How to Replace Brake Pads on a Subaru Impreza

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A Subaru Impreza brake pad replacement is a manageable driveway job that most owners can finish in one to two hours per axle. You need a floor jack, jack stands, a lug wrench, a metric socket set, a caliper piston tool, brake grease, and a torque wrench. The fronts are standard floating calipers; the rears on some model years use an electronic parking brake that must be placed in service mode, and some rear pistons are rotated in with a cube tool rather than pressed.

Impreza Brake Basics

The front calipers are single-piston floating designs. Two slide bolts secure the caliper to a bracket, and the pads live in stainless abutment clips inside that bracket. Remove the bolts, lift the caliper, and the pads slide out.

The rear calipers double as the parking brake. Depending on the year, either the piston threads into the bore and needs a cube tool to wind it back, or an electronic parking-brake motor on the caliper holds the piston and must be retracted through service mode before anything will move. A motor with a wiring plug on the rear caliper is your cue that service mode is required.

Tools and Parts You Need

• Floor jack and two jack stands
• Wheel chocks
• Lug wrench or breaker bar
• Metric socket set and ratchet, plus open-end wrenches
• C-clamp or caliper piston press for the fronts
• Caliper cube tool for screw-in rear pistons
• Scan tool or the factory service-mode procedure on electronic parking-brake years
• Brake cleaner, wire brush, and rags
• High-temperature silicone caliper grease
• Torque wrench
• Caliper hook or bungee
• Micrometer for rotor thickness
• A full axle set of brake pads for the Subaru Impreza
• A brake hardware kit with new abutment clips and pin boots

Step-by-Step: Impreza Brake Pads

1. Park on level concrete and chock the wheels that stay on the ground. Loosen the lug nuts a quarter turn before the tire leaves the pavement.
2. Lift the car at the factory jack point and set it on a jack stand. Rock the car to confirm it is stable. Do not work under a vehicle held only by a jack.
3. Remove the lug nuts and the wheel.
4. Open the brake-fluid reservoir cap and check the level. If it is near max, remove a little so the fluid does not overflow when the pistons retract.
5. Remove the two caliper slide bolts, holding the pin flats with a wrench if they spin.
6. Lift the caliper away and hang it from the coil spring with your hook. Do not stress the brake hose.
7. Remove the old pads and note the position of the wear-indicator tab.
8. Pry the old abutment clips out of the bracket and wire-brush the bracket lands down to clean metal.
9. Inspect the rotor for scoring, heat spots, and a lip at the outer edge. Measure thickness with a micrometer and compare it to the minimum marked on the rotor. At or below minimum, or grooved, the rotor gets replaced along with the pads.
10. Retract the piston. Front: C-clamp against the old inner pad, pressing straight in. Rear screw-type: cube tool, turning clockwise with light pressure. Rear electronic parking brake: service mode first, then retract as the caliper design requires.
11. Pull the slide pins, clean off the old grease, inspect the boots, and apply fresh silicone caliper grease. Replace torn boots from the hardware kit.
12. Snap the new abutment clips into the bracket and apply a thin film of grease where the pad ears ride on the clips.
13. Install the new pads, wear indicator in the same position as the originals.
14. Reinstall the caliper, start the slide bolts by hand, and torque them to the specification in the Impreza service manual. Use thread locker only if the manual calls for it.
15. Mount the wheel, snug the lugs, lower the car, and torque the lug nuts in a star pattern to the manual value.
16. Repeat on the other side. Pads are always replaced as an axle set.
17. Pump the pedal until firm, fill the reservoir to the line, and on electronic parking-brake years exit service mode and cycle the parking brake several times.

Safety Rules

• Jack stands are mandatory. A hydraulic jack can bleed down without warning.
• Wear safety glasses when spraying brake cleaner or prying clips.
• Keep grease and fingerprints off the pad friction faces and the rotor surface.
• Pump the pedal to a firm stop before starting the engine. The first stroke after a pad change goes most of the way to the floor.
• Recheck lug-nut torque after the first drive.

Bedding In the New Pads

Break in the pads per the manufacturer's instructions. The typical routine is a sequence of firm but not panic-level slowdowns from moderate speed, with room to cool between each, then a relaxed drive with no full stops while the brakes are hot. This builds an even transfer layer on the rotor and is what separates a quiet, strong brake job from one that shudders and squeals.

When to Call a Shop

Let a shop take over if a slide pin is seized in the bracket, if a rear piston will not retract with the correct tool and service mode engaged, if a caliper bolt strips or snaps, or if the electronic parking brake will not enter service mode. A pedal that goes soft again after pumping, or any sign of fluid at a caliper or hose, means the car needs a bleed and a leak inspection before it is driven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Subaru Impreza need special tools for the rear pads?

On years with a threaded rear piston, a cube tool is needed to wind the piston in. On years with an electronic parking brake, a scan tool or the factory service-mode procedure is required to retract the motor first.

Should I replace pads on all four wheels at once?

Replace them in axle sets. Front and rear wear at different rates, so inspect both and replace whichever axle is at the wear limit; do both if both are close.

What torque do the caliper bolts take?

Use the value in the Impreza factory service manual for your model year. Do not guess, and do not carry a number over from a different year or model.

Why does the pedal feel long after the pad change?

The pistons were pushed back and need to travel out to the new pads. Pump the pedal several times with the engine off until it is firm. If it stays soft, do not drive the car until the system is bled and checked.

Core Brake Parts stocks fitment-verified pads, hardware, and rotors for the Subaru Impreza. Match your model year with the find-your-vehicle tool and browse the full brake parts collection. Orders over $75 ship free, everything ships fast, and there is a 30-day return window on every part.