1990 SUBARU LEGACY — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 81 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: STRUCTURE (18 complaints · 22.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1989 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STRUCTURE appears in 18 of 81 owner complaints (22.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. STRUCTURE: 18 complaints, 22.2% of reports STRUCTURE 18 · 22.2% SEAT BELTS: 14 complaints, 17.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 14 · 17.3% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 12 complaints, 14.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 12 · 14.8% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 4.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 4.9% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 3 complaints, 3.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 2 complaints, 2.5% of reports ENGINE 2 · 2.5% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 2.5% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 2.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 1.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 1.2% PARKING BRAKE: 1 complaints, 1.2% of reports PARKING BRAKE 1 · 1.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 74 complaints, 91.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 74 · 91.4% · 4 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STRUCTURE 18 22.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 14 17.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 12 14.8% 1 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 4.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 3.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 1.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
PARKING BRAKE 1 1.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 74 91.4% 4 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jun 1990. 1995-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1995-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1998-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jun 1990 Jul 2004 Recall campaign 90V110000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V110000 Recall campaign 90V184000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V184000 Recall campaign 91V082000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V082000 Recall campaign 94V052000 ◆ Recall campaign 94V052000 Investigation PE91039 ● Investigation PE91039 Investigation PE94051 ● Investigation PE94051
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 4
1995-Q2 Owner reports 5
1995-Q3 Owner reports 4
1995-Q4 Owner reports 4
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 3
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 4
1997-Q2 Owner reports 3
1997-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 4
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 7
1998-Q4 Owner reports 3
1999-Q1 Owner reports 4
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q4 Owner reports 3
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 90V110000
Recall campaign 1 90V184000
Recall campaign 1 91V082000
Recall campaign 1 94V052000
Defect investigation 1 PE91039
Defect investigation 1 PE94051
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V110000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    NON-FUNCTIONING DEFROSTER WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT DRIVERVISIBILITY.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A POSITIONING STOPPER DEVICE TO PREVENT DISLOCATION OF DEFROSTER LEVER PIN TO ASSURE DEFROSTER OPERATION.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V184000

    Report date
    Component:
    LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
    Consequence:
    THE AFFECTED DOOR MAY NOT BE OPENED FROM INSIDE,PREVENTING EXIT FROM THAT DOOR.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE FRONT DOOR LATCH SCREWS WITH "LOCK-TIGHT" SCREWS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 91V082000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    DELAYED RELEASE OF TRANSMISSION FROM PARK CAUSES DELAYEDAND POSSIBLY ABRUPT VEHICLE MOVEMENT THAT COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLECONTROL AND AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A MODIFIED PARKING BRAKE PAWL TO PREVENT DELAYED RELEASE INTO REVERSE GEAR.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 94V052000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    SUDDEN STOPS WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING CAN CAUSE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS TO BE THROWN AROUND THE VEHICLE AND CAUSE LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL WHICH CAN RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE OIL GAUGE PIPE AND MODIFY THE OIL LEVEL GAUGE (DIPSTICK) OR REPLACE IT, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF DIPSTICK IN THE VEHICLE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 81 complaints · page 1 of 4

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources