Repair costs · Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza emissions fail repair: MOT fails on these items more often than other cars of the same age

At MOT, the Subaru Impreza fails on items fixed by emissions fail repair at least 1.7 times as often as cars of the same ages and fuel. From 66,952 MOT tests at 14 ages (12 to 25 years), DVSA data 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

Subaru Impreza, at least, per 100 MOTs (n=66,952)5.47

Cars of the same ages and fuel, per 100 MOTs3.19

Times as often≥ 1.7

Ages compared14

What this shows

These are MOT fail items that emissions fail repair fixes, as testers found them on the day of the test. Repairs done between MOTs never show up in MOT data, and mileage is not taken into account, so this is not how often owners pay for the repair.

By age

Fail items fixed by emissions fail repair, per 100 MOT tests, against cars of the same age and the same fuel mix. The model figure is a floor: DVSA data lists each model’s 25 most recorded items per age, and an item outside that list is counted as zero. The comparison figure is a ceiling: an item too rare to be listed for a fuel is counted at its highest possible value.

Subaru Impreza: ages with at least 1,000 tests.
Age	Subaru Impreza per 100	Same age and fuel per 100	Tests (n)
12 years	5.33	1.43	1,183
13 years	4.50	1.69	2,067
14 years	4.52	2.10	3,056
15 years	6.38	2.50	4,887
16 years	6.08	2.78	5,870
17 years	5.69	2.90	7,241
18 years	5.49	2.96	7,887
19 years	5.39	3.08	7,860
20 years	4.93	3.22	7,201
21 years	4.96	3.40	5,729
22 years	5.64	3.83	4,750
23 years	5.38	4.25	3,777
24 years	5.83	4.84	3,056
25 years	5.86	5.41	2,388

How we decide: a page exists only when the main generation’s rate, weighted to its own mix of ages and fuels, is at least 1.5 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, from at least 50,000 tests at 3 or more ages, with at least 100 expected items.

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

What garages charge

Prices are national. They are not specific to the Subaru Impreza.

No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts. The rates below are what UK garages charge per hour.

The warning light or emissions reading is only the symptom. What the repair costs depends on what the diagnosis finds, so treat any figure as the starting point, not the full fix.

Local garage labour, per hour (65 shops)£78

Local garage, middle half£70 to £96

Main dealer labour, per hour (62 shops)£156

Main dealer, middle half£144 to £174

Median hourly rate charged for car repairs, from 1,058 local garage and 953 main dealer price quotes collected by the ONS, September 2025 to August 2026. The same shops are priced each month, so the number of shops is the real sample.

Emissions fail repair: garage rates and all models

MOT defects this repair fixes

Petrol exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits0.52 per 100, all cars
Petrol exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits0.20 per 100, all cars

More on the Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza MOT fail rate by age Subaru Impreza exhaust and emissions problems Subaru Impreza common problems Subaru Impreza recalls Subaru Impreza ULEZ and clean air zones

Other models that fail on these items more often

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Peugeot 208	at least 5.0	809,087
Smart Forfourfirst used 2014 or later	at least 4.2	89,645
Peugeot 2008	at least 3.6	496,383
Ford EcoSport	at least 2.3	402,494
Fiat Punto	at least 2.1	310,264
Volkswagen Fox	at least 2.0	108,524
Vauxhall Crossland	at least 1.9	229,410
Renault Twingo	at least 1.8	101,465
Volkswagen Beetle	at least 1.7	180,577
MINI Cooper and One	at least 1.7	2,619,239

Looking at a Subaru Impreza?

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Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025, and the MOT inspection manual published on GOV.UK. Prices: ONS consumer price inflation price quotes, September 2025 to August 2026, UK.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026. Prices updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or the Office for National Statistics. How we calculate these figures · Data sources