Subaru Legacy Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 3,182 consumer complaints across the 36 model years of the Subaru Legacy (1990–2025) that have at least 5 complaints. 2005 has the most, with 184. Across all years, the part named most often is electrical system (426 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Legacy model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 1,500 | 0 | 153 | — | Too new |
| 2024 | 17 | — | 0 | 237 | — | Too new |
| 2023 | 10 | 1,025 | 2 | 323 | — | Too new |
| 2022 | 34 | 8,000 | 2 | 382 | 38 · Typical | Rising |
| 2021 | 31 | 5,150 | 3 | 460 | 26 · Fewer | Stable |
| 2020 | 121 | 5,900 | 6 | 595 | 100 · More | Falling |
| 2019 | 123 | 6,125 | 3 | 430 | 71 · More | Stable |
| 2018 | 117 | 20,450 | 3 | 445 | 65 · More | Stable |
| 2017 | 119 | 31,000 | 2 | 394 | 50 · Typical | Falling |
| 2016 | 147 | 35,000 | 3 | 468 | 69 · More | Falling |
| 2015 | 160 | 16,070 | 3 | 527 | 87 · More | Falling |
| 2014 | 53 | 30,284 | 10 | 371 | 34 · Fewer | Falling |
| 2013 | 66 | 30,000 | 12 | 503 | 44 · Typical | Falling |
| 2012 | 90 | 87,500 | 16 | 333 | 28 · Fewer | Falling |
| 2011 | 167 | 77,000 | 16 | 350 | 75 · More | Falling |
| 2010 | 150 | 70,000 | 18 | 321 | 79 · More | Falling |
| 2009 | 65 | 72,486 | 13 | 202 | 38 · Typical | Falling |
| 2008 | 65 | 78,256 | 9 | 212 | 20 · Fewer | Falling |
| 2007 | 33 | 65,392 | 9 | 208 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2006 | 87 | 98,000 | 7 | 217 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2005 | 184 | 74,000 | 9 | 264 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2004 | 49 | 85,000 | 10 | 196 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2003 | 60 | 79,800 | 14 | 193 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2002 | 54 | 66,750 | 4 | 132 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2001 | 77 | 62,540 | 7 | 106 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2000 | 94 | 94,815 | 3 | 67 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1999 | 94 | 101,000 | 3 | 16 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1998 | 114 | 108,048 | 4 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1997 | 139 | 92,000 | 5 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1996 | 123 | 90,000 | 3 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1995 | 182 | 166,116 | 2 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1994 | 60 | 125,000 | 0 | 13 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1993 | 77 | 114,385 | 1 | 12 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1992 | 55 | 124,900 | 2 | 11 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1991 | 78 | 149,630 | 3 | 11 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1990 | 81 | 72,000 | 4 | 11 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Electrical system426 16%
- Air bags399 15%
- Transmission and drivetrain369 14%
- Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)366 14%
- Brakes307 12%
- Other or unknown298 11%
- Engine cooling243 9.3%
- Engine219 8.3%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2017: “The key gets stuck in the ignition and it is impossible to remove once the car is placed in park. I can not turn the car off because the key can not be moved to the lock position. This happens all the time, but I had to pick a date so I picked the most recent occurrence. I know from online searches that other Subaru owners are having the same problem”
NHTSA complaint #11390776, filed 2021-01, 31,000 miles2019: “The windshield got hit by a very tiny object (likely a rock) and had a circular crack/chip at the left lower quadrant on 1/5/2021 when I was driving on a freeway. I took the car for windshield repair on 1/9/2021. Now the damaged area is bigger with more fine cracks. The windshield did not get hit again after 1/5/2021. The repair did not contain the damage.”
NHTSA complaint #11389923, filed 2021-01, 16,270 miles2020: “I was driving on a four lane section going uphill on us50 in california where the speed limit is approximately 60 miles per hour. The car suddenly slowed down to approximately 25 to 30 MPH. All attempts to increase the speed to 55 to 60 MPH failed. I safely pull over and stopped the car and turned it off. It was restarted, and the problem did not occur again.”
NHTSA complaint #11413828, filed 2021-04, 7,650 milesOther Subaru models
9,776 complaintsSubaru Forester
6,527 complaintsSubaru Impreza
2,649 complaintsSubaru Crosstrek
1,191 complaintsSubaru Ascent
1,038 complaintsSubaru WRX
969 complaintsSubaru SVX
279 complaintsSubaru XV Crosstrek
258 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology