Selling a dead or junk Subaru

Further down you'll find the brand's history, what owners told federal safety regulators about each model, the few traits the lineup has in common, and each Subaru the EPA has rated since 1984.

An aircraft maker's car division

Subaru began on 15 July 1953, according to Wikipedia. Its predecessor was the Nakajima Aircraft Company, and Wikipedia lists Kenji Kita and Chikuhei Nakajima as founders. Today Subaru is a division of its parent, Subaru Corporation, with headquarters in Ebisu, Shibuya, Japan.

A few other turns in the story, all from the same article:

• Indiana: Subaru once shared its US plant with Isuzu. In 2001 Isuzu sold its stake to Fuji Heavy Industries for $1 because of flagging sales, and the plant became Subaru of Indiana Automotive, or SIA.
• Zero landfill: SIA was the first automotive assembly plant in the United States to earn a zero-landfill production designation. It is also designated backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
• Growth: sales growth in North America has the Lafayette assembly plant set to expand to 390,000 vehicles a year.
• The BRZ's twin: Toyota sold the BRZ in the US and Canada as the Scion FR-S until 2018, then as the Toyota 86 after the Scion brand ended in 2016.

Which Subarus draw the most NHTSA complaints

We counted the complaints owners filed with NHTSA for every Subaru model on this site, as of October 10, 2026. Together they add up to 26,768. The six with the most:

These are complaints, not confirmed failures, and the table is not a reliability rating. The Outback and Forester lead partly because both have been sold since the 1990s. The latest model years haven't been driven as long, which keeps their complaint counts low for now. The Trailseeker and Uncharted, first listed for 2026, show 29 and 40.

Older, rarer Subarus barely register. The XT, sold from 1985 to 1991, has 8 complaints, and the Justy has 49.

What runs across the lineup

Two things from Wikipedia's article apply to Subaru as a brand rather than to one model:

• EyeSight. As of 2022 Subaru had sold 5 million cars with this driver-assist system, and EyeSight-equipped cars made up 91% of its sales. In the US it is standard on most models with a CVT, and on BRZs with an automatic.
• The Daihatsu swap. Autoblog reported in 2008 that, after a Toyota investment, all kei cars built by Subaru would be replaced by Daihatsu models beginning in 2010.

For the other problems that take a car off the road, our guides cover a failing CVT, a head gasket or overheating and a blown engine in general terms.

Selling a dead Subaru whole

Nothing comes off beforehand: the EyeSight camera, the roof rack and the battery all stay put. The car is loaded onto a truck intact.

1. Have the year, model and mileage ready. A wagon, a sedan and a Baja pickup are all fine.
2. On your Subaru, mention any bent or missing panels and parts in the offer form.
3. Mention the title. No title in hand? Read selling a junk car with no title first.
4. Let us know where it's parked and how a truck can get to it.

Rather talk to someone? Call (877) 421-6008.

Once it is gone, take care of the plates and paperwork.

Every Subaru model in the EPA list

These are the 18 Subaru nameplates on this site, with the model years the EPA lists and the NHTSA complaints counted for each as of October 10, 2026. The EPA list is still filling in its latest years, so an end year of 2026 or 2027 does not mean the model was dropped.