2004 Subaru Legacy problems
Owners have filed 55 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Subaru Legacy. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 47% of complaints. After that come engine (13%) and cruise control (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 55 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 47% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 29 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 | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 29 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 34th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Subaru Legacy with enough data (14 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 10 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.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 subaru legacy. While driving approximately 15 MPH during a snow storm, the contact drove over a patch of black ice. The vehicle began sliding, rolled over, and crashed. The air bags failed to deploy. There was no other vehicle involved in the crash. The passenger sustained minor injuries and was transported to the hospital the following day. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The current and failure mileages were 42,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 subaru legacy. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the driver passed out and crossed over to oncoming traffic. The vehicle crossed the street and crashed into a light pole. Neither of the frontal air bags deployed. The contact suffered a pulmonary concussion and elevated troponin. The contact had to be hospitalized for three days. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to the contact's residence.
Dt: 04/30/05 problem began. At low speeds, the brakes were not responding and caused extended stopping distance and the steering felt out of control. An accident occurred on 05/07/05. At 35 MPH coming around a curve on a rainy day, the consumer tried to slow down, but brakes locked, and the consumer slid with no steering ability. The consumer couldn't keep the car on the road. She went off the road and head on collision with a tree occurred. Total loss of vehicle. Slight injuries to driver, no other cars involved.
I was steering the car, just leaving the lot of a home improvement store. I made a right turn, drove the distance of, perhaps, a city block and moved into the left lane to make a left turn. I had to stop for a red light so I applied the brakes but the car did not want to stop. The engine began revving! The gas pedal was stuck! Feeling terrified, confused, not knowing what to do, I shoved the gear into park and turned the ignition switch to off.
Takata recall: my car has been listed for the recall since june 2016, but I have never been once contacted by subaru to come in for replacement. I have no incident, fortunately, but the field below requires a date, so I'll enter today's.