz fuel pump defective filing complaint for the record - the 2014 subaru brz fuel pump when warm makes a metallic chirp (very audible - file video with sound available) as if its valves are expanding and causing friction related metallic sounds. Subaru acknowledges there are known issues and getting it…
This vehicle makes a "chirping" from the fuel system that which subaru of america claims yields no danger or effect to the vehicle. From my observation with the subaru brz it makes sounds such as the engine is cutting out and starting back immediately, also died on the road while sitting in neutral at a light. This…
BRZ years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Engine,fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2022 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2020 | Suspension,power Train,engine | — | — | |
| 2019 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2018 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2015 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2014 | Engine | — | 1 | |
| 2013 | Electrical System | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 62 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.5 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.8 years |
A model average of 1.5 hides a worst series at 6. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the BRZ?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2022, 2017 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which BRZ years are the cleanest?
2018, 2019, 2020 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Subaru BRZ have?
93 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2013–2024. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 3 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.