1998 Subaru Legacy: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 155 complaints
155
Total Complaints
106,500mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
Top Issue
22
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

76,645 25th Percentile
106,500 Median Mileage
145,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
15
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
8
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
8
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
6
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
4
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
4
SUSPENSION
4
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
4

Severity Assessment

22
Crashes
2
Fires
14
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"UPON DRIVING ON ALL TERRAINS VEHICLE PULLS TO THE RIGHT. SUBARU CLAIMED THAT PULLING TO THE RIGHT IS DUE TO A DESIGN FEATURE, AND THEY REFUSED TO PERFORM ADDITIONAL SERVICE ON VEHICLE. *AK"
"NO DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVER'S/PASSENGER'S AIR BAGS IN A CRASH, RESULTING IN INJURIES TO DRIVER."
"SUNROOF DRAINLINES WERE REPAIRED TWICE, DUE TO LEAKAGE, DEALER BELIEVES THAT THE WINDSHIELD INSTALLER CAUSED THEM TO BE DISCONNECTED. CV JOINT LEAKING DUE TO FREEZE PLUG IN THE CV JOINTS, REPLACE BUT LEAKS WORSE. INSTALLED A BATTERY HOLD DOWN, TOP DEFROSTER LINE REPAIRED TWICE, SMELL OF BURNING O..."

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