CSR

Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2020 Subaru Legacy

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

121

Complaints

1

Crashes

1

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Subaru Legacy have filed 121 safety complaints with NHTSA between February 2020 and June 2026. The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers, named in 57 of them (47%). The typical failure was reported at 5,900 miles, the median across the 52 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 6 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (6)

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

24V227000 · March 22, 2024

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Outback and Legacy vehicles. A capacitor in the sensors for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may crack and short circuit, which can prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in a crash.
The risk
An air bag that does not deploy during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the ODS sensors on the front passenger seat, free of charge. Owner notifications were mailed February 3, 2025. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRA-24.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 118,723 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

22V485000 · July 8, 2022

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Outback and Legacy vehicles. A programming error in the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) may allow the clutch to engage before the drive chain is completely clamped.
The risk
An improperly secured drive chain may slip and break, causing a loss of drive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will reprogram the TCU, inspect TCU data for chain slip, and visually inspect the chain guide. If evidence of chain slippage or damage is found, the transmission will be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 24, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRK-22. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 21V-955.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 182 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

21V955000 · December 9, 2021

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2020 Legacy and Outback vehicles. A programming error in the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) may allow the clutch to engage before the drive chain is completely clamped.
The risk
An improperly secured drive chain may slip and break, causing a loss of drive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will reprogram the TCU, inspect TCU data for chain slip, and visually inspect the chain guide. If evidence of chain slippage or damage is found, the transmission will be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 19, 2022. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 19V-855. Vehicles previously recalled under 19V-855 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall once available. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRK-21.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 198,255 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

21V587000 · July 29, 2021

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
The risk
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 175,968 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION

20V766000 · December 10, 2020

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020 Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with "high" grade and "mid" grade multimedia navigation. The August 2020 over-the-air software update may have timed out without completing the installation, corrupting the data, and causing the rearview display to shutoff intermittently. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
The intermittent loss of the rearview image reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of crash.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the software and, if necessary, replace the Cockpit Control Module, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-20.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 7,741 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES

19V664000 · September 18, 2019

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020 Outback and Legacy vehicles. The brake pedal mounting bracket may have a missing or insufficiently tightened bolt.
The risk
A missing or loose bolt may cause the brake pedal mounting area to deform over time, which can reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake pedal mounting bracket hardware and replace the hardware or brake pedal assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUL-97.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 3,467 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 121.

VISIBILITY/WIPER 57 47%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 26 21%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 12%
VISIBILITY 9 7%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7 6%
POWER TRAIN 7 6%
ENGINE 4 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 3%
LANE DEPARTURE 2 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 2%
AIR BAGS 1 1%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 1%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2021 at 42.

2020 2021 2026
2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

1 injured · crash · towed · 16,200 miles

The contact's wife owned a 2020 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 3 MPH in a parking lot the vehicle suddenly accelerated and jumped the curb into woods and collided with a tree. The contact said his wife was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle front bumper and hood hit in the center and were both crumpled back about six inches. The contact hit the top of his head severely damaging the windshield on the passenger side and sustained minor cuts. Due to the sudden acceleration he had not been able to buckle his seat belt, additionally the airbags did not deploy. The contact was transported by ambulance to a hospital. The

NHTSA complaint 11460011, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

One hour into traveling on the highway smoke began to come from under the hood so we pulled off to the side of the road. Upon opening the hood, after the smoke cleared, a fire was observed. At that point the passengers exited the vehicle and called 911. There was no warning lights or sounds indicating any problems prior to this. The car burned very quickly and the firefighters extinguished the fire but not before the entire car was burned to ashes. The car is wrapped and in the possession of the insurance company pending investigation.

NHTSA complaint 11674078. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

towed · 45,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while in a parking space with her foot on the brake pedal and the transmission in drive(D), the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle drove over the parking median; however, she managed to stop the vehicle before accelerating up a hill. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer but the mechanic found no defect with vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA complaint 11478462. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving there is a loss of power, the battery fails, electronic components shut down and car stops. Has happened intermittently. Replaced battery. This is a significant safety issue happened on freeway near exit ramp, in parking lot in driveway, everything cuts out. Opened hood and seems to be battery terminal connector. Recall was issued for certain Subaru models but not legacy. No warning, just cuts off. Is not a standard battery terminal connector. Had to secure battery down with cable ties.

NHTSA complaint 11745403. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS
Driver's seat structurally unstable due to factory-installed welded nut shearing off the seat rail anchor at approximately 32,000 miles. Confirmed by Napleton Subaru technician on video. Physical component in owner's possession. Failure is consistent with prior Subaru seat rail weld recalls. This affects seat stability, occupant restraint geometry, and crash protection.

NHTSA complaint 11728577. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

29,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that during inclement weather, the front driver and front passenger’s side power windows failed to automatically roll up as intended. The contact was forced to hold the power window button to slowly roll the windows up. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where the contact was informed that there was debris in the slides inside the windows, causing the windows to fail to retract. The contact stated that the driver’s side window retractor was replaced; however, the failure returned soon after the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 29,000.

NHTSA complaint 11697739. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Power window driver side intermittently fails to function, leaving window partly or completely open. This is an ongoing problem. Often I have to restart the car to get the window to operate properly. Difficult to drive when weather conditions change suddenly and window won’t close.

NHTSA complaint 11647859. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
in inclement weather the windows will not roll up, especially heavy rain events. The window will attempt to go up and then go into the fully open position. You have to wait a minute before the window will allow you to attempt again of reset the windows. This happen to me on the highway in a heavy rain. It has happened several times. Subaru knows of this problem and has a technical bulletin about it to change the motor and window tracks. They all should be changed before a fatality occurs

NHTSA complaint 11642640. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru Legacy

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2023 10 2
2022 32 2
2021 31 3
2019 123 3
2018 116 3
2017 118 2
2016 146 3
2015 159 3
2014 53 10
2013 66 12
2012 90 16
2011 167 16
2010 150 18 1

Other 2020 Subaru models

Every Subaru on this site — 97 vehicles, 147 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst