"How reliable is the 2004 Subaru Legacy?"

"Based on 55 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Subaru Legacy has a median complaint mileage of 100000 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Subaru Legacy?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Subaru Legacy is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 55 total complaints filed."

2004 Subaru Legacy: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 55 complaints

Total Complaints

100,000mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

34,000 25th Percentile

100,000 Median Mileage

149,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

ENGINE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

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

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

TIRES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AT LOW SPEEDS ENGINE IDLES , CAUSING THE DRIVER TO PUT THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL. *AK SUDDEN RANDOM ENGINE SURGE WHILE GOING FROM PARK TO DRIVE. ENGINE SURGE HAPPENED 6 TIMES ALREADY, 4 OF WHICH HAPPENED IN A WEEK. *LA"

"TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *AK"

"WHEN REVVING THE ENGINE POPPED NOISE. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE BACK FIRED. *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