2010 Subaru Legacy Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe shuddering, lurching, or stalling as the car comes to a stop or during low-speed acceleration, which many complaints attribute to the CVT transmission and torque converter. Steering-wheel vibration and shimmy at highway speeds is another recurring theme, usually reported on low-mileage cars. Complaints arrive across a wide mileage range, from near-new to well past 100,000 miles, and several describe dealer visits where the symptom could not be reproduced.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   CVT shudder and engine stall when stopping

   • 48 complaints (32%)
   • median 105,552 mi at 7.4 yrs old (36 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2010–2023

   Owners describe the car shuddering, shaking, or cutting out as they brake to a stop at lights or stop signs, sometimes needing to be shifted into park or neutral to restart. Many say the condition is worse with harder braking or in cold temperatures and becomes more frequent with mileage. Dealers in several complaints diagnosed the torque converter or transmission and replaced it, while others report the dealer could not find stored codes or reproduce the problem; some owners mention a warranty extension on the CVT and being told repairs were outside it. Reported from as little as a few hundred miles up to roughly 180,000 miles, most commonly past 60,000 miles and often in cold weather.

   Recall 10V196000Recall 10V3260001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Drive the car through several full stops from cruising speed and feel for shudder or a drop in idle, and ask whether the CVT fluid was serviced or the torque converter replaced. Ask for any records of transmission work or warranty-extension repairs.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Vehicle shakes and then stalls when coming to a rapid stop and needs to be put in park to restart. This is very dangerous. I was almost smashed into on a busy highway . The this has been going on for too long and . It could lead to an even worse accident the dealer I bought it from will not do anything about it and im still paying on it. Its an as is dealership so he refuses to help”

   NHTSA complaint #11388138, filed 2021-01, 175,000 miles

   “After 2 re-manufactured transmissions installed the same problem with the cars transmission. The car is stuttering and warning lights are on. The car feels like it's going to turn off while driving. At times the vehicle accelerator jams. I worry about my and my passengers safety.”

   NHTSA complaint #11317145, filed 2020-03, 16,700 miles
2. 2
   Steering

   Steering wheel vibration and highway shimmy

   • 11 complaints (7%)
   • median 4,900 mi at 1.5 yrs old (11 state mileage)
   • filed 2010–2014

   Owners describe the steering wheel shaking or the car wandering and needing constant correction at highway speeds, with some reporting vibration felt through the seat and floor as well. Complaints mention repeated road-force balancing, alignments, new tires, and steering damper replacement without a lasting fix, and one dealer visit that ended with a front suspension recommendation. Several say the condition appeared within the first few thousand miles. Mostly reported on cars with under 5,000 miles, at speeds above roughly 45 to 60 mph.

   Recall 10V283000

   What to check: Drive it on the highway above 60 mph and watch for wheel shake or wander; ask whether tires, wheels, and alignment were recently checked and whether any steering-column work was done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Car sways right to left at highway speeds of 55mph or more. Vibration in steering column present at any speed greater than 45mph but worse in 5th and 6th gears of mt. Steering feels unreliable. Car will deviate from intended path. Alignment has been checked, dealer has road force balanced tires and replaced a dampening spring in steering column. No change in either sway or vibration.”

   NHTSA complaint #10326688, filed 2010-04, 1,200 miles

   “Very bad vibration in steering wheel and front end in speeds in excess of 40mph. Many other Subaru Legacy owners are also experiencing this. The wheel shakes and requires numerous and frequent adjustments as it vibrates constantly. This has been ongoing for almost 2 years with no know fix from Subaru.”

   NHTSA complaint #10386831, filed 2011-03, 1,000 miles
3. 3
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Hesitation or delayed acceleration from a rolling stop

   • 6 complaints (4%)
   • median 32,150 mi at 2.0 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2009–2017

   Complaints describe a pause of a second or more after pressing the accelerator from a rolling stop, followed by a lurch as the car finally moves. Owners say it shows up in ordinary traffic situations such as turning at an intersection or crossing a speed bump, and some report the engine revving without the car picking up speed. Several say the dealer acknowledged the behavior but offered no repair. Often reported on very low-mileage cars, from under 1,000 miles into the tens of thousands.

   Recall 10V196000Recall 10V326000

   What to check: Test the car from a rolling stop and on an incline to feel for delay or lurch; ask whether any transmission software or throttle-related updates were applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6r has a very noticeable delay when attempting to accelerate the vehicle after a rolling stop. This is very common in everyday traffic, heading towards a red light that turns green, as well as with speed bumps. There is almost a full 2 second delay and the car then thrusts itself when the accelerator actually responds.”

   NHTSA complaint #10297490, filed 2009-12, 350 miles

   “2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6r has a long delay when attempting to accelerate the vehicle after a rolling stop, going over a speed bump, etc.... Very dangerous in everyday driving especially when heading towards a red light that turns green. After the delay, the car lurches forward. Have spoken with the dealer and told there is no correction.”

   NHTSA complaint #10307668, filed 2010-02, 100 miles
4. 4
   Air bags

   Passenger airbag off with a light adult seated

   • 24 complaints (16%)
   • median 3,500 mi at 1.7 yrs old (11 state mileage)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2009–2025

   Owners describe the passenger airbag indicator staying off with a small adult in the seat, and say dealers told them the system was operating as designed. Other complaints describe airbags not deploying in a frontal impact, though those involve individual crashes rather than a repeated pattern. Several regional recalls for the passenger-side inflator apply to this model year and were handled separately from these reports. Reported on cars from a few hundred to a few thousand miles, mostly in the first years of ownership.

   Recall 20V001000Recall 20V003000Recall 20V002000Recall 19V008000Recall 19V007000Recall 19V009000Recall 18V012000Recall 18V013000Recall 17V014000Recall 16V358000

   What to check: With a light adult in the passenger seat and the ignition on, confirm the passenger airbag indicator shows on; check with a dealer whether the passenger inflator recalls for this vehicle have been completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I purchased a new 2010 Subaru Legacy. When my wife who weighs 120 lbs sits in the passenger seat the indicator light for the airbag that displays the system ?on? Does not always display. It remains in the off indication. I brought it back to my dealer twice who claims there is nothing wrong with the airbag and it is designed that way. Designed to sometime go on and other times not?makes no sense. I reported to Subaru america who gave me the same story and assigned a case number . …”

   NHTSA complaint #10346188, filed 2010-07, 2,300 miles

   “Frontal driver's airbag did not deploy when automobile struck a utility pole head-on with sufficient force to damage it beyond economic repair. Only occupant was operator, and was using seatbelt but was injured due to force of impact against the steering wheel. Note 1: mileage is unknown. Figure supplied is an estimate. Note 2: photographs of the damage are available and the vehicle is being preserved for further examination. Note 3: this report is being submitted by a professional motor vehicle accident reconstruction. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10368136, filed 2010-11, 1,400 miles

Buying note. A pre-purchase drive that includes several stops from speed and a highway run will reveal the two most commonly reported symptoms, transmission shudder and steering vibration. Ask for service records covering CVT work and confirm any open airbag-inflator recalls have been completed.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.