2008 Subaru Legacy: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 83 complaints
83
Total Complaints
78,255mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS
Top Issue
3
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

38,509 25th Percentile
78,255 Median Mileage
103,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS
25
SERVICE BRAKES
11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
9
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
ENGINE
4
POWER TRAIN
4
WHEELS
3
VISIBILITY/WIPER
3
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2

Severity Assessment

3
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WE JUST PURCHASED A NEW 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHEN WE BROUGHT IT HOME AND TOOK IT FOR A RIDE WE DISCOVERED THAT AT NIGHT WHEN GOING DOWN HILL YOU CAN'T SEE MORE THAN 20 FEET AHEAD OF THE CAR WE IMMEDIATELY STOPPED FOR FEAR OF HITTING SOMETHING IN THE ROAD AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE IF THE ROAD STAYED..."
"SINCE PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE (THE DAY THE CAR WAS DELIVERED TO ME) BOTH HEADLIGHT ENCLOSURES CONTAIN VISIBLE SIGNS OF MOISTURE THAT NEVER GOES AWAY. DEALERSHIP PROMISED TO REPLACE BOTH HEADLIGHT ENCLOSURES WHEN I NOTICED THIS PROBLEM THE DAY I TOOK DELIVERY OF THE VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP HANDED ME A ..."
"SINCE PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE (THE DAY THE CAR WAS DELIVERED TO ME) BOTH HEADLIGHT ENCLOSURES CONTAIN VISIBLE SIGNS OF MOISTURE THAT NEVER GOES AWAY. DEALERSHIP PROMISED TO REPLACE BOTH HEADLIGHT ENCLOSURES WHEN I NOTICED THIS PROBLEM THE DAY I TOOK DELIVERY OF THE VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP HANDED ME A ..."

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