The Subaru Legacy has seen about eight generations since it’s debut in the North American automotive market. Along with that came several redesigns, that put the Legacy through many changes over the years. 

Some of those changes weren’t such a good idea, after all, as they previously thought. Some of those problems brought exorbitant repair bills to owners, which didn’t help matters any. CarComplaints.com lists a few of the most expensive repairs that Subaru had to deal with when it came to the Legacy. 

Subaru’s engine issues in the Legacy

The Subaru Legacy had a major engine issue. It had an excessive amount of oil being consumed between oil changes, despite owners maintaining their vehicles at proper intervals.

Drivers were usually unaware of an issue until they either experienced problems with the engine or when mechanics informed them of the loss of oil when they went in for routine oil change maintenance. 

Some drivers found out by having a code thrown with their check engine light. They would trace the problem to a loss of a significant amount of oil, which would range between 1.5 quarts to 3 quarts of oil between changes. Losing oil like this was hard on the motor, so eventually, the engine would need to be repalced at a cost of about $6,600. 

Eventually, Subaru would handle a part of the payment responsibility after they had a lawsuit thrown against them for faulty engines. Owners found this helpful, but the process to get them to agree that a new engine would be needed and that they would pay for some of it, was sometimes be frustrating.

The CVT problem in the Legacy

Owners of the Subaru Legacy, from the model years of 2010 to 2015, started experiencing issues with CVT transmissions. They noticed that sometimes when they drove or when they stopped quickly, the vehicle would shudder, shake, and then stall.

Upon investigation, it was determined that the CVT caused it, and they would need to replace it. In most cases, people experienced it after their five-year warranty was up, so they were responsible for the whole bill. The cost, however, wasn’t cheap. Most reported a repair bill of around $2,000. 

Eventually, Subaru extended the warranty for the CVT transmission to 10-years/100,000 miles, but it would only cover new replacements, and not the rebuilt or salvaged ones. They would also need the repair done within a certain time limit. 

How does the 2020 model fair?

The newer model is a vast improvement over the ones from several years ago when it experienced the most complaints. Consumer Reports review shows that as time went on, the engine issues on the Legacy are pretty much gone now. It seems Subaru has made enough changes to the motor and the engine is lasting longer. 

As far as the transmission goes, there have been next to nothing in complaints for several years. However, it seems that in-car electronics plagued the Legacy for the model years of 2017 and 2018. Also, it has had a recall on a brake mount. Otherwise, it earned a rating of 4 out of 5 for the predicted reliability. 

Now, with the new version, Subaru has one of the most reliable cars on the market, after making the necessary improvements to the most expensive parts to replace on the vehicle.