2003 Subaru Legacy problems
Owners have filed 69 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Subaru Legacy. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. After that come engine (17%) and fuel system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 69 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 88,000 miles 49 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 49 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 88,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 30th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Subaru Legacy with enough data (28 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 14 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Air bags failed to deploy in mva that probably totaled my 2003 subaru legacy wagon(no official word from adjuster yet). Hit by a drunk driver(blood alcohol level.3). Hit by an '83 chevy citation with no front bumper. He was going 40-45 MPH, I was braking madly from 42 MPH. Subaru says sensors are mounted on bumper, but even so, what about suvs and trucks. I was very lucky and walked away with minimal injuries, but this failure could have killed someone else. Please look into it asap.+
Traveling west on I90 near mentor ohio I attempted to stop my 2003 subaru legacy wagon on a snow covered portion of the road. My speed was about 45 MPH. Traffic stopped suddenly, and when I applied the brakes, the car would not stop. Also, the ABS brake system did not activate. Further, upon impact with the truck in front of me, the airbags did not deploy.
When the recall was performed on the transmission, the dealer broke the transmission pan bolt, which caused fluid to leak out, consumer stated transmission may have internal damage.
I own a 2003 subaru legacy sedan. As I pick up speed you can hear an increasing wind noise coming from around the front 2 windows. At speeds of 65 MPH and above it gets really bad and it starts sounding like a ref blowing his whistle. I take many trips on the interstate and it get really bad and it gets worse if the wind is blowing. This is the only problem I had other than the transmission hesitating and shifting hard upon starting off in drive. Other than these 2 problems in is a great car.