Vehicle Data Hub

2005 Subaru Legacy engine problems

34 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2005 Subaru Legacy, which is 14% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
34 14% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
49,000 miles 30 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
1 and 1
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2005 Subaru Legacy Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 49,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 12 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 2 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 2 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 9 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 2 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 1 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 2 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 49,000 miles
Based on 30 complaints that include mileage. 53% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles12
20k to 40k miles2
40k to 60k miles2
60k to 80k miles9
80k to 100k miles2
100k to 120k miles1
120k to 140k miles2
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 30 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 49,000 miles, and 53% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 1 fire, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

Dt*: the contact stated while driving the vehicle was hit on the front passenger side, near the bumper and wheel. The other vehicle impacted the vehicle at 40 MPH. The airbags did not deploy and the engine did not shut off. The manufacturer determined due to the angle of impact the airbags should not deploy. The contact was wearing a seatbelt, but sustained whiplash. There was a police report taken at the scene. The vehicle was towed to the dealership.

Reported at 12,165 miles, January 2006 CrashInjury

Check engine light came on, pulled over immediately and checked oil on the side of the road also looked through owners manual. The oil was a quart low, turbo making suction noises, pick up from a stop or quick throttle to pass on high way was gone. Added a quart of oil and had an oil change & check engine light diag done the next day ( drove maybe 60 mile with light on). After the oil change metallic noise from passenger side of engine could be heard and exhaust was pouring out thick smoke.

Reported at 64,448 miles, March 2010

Other problems reported for the 2005 Subaru Legacy

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Subaru models