Subaru Legacy reliability by year
47 recalls and 1,824 owner complaints across 21 model years. Best year to buy: 2007. Year to avoid: 2014.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 2 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and others. Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 21 model years · newest first
Common trouble spots across the Legacy aggregated across 21 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Subaru Legacy?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2007 Subaru Legacy scores 8.4/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2025 range. 33 complaints on file, 0 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Subaru Legacy year should I avoid?
The 2014 Subaru Legacy scores 3.6/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 53 owner complaints with NHTSA, 10 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2014 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Subaru Legacy should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2005 (avoid — the engine — engine: 30 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 30,000–74,000 mi); 2014 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 3.6/10 — below the segment average). The cleaner years on the data are 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2007, 2006. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Subaru Legacy are tracked?
21 model years (2005 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 47 recalls and 1,824 owner complaints.
What's the most-reported problem on the Subaru Legacy?
electrical is the most-reported category — 292 complaints across 18 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.