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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2023 Subaru Legacy

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

Owners have filed 10 safety complaints about the 2023 Subaru Legacy with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the power train.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 2 complaints, 20% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers February 2023 to May 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

10 complaints on file

10

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 30%
AIR BAGS 2 · 20%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 10%
VISIBILITY 1 · 10%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 · 10%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 10.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 5.

8 6 4 2
23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2023 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2023 Subaru LEGACY, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 4 DR AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 10.1%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH

23V755000 · November 9, 2023

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2021 Crosstrek, 2022 Forester, 2021-2023 Legacy, and Outback vehicles. An insufficient weld may allow water to enter the inhibitor switch, causing it to fail.
The risk
An inoperative inhibitor switch may prevent the reverse lights from illuminating and the rearview camera image from displaying, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the inhibitor switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WRQ-23.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 95,830 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

23V647000 · September 21, 2023

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2023 Outback, Legacy, Ascent, and Impreza vehicles. The center support bolts for the driveshaft may loosen, resulting in the disconnection of the front end of the driveshaft.
The risk
Separation of the front end of the driveshaft increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will clean the bolt mounting surfaces of the center support brace and install new bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 20, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRN-23.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 4,311 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

i was traveling into work in Boston and a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup hit me broadside (drivers side wheel, rear door). My air bags (driver front or side) did not deploy and my car was determined to be a total wreck by my insurance company. I was bruised and out of work for a couple of days but was a fortunate to walk away from this accident.

NHTSA complaint 11642913. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

crash · 50 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the forward collision avoidance warning system would independently be active without an obstacle in front of the vehicle; the "Obstacle Detected" warning message would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that the forward collision avoidance feature had failed to operate on two separate occasions in which the contact struck a deer. In both instances, the contact struck a deer while driving at about 30 MPH. No alerts, warning messages, or safety features were activated during either accident. The air bags did not deploy in either accident. A police report was not filed and no

NHTSA complaint 11577627, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Full screen ads inhibiting, stopping, and blockingfunctionality unless interacted with from a third party service that was forcibly installed by dealership/manufacturer

NHTSA complaint 11739355. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
All electronic instrument panels failed to power on upon ignition. Vehicle was drive-able, but all key information provided by instrument panel was not available: such as actual speed, gear selection, engine RPMs, backup cameras. Additionally, infotainment system was not available either, so none of vehicle controls that reside on the displays were available. This condition persisted thru the length of drive.

NHTSA complaint 11733553. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving home after work on the interstate, I was quite startled to see a large popup on the vehicle's main screen; initially I thought it might be some sort of vehicle-problem, but it was a large advertisement for free access to SiriusXM for a limited time. The ad covered the screen and was quite jarring while driving in traffic. In order to close it, I pressed a red X in the upper corner. Such in-vehicle advertisements should NOT be presented while driving (actually, at any time).

NHTSA complaint 11703160. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Voice command in my 2023 legacy is not working. I can not speak into system to say call a person already entered without taking hands off steering wheel. Already reported to dealer & to corporate Subaru & it is a known issue. Reference # with corporate is 250620-1900992. This was reported to dealer in June 2025 when in for service & no fix has been noted other than Subaru is working on it? Feature built into car at purchase is thus useless & seems like a safety issue if I can’t use hands free when driving.

NHTSA complaint 11688050. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
This issue started on the trip back from Nashville. Upon cold start in the morning the center console display won't start. This affected infotainment, climate, eyesight, cruise etc. The system didn't work during the entire trip of 3 5 hours and inability to operate climate control caused the car to build up fog on all windows reducing visibility significantly at times. Turning ignition off, lock-unlock sequences didn't help the issue. The system booted normally after it sat locked for few hours upon arrival. A visit to dealer didn't find any issues. The usual comment the car needed software update, which I couldn't verify.

NHTSA complaint 11645800. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru Legacy

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2022 33 2 —
2021 31 3 —
2020 121 6 —
2019 123 3 —
2018 117 3 —
2017 119 2 —
2016 147 3 —
2015 159 3 —
2014 53 10 —
2013 66 12 —
2012 90 16 —
2011 167 16 —
2010 150 18 1

Other 2023 Subaru models

Every Subaru on this site — 99 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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