IllustrationBOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT REAR BEARINGS ON THIS CAR FAILED BEFORE IT REACHED 60,000 MILES. NO INJURIES -- I'M CAREFUL AND HEARD THEM FAILING -- BUT REPAIRS WERE VERY EXPENSIVE. MR
1998 Subaru Impreza
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1998 Subaru Impreza do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 56.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Impreza years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 6 of 30 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Suspension. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports
What owners actually said
30 reportsTHE WHEEL BEARING HAS FAILED THREE TIMES. NLM
WHILE DRIVING THERE WAS A NOISE COMING FROM REAR OF VEHICLE. MECHANIC STATED THAT WHEEL BEARINGS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. HAS HAD THIS PROBLEM CONSTANTLY, AND HAD DEALER SERVICE VEHICLE ON SAME MALFUNCTION 9 TIMES.*AK
REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILED TWICE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS A POTENTIALLY A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. SUBARU IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THEY QUIETLY SUPERSEEDED THE OLD BALL BEARING USED IN IMPREZAS AND FORESTERS WITH A NEW ROLLER BEARING FROM THE LEGACY. PLEASE SEE THIS URL FOR MORE INFO: HTTP://WWW.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&TH…
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REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILED TWICE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS A POTENTIALLY A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. SUBARU IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THEY QUIETLY SUPERSEEDED THE OLD BALL BEARING USED IN IMPREZAS AND FORESTERS WITH A NEW ROLLER BEARING FROM THE LEGACY. PLEASE SEE THIS URL FOR MORE INFO: HTTP://WWW.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&THREADID=110396&PERPAGE=25&PAGENUMBER=1. *AK
CONSUMER HAD TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER DUE TO A STRONG FUEL SMELL AND BURNING OIL COMING FROM ENGINE. DEALER REPLACED TRANSMISSION TRANSFER CASE/ REPAIRED AN OIL LEAK, AND REPLACED PISTON GASKETS.SOMETIMES CONSUMER HAD TRIED TO START ENGINE, BUT IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN AT ALL. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION. *AK
CONSUMER STATES THE CLUTCH HAS BEEN REPLACED FOUR TIMES.*JB
THE FIRST CLUTCH WENT BAD AT ABOUT 6500 MILES, DEALER SAID IT WAS DRIVER ERROR, REPLACED FOR 1300.00, 2ND CLUTCH WENT BAD ABOUT 14,000 MILES DEALER SAID WAS DRIVER FAILURE BUT HONORED WARRANTY AND REPLACED, DRIVER MODIFIES DRIVING HABITS THAT MAY BE CAUSING FAILURE, 3RD CLUTCH WENT BAD ABOUT 22,000 MILES WENT TO A PRIVATE SUBARU…
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THE FIRST CLUTCH WENT BAD AT ABOUT 6500 MILES, DEALER SAID IT WAS DRIVER ERROR, REPLACED FOR 1300.00, 2ND CLUTCH WENT BAD ABOUT 14,000 MILES DEALER SAID WAS DRIVER FAILURE BUT HONORED WARRANTY AND REPLACED, DRIVER MODIFIES DRIVING HABITS THAT MAY BE CAUSING FAILURE, 3RD CLUTCH WENT BAD ABOUT 22,000 MILES WENT TO A PRIVATE SUBARU GARAGE AND THEY RPLACED IT WITH A OLDER MODEL CLUTCH , STATED THAT MANY LATE 90'S SUBAURUS ARE COMING IN FOR CLUTCH FAILURE, 4TH CLUTCH FAILED AT ABOUT 35,000 MILES,WHEEL BEARINGS IN REAR REPLACED AFTER A MINOR ACCIDENT INVOLVING A COLLISION WITH TIRE AND POLE, 2ND REAR WHEEL BEARING REPLACED AFTER MECHANINC NOTICED REAR WHEEL NOISE ABOUT A YEAR 10,000 LATER, HUBCAPS FELL OFF REPEATEDLY, FINALLLY GAVE UP REPLACEING, STARTER WENT BAD, IT MADE A NOISE TOOK INTO GARAGE IMMEDIATELY, IT ALREADY HAD DAMAGED THE FLY WHEEL, BOTH REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY, SPEEDOMTER FAILED REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. *AK
RIGHT WHEEL BEARINGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED FIVE TIMES. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER CAN'T FIX PROBLEM.*AK CONSUMER STATES ENTIRE DIFFERENTIAL IS INOPERATIVE.*JB
THE LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING WENT BAD AT APPROX 51K MILES. THE REASON THE REPORT IS BEING FILED IS THE LARGE NUMBER OF LATE MODEL SUBARU WHEEL BEARING FAILURES I FOUND ON THE INTERNET. I READ MANY REPORTS OF FAILED REAR WHEEL BEARINGS ON 1998 AND LATER SUBARU VEHICLES WHICH INCLUDED THE OUTBACK, FORESTER AND IMPREZA. SEVERAL IND…
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THE LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING WENT BAD AT APPROX 51K MILES. THE REASON THE REPORT IS BEING FILED IS THE LARGE NUMBER OF LATE MODEL SUBARU WHEEL BEARING FAILURES I FOUND ON THE INTERNET. I READ MANY REPORTS OF FAILED REAR WHEEL BEARINGS ON 1998 AND LATER SUBARU VEHICLES WHICH INCLUDED THE OUTBACK, FORESTER AND IMPREZA. SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS REPORTED HAVING THE SAME BEARING REPLACED TWO AND THREE TIMES. THE ALARMING PART IS MANY WERE REPLACED AT MILEAGES BELOW TWENTY THOUSAND MILES. I'M AFRAID I'M GOING TO HAVE OTHER BEARINGS GO OR THE SAME BEARING GO AGAIN.*AK
CONSUMER HAS EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS FAILURES OF LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING, CONSUMER STATES VERY NOISY AND JUST FAILED WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEED THE CAR BEGAN TO VIBRATE QUITE VIOLENTLY, CAUSING SOME DIFFICULTY IN MAINTAINING CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO BRAKE AND MOVE TO EMERGENCY LANE. *JB
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.