The Lemon Index
The 2.0 L flat-4 in the Subaru Impreza and Subaru Crosstrek, model years 2012–2025. Owners filed 2,336 complaints about cars with it (matched by VIN); 15% name the engine, #26 of the 39 everyday engines we track (1 = the most).
Known issues, checked against owner complaints
Problems owners of cars with this engine name much more often than owners of the other 38 everyday engines we track (at least 1.5× the median, and 10+ complaints):
- Oil consumption. 39 of 2,336 owner complaints (1.7%) mention burning or losing oil, against a median of 0.5% for the other 38 everyday engines we track.
The engine burns oil too fast. every 800 to 1000 miles the car requires 1or 2 quarts of oil
2013 owner · NHTSA complaint 11258670
What YouTube owners say Tone 0-100, higher = more praise than trouble.
Average owner tone 42/100 across 12 model years, from 139 videos about this engine and its cars (#134 of 165 engines with a YouTube study).
Most-watched videos
- Mitsubishi Evo vs. Subaru Impreza (HQ) | Top Gear 3,544,857 views
- 2017 Subaru Impreza Review 444,583 views
- Top 5 Problems Subaru Crosstrek SUV 1st Generation 2013-2017 334,229 views
- I Bought The Cheapest, Highest Mileage, Subaru Crosstrek In The Country! - What's Wrong With It? 279,271 views
- Repaired Engine Rattling noise on Subaru XV, Impreza, Forester, Outback at Cold Start. 252,674 views
Counted from video titles and captions: praise words against trouble words, weighted by views. Videos only count when the title names this engine or a car that had only this engine in those years.
Cars with this engine Tap a year for that car's full report.
- Subaru Impreza2012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220242025
- Subaru Crosstrek201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Model years from NHTSA VIN decoding of owner complaints. Only years we have a car page for.
Owner complaints by model year
Counts of complaints filed so far. Older cars have had longer to collect them, and popular cars draw more because more were sold: no one reports sales by engine, so there's no per-car rate. Compare the shares below instead.
By car
| Car | Model years matched | Complaints | Name the engine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subaru Impreza | 2012–25 | 1,219 | 14% |
| Subaru Crosstrek | 2013–24 | 1,117 | 15% |
“Name the engine” = the share of that car's VIN-matched complaints that list the engine as a problem area.
What owners complain about
Share of this engine's complaints that name each area (one complaint can name several).
What owners write
| Complaints that | Count | Share | Median, other everyday engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Say the engine stalled, shut off or lost power | 191 | 8.2% | 14% |
| Mention fire, flames or smoke | 67 | 2.9% | 3.2% |
| Say the engine knocked, seized or failed | 40 | 1.7% | 2.9% |
| Mention burning or losing oil | 39 | 1.7% | 0.5% |
| Mention coolant loss or overheating | 26 | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Mention an oil leak | 21 | 0.9% | 0.5% |
| Mention a spark plug | 10 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Mention a misfire | 7 | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Mention a head gasket | 6 | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| Mention a lifter, rocker or ticking | 5 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
Counted from the owner's own words in each complaint (all of the car, not only the engine). A share, not a failure rate.
When problems show up
Half of the owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 8,500 and 57,000 miles; the middle report was at 26,600 miles (1,240 complaints with a mileage).
Recalls that name this engine 0
No NHTSA recall on these cars and years names this engine.
NHTSA recalls on these cars and model years whose text names this engine (its size or name). The rest (brakes, air bags, wiring ...) are on each car year's page.
In owners' words
Heavy frontal collision, lots of damage, but airbags did not deploy. luckily no injuries, but why did the airbags not deploy?
2014 owner · NHTSA complaint 11776423
2019 Subaru crosstrek brakes failed unintended acceleration crash into handicap metal post.
2019 owner · NHTSA complaint 11769558
Wheel studs, continually Shearer off because of mismatched threads between bolt and nuts common problem among a lot of of Subaru
2018 owner · NHTSA complaint 11768549
Against the other everyday engines
| Engine | Years | Complaints | Name the engine | Stalled or lost power | Burning oil | Recalls naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 EcoBoost | 2014–25 | 5,622 | 66% | 15% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 6.2 V8 (Gen V) | 2014–25 | 7,219 | 65% | 24% | 2.2% | 2 |
| 2.4 Theta II | 2010–22 | 21,551 | 51% | 20% | 8.1% | 8 |
| 2.4 Ecotec | 2010–17 | 6,096 | 51% | 21% | 18% | 0 |
| 3.0 EcoDiesel | 2014–23 | 2,871 | 50% | 24% | 0.2% | 7 |
| 3.3 Lambda II | 2013–21 | 3,254 | 50% | 17% | 5.9% | 2 |
| 2.0 EcoBoost | 2012–25 | 9,735 | 48% | 12% | 0.1% | 0 |
| 2.0T Theta II | 2011–22 | 3,325 | 44% | 18% | 4.8% | 2 |
| 1.4 Turbo | 2011–22 | 3,926 | 39% | 17% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 2.4 Tigershark | 2014–22 | 9,631 | 35% | 34% | 4.5% | 5 |
| 1.5 Turbo | 2016–25 | 4,471 | 33% | 27% | 0.3% | 1 |
| EA888 2.0T | 2009–25 | 7,443 | 29% | 16% | 3.7% | 5 |
| A25A | 2018–25 | 2,979 | 26% | 12% | under 0.1% | 1 |
| 1.5 Turbo | 2017–22 | 6,390 | 26% | 14% | 0.2% | 0 |
| J35 V6 | 2003–25 | 24,038 | 24% | 14% | 0.9% | 4 |
| Skyactiv-G 2.5 | 2014–25 | 2,631 | 22% | 11% | 2.7% | 1 |
| 2.7 Turbo | 2019–25 | 1,090 | 22% | 12% | 0.5% | 0 |
| 2AZ-FE | 2001–09 | 7,176 | 22% | 3.7% | 8.6% | 0 |
| 5.4 Triton | 2005–14 | 3,952 | 21% | 15% | 0.1% | 3 |
| 5.7 HEMI | 2003–24 | 23,895 | 19% | 23% | 0.1% | 6 |
| QR25DE | 2002–20 | 16,161 | 19% | 14% | 1.5% | 4 |
| 5.3 V8 (Gen V) | 2014–25 | 13,191 | 18% | 13% | 0.5% | 3 |
| 3.6 Pentastar | 2011–25 | 34,634 | 18% | 16% | 0.4% | 9 |
| 2.3 EcoBoost | 2015–25 | 3,975 | 16% | 9.9% | 0.1% | 12 |
| 3.8 Lambda II | 2020–25 | 4,423 | 16% | 8.0% | 5.6% | 0 |
| FB20 | 2012–25 | 2,336 | 15% | 8.2% | 1.7% | 0 |
| 3.6 V6 | 2009–23 | 14,214 | 14% | 14% | 0.1% | 1 |
| K24 | 2002–19 | 15,062 | 14% | 5.1% | 1.6% | 0 |
| 2GR-FKS | 2016–24 | 3,758 | 12% | 11% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 3.5 Cyclone V6 | 2007–19 | 21,313 | 12% | 11% | 0.1% | 0 |
| VQ35 V6 | 2002–25 | 12,613 | 12% | 11% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 3UR-FE | 2007–21 | 1,377 | 12% | 8.8% | 0.4% | 0 |
| FB25 | 2011–25 | 9,853 | 11% | 6.2% | 1.5% | 0 |
| 2AR-FE | 2009–18 | 4,673 | 11% | 6.6% | 1.3% | 1 |
| 2GR-FE | 2005–18 | 8,680 | 10% | 3.5% | 0.3% | 0 |
| 3.8 V6 | 2007–11 | 7,877 | 9% | 17% | 0.5% | 0 |
| 5.3 V8 (Gen IV) | 2007–14 | 9,241 | 8% | 4.5% | 1.3% | 0 |
| 1GR-FE | 2003–24 | 5,757 | 7% | 4.0% | under 0.1% | 0 |
| 4.8 V8 | 2007–13 | 726 | 6% | 4.8% | 0.1% | 0 |
Shares of each engine's own complaints, matched by VIN. They show what owners complain about, not how often engines break.
Quick answers
Is the Subaru FB20 2.0 boxer reliable?
No one reports sales by engine, so there's no per-car score. Of the 2,336 complaints owners filed about cars with it, 15% name the engine, #26 of the 39 everyday engines we track (1 = the most). 39 (1.7%) mention burning or losing oil, against 0.5% for the other engines.
What cars have the Subaru FB20 2.0 boxer?
In our data: the Subaru Impreza and Subaru Crosstrek, model years 2012–2025, matched by the VIN in each owner complaint.
What are the most common FB20 problems?
In owner complaints to the government: wipers & visibility, electrical, engine.
How many recalls name the FB20?
0 NHTSA recalls on these cars name it.
Complaints: NHTSA owner complaints filed under each car's own NHTSA names (the same ones its car pages count), all years filed, one per complaint number. Engine: decoded from the complaint's VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder (displacement, cylinders, engine model, turbo, hybrid) and the engine maker's model years; a VIN that doesn't decode to exactly one engine is left out. Older cars have had more years to collect complaints, and popular cars draw more because more were sold. Source: NHTSA owner complaints (FLAT_CMPL + COMPLAINTS_RECEIVED_2025-2026), received through 20261111; engines: NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder (batch); NHTSA recalls API. Engine names and model years: Subaru.