Subaru Legacy problems, reliability and years to avoid
If you are considering buying a used Subaru Legacy, these are the common problems worth knowing about first. Our garage database tracks 3 known faults for this model, 2 of them rated high severity. Every one below is a repair bill a seller has good reason not to mention.
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Is the Subaru Legacy reliable?
The Subaru Legacy has 3 known faults in our database across 3 generations, 2 of them rated high severity. The most serious are engine (two owners reported crankshaft trouble on the 2.0 Boxer diesel) and engine (notorious head gasket failure leading to external oil/coolant leaks or internal). None of them makes the car a bad buy on its own; the risk is a seller who knows and says nothing.
That is a count of the faults we hold, not a reliability score. Popular cars get written about more, and a newer generation has had less time to show its faults.
Which Subaru Legacy years should you avoid?
No year is a write-off on its own. What matters is which serious faults a given year and engine can have, and whether the car in front of you has had them fixed.
1998-2010 / Legacy, 1998 to 20101 high severity
1 known fault, the serious ones in the engine
2008 to 20131 high severity
1 known fault, the serious ones in the engine
2013 to 2019
1 known fault, none rated high severity
Years and engines with a serious known fault
2009 to 2013, 2.0 Boxer diesel (EE20): two owners reported crankshaft trouble on the 2.0 Boxer diesel
1998 to 2010, 2.5 Litre Boxer (EJ25): notorious head gasket failure leading to external oil/coolant leaks or internal
Each one is set out in full below, with the symptoms, the typical mileage and a rough repair cost.
Generation 1 of 31 known fault
Subaru Legacy 1998-2010 / Legacy (1998 to 2010) problems
Engine/EmissionsHigh severity📝 Editorial
Notorious head gasket failure leading to external oil/coolant leaks or internal overheating
Rough guide
£1000-2000
Typical symptoms
oil leaking from the bottom of the cylinder heads
overheating gauge
white smoke from exhaust
coolant mixed with oil (milky oil)
Affected vehicles
Engines:
2.5 Litre Boxer (EJ25)
Typical mileage:
80000-120000 miles
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Generation 2 of 31 known fault · 2 owner reports · 14 good notes
Subaru Legacy (2008 to 2013) problems
Engine/EmissionsHigh severity💬 2 owner reports, 2013 to 2017
Two owners reported crankshaft trouble on the 2.0 Boxer diesel. A 2010 Legacy's crankshaft broke at 44,000 miles, and a 2009 Forester at 120,000 miles was diagnosed with imminent crankshaft failure after oil appeared between engine and clutch. The importer quoted £11,000 for a new engine and was said to sometimes fund one up to 120,000 miles where every Subaru service was on time. The engine was reportedly modified later in production.
Rough guide
£11000
Typical symptoms
a sudden unusual noise from the engine
an odd feel through the clutch pedal
oil leaking between the engine and gearbox
Affected vehicles
Engines:
2.0 Boxer diesel (EE20)
Typical mileage:
44000-120000 miles
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What owners report
2 single reports, unconfirmed
One owner each, in their own words rewritten as a line, and not counted in our risk scoring. A fault joins the list above once a second report or an editorial source backs it.
Gearbox and clutch · June 2017A Subaru Legacy experienced clutch failure after two years and 11,000 miles of use.
Engine · March 2013If an injector fails on the diesel engine, the entire unit must be removed for replacement, costing around £647 for labour.
What owners like
14 notes
May 2010The 2010 Subaru Legacy was recognised as Japan's safest car, receiving the Grand Prix 09/10 in the JNCAP assessment.
The Legacy Tourer offers a high-quality cabin with increased space, providing up to 1,726 litres of luggage capacity.
The Legacy model grew in size compared to its predecessor, becoming 50mm wider, 65mm taller, and 55mm longer.
The car features a new grille with a wing motif, elongated headlights, prominent wheel arches, and a strong belt line.
The interior has been fully redesigned to enhance occupant room and comfort, with front headroom up by 21mm and rear legroom by 99mm.
The new model provides 526 litres of boot space with rear seats in place, expanding to a vast 1,677 litres when folded flat.
Engine options include a 2.0-litre diesel with a six-speed manual gearbox or a 2.5-litre petrol with Lineartronic automatic transmission.
The Lineartronic CVT transmission provides smooth, linear acceleration and maximised fuel economy by keeping the engine in its efficient rev-range.
The diesel-powered Legacy Tourer offers competitive performance, achieving 0-62mph in 9.6 seconds and an outstanding 46.3mpg combined.
The 2.5-litre petrol unit produces 167ps and 229Nm of torque, achieving 0-62mph in 10.3 seconds with the Lineartronic automatic transmission.
The revised MacPherson strut front suspension design, with a thicker anti-roll bar, enhances stability, refinement, and agility.
The Legacy Tourer features a re-engineered all-steel structure, achieving the highest crash safety performance and a 5-Star Euro NCAP rating.
Standard features across all derivatives include alloy wheels, a sunroof, heated front seats, dual-zone air-conditioning, cruise control, and Bluetooth connectivity.
This Subaru Legacy model is recognised for its robust construction and overall capability on the road.
Transmission/ClutchMedium severity💬 3 owner reports, 2012 to 2019
Three sources describe clutch trouble on the manual Boxer diesel. A general statement says some cars registered up to 2009 (59 plate) needed a new clutch and dual mass flywheel under warranty, because the engine software let too much torque through in first and second; revised software was written to cure it. Two owners of later Foresters also reported clutch failures: one car was on its second replacement, needing one every 25,000 miles, and a 2013 car needed a clutch, flywheel and gearshift cable by 2016.
Typical symptoms
clutch slipping or biting high
judder or rattle from the flywheel when pulling away or at idle
Affected vehicles
Engines:
2.0 Boxer diesel (EE20), manual gearbox
Typical mileage:
25000 miles
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Repair costs are typical UK ranges, not quotes. Actual cost depends on condition and garage.Data last verified: November 2026
Subaru Legacy buying questions
What are the most common Subaru Legacy problems?
Three stand out. Engine: two owners reported crankshaft trouble on the 2.0 Boxer diesel (typically 44000 to 120000 miles). Engine: notorious head gasket failure leading to external oil/coolant leaks or internal overheating (typically 80000 to 120000 miles). Gearbox: three sources describe clutch trouble on the manual Boxer diesel (typically 25000 miles). The full list above is grouped by generation, with typical mileage and a rough repair cost for each.
Which Subaru Legacy years should I avoid?
No Subaru Legacy year is a write-off, but the Subaru Legacy (2008 to 2013) carries the most serious faults: engine. The 1998-2010 / Legacy (1998 to 2010) has high-severity faults on record too. The Subaru Legacy (2013 to 2019) has none rated high severity. Year matters less than whether the specific car has had the known fixes, so check the history for them.
What should I check when viewing a used Subaru Legacy?
Ask the seller about the engine and gearbox faults on this page and whether they have been fixed, with invoices. On the test drive watch for a sudden unusual noise from the engine, oil leaking from the bottom of the cylinder heads and clutch slipping or biting high. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories, then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against all 3 known faults before you travel. Check a Subaru Legacy advert →
What is the real MPG of a Subaru Legacy?
Owners report 41.0 mpg on average across the Subaru Legacy engines with data, about 94% of the official combined figure. The gap between official and real-world economy varies a lot by engine, so the Real MPG page lists every engine and generation separately, from 43 owner submissions. Subaru Legacy Real MPG by engine →
If you used to check the Honest John “Good & Bad” section before the site closed in 2026, this page is where that information now lives. We rebuilt the Subaru Legacy owner-report history from the archived Honest John dataset, added our own research, specialist and owner-club sources and DVSA recall data, and we keep it free. Each fault above is badged with its source. The same data feeds our free advert check, which reads a listing against every known fault for the exact engine and year.
Knowing what a Subaru Legacy goes wrong with is half of it. The rest is reading the advert and checking the car's history before you hand any money over.