1997 Subaru Legacy: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 179 complaints
179
Total Complaints
92,706mi
Median Mileage
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Top Issue
22
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

75,000 25th Percentile
92,706 Median Mileage
131,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
10
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
10
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
SUSPENSION
7
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
6
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
6
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
5
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
5
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
5

Severity Assessment

22
Crashes
2
Fires
10
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"IGNITER FAILED, CAUSING UNBURNED GASOLINE TO FLOW INTO CATALYTIC CONVERTER. *AK"
"WHILE DRIVING ON A ROCKY SURFACE THE ABS BRAKES DID NOT LOCK. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"
"IGNITOR FAILED, CAUSING INTERMITTENT STALLING. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28