"How reliable is the 1999 Subaru Legacy?"

"Based on 119 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Subaru Legacy has a median complaint mileage of 101000 miles. The most common issue is VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Subaru Legacy?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Subaru Legacy is VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, accounting for a significant portion of the 119 total complaints filed."

1999 Subaru Legacy: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 119 complaints

119

Total Complaints

101,000mi

Median Mileage

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

66,683 25th Percentile

101,000 Median Mileage

140,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SUSPENSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

POWER TRAIN

AIR BAGS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH HAS A CRACK ON ONE SIDE, AND CLIP IS BROKEN ON CLIP HOUSING ,WIRE TIE IS HOLDING BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH TOGETHER. THIS DEFECT IS CAUSING BRAKE LIGHT TO BECOME INOPERATIVE,AND SHIFT TO LOCK UP. *AK"

"SUSPENSION ALIGNMENT OFF AND CAN NOT BE RECTIFIED CAUSING VEHICLE HANDLING PROBLEMS, PULLING."

"THE DESIGN OF THE REAR, CENTER SEATBELT CONFLICTS WITH THE PROPER INSTALLATION OF MANY CARSEAT DESIGNS. TO DATE, WE HAVE TRIED CENTURY ENCORE, CENTURY HORIZON, CENTURY SMARTMOVE, EVENFLO ON MY WAY (WITHOUT BASE). WITH ALL OF THESE CARSEATS, IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO SECURE THE CARSEAT TIGHT ENOUGH TO..."

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