2005 Subaru Legacy: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 247 complaints
247
Total Complaints
76,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
22
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

30,000 25th Percentile
76,000 Median Mileage
110,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
25
SERVICE BRAKES
20
AIR BAGS
19
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
15
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
13
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12
VISIBILITY/WIPER
11
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
11
POWER TRAIN
8

Severity Assessment

22
Crashes
7
Fires
17
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY 2005 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI HAS BEEN LOSING OIL AT A RATE OF ~2 QTS PER 1000 MILES SINCE THE DAY IT WAS PURCHASED WITH 37 MILES. I HAVE TAKEN IT IN TO A SUBARU DEALERSHIP SEVEN TIMES. THE DEALERSHIP CAN NOT FIND THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM, THOUGH, AFTER TWO OIL CONSUMPTION TESTS, THEY CAN CONFI..."
"VEHICLE: 05 SUBARU GT LIMITED SEDAN (PURCHASED) 11/30/04) TIRE: BRIDGESTONE, POTENZA RE92 (215/45 ZR17. MY WIFE AND I SKIDDED AS WE APPROACHED A STOP SIGN ON A LEVEL, SNOW COVERED ROAD. I BROKE GRADUALLY AND MY SPEED WAS LOW, ABOUT 10 MPH AS I STARTED BRAKING). INSTEAD OF STOPPING, THE CAR J..."
"THE CLUTCH OR SOME PART OF THE CAR SMELLS BAD (LIKE SULPHUR) WHEN THE CLUTCH SLIPS AS THE CAR STARTS ROLLING AND GAS IS APPLIED. IT IS AWFUL AND I HAVE READ THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO AWAY B/C ITS A NEW CAR..... WELL I HAVE ALMOST 4K MILES ON IT NOW AND IT IS STILL THERE. SUBARU NEEDS TO RECALL TH..."

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