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Service bulletins for the 2018 Subaru WRX

A bulletin is a manufacturer's communication to its dealers, as NHTSA indexes it. The summary is NHTSA's. The document is the manufacturer's: read it at NHTSA. A bulletin is not a recall, and listing a model year does not mean every vehicle of it is concerned.

368 on file from NHTSA, as of 2026-10-19.

By type

By component

By trouble code

Bulletins, newest first
17-17-13R2020-02-05. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS; EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY. This Bulletin provides information regarding Event Data Recorder (EDR) functionality which has been incorporated into the airbag system.
10-96-192020-01-07. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER. This bulletin announces availability of a new HVAC blower motor unit assemblies developed to address isolated concerns of the blower motor becoming inoperative. If this issues occurs on models with Auto A/C, the blower fan may become totally inoperative. If this issue occurs on models with Manual A/C, the blower fan may operate on high speed only. The root cause of these conditions is water intrusion into the blower motor causing rust and corrosion to develop. Over time, the blower motor may begin to draw more electrical current to operate. if that occurs, the additional draw can cause the related fuse and/ or blower resistor to fail. To address this condition, additional packing has been added to improve sealing of the blower unit case along with development of a new style cabin air filter which also in corporates improved sealing.
12/275/192020-01-07. Service bulletin. SEATS. This bulletin announces a change made to the leather front seat cushion covers to address isolated concerns of a sagging/loose fitting condition after an occupant leaves the seat as shown in the example photos below. A pattern revision was made to increase tension of the cover material and decrease the time it takes for the condition to disappear after an occupant leaves the seat.
15-208-17R2020-01-07. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT. "This Service Information bulletin announces availability of an enhancement to the Gracenote database included in the vehicles listed above equipped with F10 7” Navigation and 7” Display Audio head units. When the user plays a pre-recorded CD, Gracenote recognizes the disc then shows the artist and track name information along with the album cover art on the head unit display (when available). This enhancement brings the currently installed database up to date with the most recent information available. This update does not affect any album art displayed when using SXM."
WUK-962020-01-07. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is initiating a service campaign for certain 2015-2018 Forester 2.0L Turbo and 2016-2018 WRX models which may experience a loosening of the front exhaust pipe nuts. On certain affected vehicles, the six (6) front exhaust pipe (EPF) nuts at the cylinder heads may not have been tightened sufficiently due to variations in production. As a result, these nuts may become loose during use and cause exhaust leakage. A leak occurring at the front exhaust pipe may result in deterioration of emission performance. As a result, affected vehicle may fail to meet emission levels certified by the EPA and/or California ARB.
15-214-17R2020-01-07. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure. The exchange program policy can also be found in Sections 8.4.9 and 11.2.10 of your Claims Policies and Procedures Manual found in Subarunet.
Subaru Announ2020-01-07. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is initiating a service campaign/ voluntary emissions recall for certain 2015-2018 Forester 2.0L Turbo and 2016-2018 WRX models which may experience a loosening of the fornt exhaust pip nuts.
Subarunet Announ2020-01-07. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is initiating a service campaign/ voluntary emissions recall for certain 2015-2018 Forester 2.0L Turbo and 2016-2018 WRX models which may experience a loosening of the fornt exhaust pip nuts.
07-146-19R2019-12-02. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. "This bulletin announces a design change made to the engine wiring harness to improve resistance to moisture. A detailed illustration describing the change is supplied below."
07-161-192019-11-01. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS. This Service Information Bulletin announces a design change made to the side curtain and knee airbag modules on the models listed above to optimize commonization with the Japanese production parts. The change involves the mixture ratio of Argon to Helium used in the inflator gas: • OLD gas ratio: 94% Argon, 6% Helium • NEW gas ratio: 96% Argon, 4% Helium. All other specifications of these modules are unchanged.
15-253-192019-11-01. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This Service Information Bulletin provides the answer to potential inquiries regarding the STARLINK app being unable to play music files stored on a customer’s Android® phone / device through the head units (H/U) used in the applicable models listed above. This information is applicable ONLY to Android devices operating with Operating System (OS) version 10. IOS (AppleTM) devices are not affected.
02-131-12R2019-10-01. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. The purpose of this Bulletin is to provide procedures for the diagnosis and repair of oil seepage which may be coming from the timing chain cover, front camshaft cap, camshaft carrier and / or upper oil pan. There are five areas that should be closely inspected if an oil leak is reported by the customer: 1. The 6mm tapped hole casting boss area in the left-hand camshaft cap 2. The sealing surfaces between either the left or right-hand camshaft cap and camshaft carrier 3. The sealing surfaces between the cylinder head and camshaft carrier 4. The sealing surface between the upper oil pan and the engine block 5. The sealing surfaces of the front timing chain cover
16-103-16R2019-10-01. Service bulletin. POWER TRAIN. This bulletin has been developed in response to a small number of customer concerns regarding fluid seepage found coming from the CVT assembly. Investigation has identified likely sources of the seepage to be the sealant used on the CVT’s oil pump chain cover and the input shaft oil seal. The repair involves chain cover removal, a thorough cleaning and inspection of the sealing surfaces followed by re-sealing the cover and replacement of the input shaft oil seal with the new, redesigned type.
12-271-192019-09-05. Service bulletin. STRUCTURE. This Service Information Bulletin announces a design change made to the rear bumper cover side mounting brackets. These new brackets provide increased clearance between the edges of the bumper cover and the corresponding quarter panels. This change will prevent them from contacting each other and possibly damaging their painted surfaces.
16-103-16R2019-09-05. Service bulletin. POWER TRAIN. "This bulletin has been developed in response to a small number of customer concerns regarding fluid seepage found coming from the CVT assembly. Investigation has identified likely sources of the seepage to be the sealant used on the CVT’s oil pump chain cover and the input shaft oil seal. The repair involves chain cover removal, a thorough cleaning and inspection of the sealing surfaces followed by re-sealing the cover and replacement of the input shaft oil seal with the new, redesigned type"
04-25-19R2019-09-05. Service bulletin. STEERING. "The primary focus of this bulletin is to provide a procedure to follow when diagnosing a customer concern of Torque Steer, defined as a pulling condition to either the left or right when under full acceleration which requires a somewhat greater than standard correction of steering wheel input from the driver to counteract. As part of this diagnosis, it will be necessary to first eliminate two other conditions a customer may misinterpret as torque steer. These are: Steering Pull and Steering Off-Center. This will prevent incorrect or over-repair, both of which can negatively impact customer satisfaction. This bulletin applies only in cases where the original factory equipment wheels, tires, and all suspension components are currently installed and, the outlined condition is confirmed to be present.
15-214-17R2019-09-05. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. "This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure. The exchange program policy can also be found in Sections 8.4.9 and 11.2.10 of your Claims Policies and Procedures Manual found in Subarunet. "
15-205-16R2019-08-30. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL. This bulletin announces new reprogramming file availability and the software installation procedure to address additional operational concerns received from the field and listed below involving “Gen 2” F10 Navigation and Display Audio units with 7” display. The procedure will involve downloading the applicable software update files then loading them onto two flash drives for audio unit installation.
11-191-19R2019-08-30. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This bulletin announces availability of a new Engine Control Module (ECM) for the models listed above designed to address DTC P2610: “ECM/PCM ENGINE OFF TIMER PERFORMANCE”. Under certain RARE conditions, an electrostatic surge may influence the ECM’s internal timer used after the engine is turned off and store a DTC P2610 in memory. Hardware in the ECM has been changed to eliminate any impact from electrostatic surges.
11-191-192019-08-06. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This bulletin announces availability of a new Engine Control Module (ECM) for the models listed above designed to address DTC P2610: “ECM/PCM ENGINE OFF TIMER PERFORMANCE”. Under certain RARE conditions, an electrostatic surge may influence the ECM’s internal timer used after the engine is turned off and store a DTC P2610 in memory. Hardware in the ECM has been changed to eliminate any impact from electrostatic surges.
07-152-19R2019-08-06. Service bulletin. VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; VISIBILITY. "This bulletin announces availability of new power window switch assemblies developed to address the following customer concerns: • Power windows inoperative from the driver’s door master and / or passenger front door switch • Unable to remotely operate other door windows from the driver’s door master switch • One-Touch Auto Up / Down features inoperative from either / both front door switches"
06-68-19R2019-08-06. Service bulletin. SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC. This Service Information bulletin announces instruction for application of additional lubrication between the brake caliper support and pad clips. This will prevent the pad from dragging due to corrosion buildup which may result in uneven or premature wear of the replacement brake pads. This additional instruction applies to all models with brake pads using the upper and lower pad clips and has been added to the brake pad installation procedures found in the related Service Manuals.
02-163-16R2019-07-22. Service bulletin. ENGINE. This Service Information bulletin provides new inspection and repair procedures for AVCS (Active Valve Control System) -related DTCs on the FA and FB engine equipped models listed above. The applicable Service Manuals will be revised with this new information in the near future.
15-205-16R2019-07-22. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL; EQUIPMENT. This bulletin announces new reprogramming file availability and the software installation procedure to address additional operational concerns received from the field and listed below involving ?Gen 2? F10 Navigation and Display Audio units with 7? display. The procedure will involve downloading the applicable software update files then loading them onto two flash drives for audio unit installation.
02-182-192019-07-01. Service bulletin. STRUCTURE; EQUIPMENT. This Service Information bulletin announces a design change made to the TGV assemblies used on the Forester Turbo models and WRXs listed above. Condensation resulting from EGR system operation may enter the area between the TGV shaft and bearing. Over time, corrosion can develop and impede movement of the TGV shaft and cause any of the DTCs P2004, 2005, 2006 and /or P2007 to set. The material of the TGV shaft has been changed to stainless steel to optimize corrosion resistance.

The summaries are NHTSA's. Each bulletin's page links NHTSA's copy of the manufacturer's document.