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145 owner complaints and 2 active recall campaigns on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
Child safety lock on rear passenger door got stuck upon activation for the first time. Unable to unlock it. The door can only be opened manually from outside. Goodyear tires eagle ls 2 225/50-18 are completely dry rotten . The ride is terrible and unsafe.
Experienced difficulty removing key from ignition after vehicle is stopped and engine turned off. Issue recurs frequent but randomly. Sometimes it require several attempts to restart and shut-off engine before key would release from ignition. Vehicle was returned to dealer for…
On 2019-11-30 while driving on highway, the driver heard a sudden sound and a crack appeared on the windshield. The crack appeared to originate from the center bottom of the windshield, rise upward about a foot, then toward passenger side a few inches. Over the course of the…
Battery draining problem the requires a new battery to be installed Original batter 2016 Car would not start in February 2019 and required replacement Car would not start in January 2021 and required replacement Car would not start in December 2021 and required jumping
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
If the drive shaft detaches from the rear differential, it may strike the fuel tank and result in a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
If the transmission oil leaks onto the exhaust pipe, there is a possible risk of fire.
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. EA21002 on NHTSA →
How NHTSA investigations work, and what's open now →
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.2 out of 10 based on 145 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2016 Subaru Legacy is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2016 Subaru Legacy is acceptable, with specific caveats. Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy. The record behind that call: Reliability score 7.2/10 — around the segment average; 2 recall campaigns on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is electrical, with 47 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 65,176 miles. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop.
The electrical is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 65,176 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 145 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $850, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.