2018 Subaru Legacy problems and recalls

Owners have filed 117 complaints on the 2018 Subaru Legacy, and NHTSA has issued 3 recalls. The most cited component is the Electrical System (40 complaints).

117
Complaints
3
Recalls
7
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
1
Injuries
47.4
Severity index

Severity index 47.4 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 47.4p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 79 of 122 by severity index among 2018 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 35% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2018 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

Electrical SystemElectrical System: 40 complaints (34.2%)40 34%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 29 complaints (24.8%)29 25%Visibility/WiperVisibility/Wiper: 25 complaints (21.4%)25 21%EngineEngine: 10 complaints (8.5%)10 9%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 8 complaints (6.8%)8 7%VisibilityVisibility: 8 complaints (6.8%)8 7%Service BrakesService Brakes: 5 complaints (4.3%)5 4%Lane DepartureLane Departure: 4 complaints (3.4%)4 3%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM4034.2%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2924.8%
VISIBILITY/WIPER2521.4%
ENGINE108.5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM86.8%
VISIBILITY86.8%
SERVICE BRAKES54.3%
LANE DEPARTURE43.4%

Complaints filed per year

011222017: 12018: 72019: 192020: 172021: 182022: 72023: 132024: 62025: 222026: 7 (partial year)1718192021222324252226
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20171
20187
201919
202017
202118
20227
202313
20246
202522
2026 (year to date)7
Filings in 2023 to 2025 were close to 2020 to 2022 (41 against 42).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V58700029/07/2021FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPSubaru 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.
18V93500031/12/2018VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICESSubaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Legacy, Outback, and BRZ vehicles. In the affected vehicles, a software issue may cause the audio display system to not initialize, resulting in the camera display remaining blank. If this occurs, the rearview image wil
18V77300001/11/2018ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARESubaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number de

Other Subaru Legacy model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 12 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-09-05. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.