"How reliable is the 2005 Subaru Baja?"

"Based on 44 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Subaru Baja has a median complaint mileage of 97500 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Subaru Baja?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Subaru Baja is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 44 total complaints filed."

2005 Subaru Baja: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 44 complaints

Total Complaints

97,500mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

53,750 25th Percentile

97,500 Median Mileage

134,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

ENGINE

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

STRUCTURE:BODY

SERVICE BRAKES

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

STRUCTURE

SUSPENSION

STEERING:LINKAGES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHILDE ENGINE HAS KNOCKING SOUND WHEN STARTED FROM COLD AND FOR THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF OPERATION. IT SOUNDS LIKE BAD VALVE GEAR AND WE HAVE HAD A "TENSIONER" BRACKET REPLACED BY THE DEALER, BUT I AM NOW HEARING ABOUT A "PISTON SLAP" ISSUE ON THIS MOTOR THAT I CANNOT FIND A REPORT ABOUT. IT WILL ..."

"DT:CONSUMER HAS A SUBARU BAJA AND THE HAND BRAKE DOES NOT KEEP VEHICLE FROM ROLLING BACKWARDS ON A HILL. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER 3 TIMES. FIRST, DEALER ADJUSTED BRAKE, BUT THIS DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. CONSUMER BELIEVED THIS ACTUALLY MADE PROBLEM WORSE. CONSUMER SAID THAT VEHICLE ROLLED FAS..."

"I DO HAVE ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH MY BRAND NEW SUBARU BAJA TURBO 2005. SOMETIMES WHEN I DRIVE IN THE FREEWAY, I HEAR WINDY NOISE DOES AT 70 MPH IN COLD TEMPERATURES. I CALLED SUBARU OF AMERICA FOR A POSSIBLE FIX FOR THIS ISSUE. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE T.O SUBARU DEALER TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM HOWEVER TH..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28