2008 Subaru Legacy problems
Owners have filed 83 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Subaru Legacy. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 30% of complaints. After that come brakes (16%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 83 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 30% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 58 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 | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 11 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 58 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 78,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 82,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 26th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Subaru Legacy with enough data (30 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 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.
My airbag light had been turning on intermittently as is described by many 2008 subaru legacy and outback owners about a year prior to my accident. On october 15th, 2014, I lost consciousness while driving and went off the road and struck two trees. My vehicle was totaled with a cracked frame and it took two tow trucks and a winch to pull my car off of the trees. In this accident my airbags did not deploy and I suffered a fractured vertebra, a traumatic brain injury, knee injuries, and shoulder injuries.
The CV axle on the passenger side caught on fire. It was the rubber boot on the inner side over the catalytic converter. There were no warnings other than the smell of smoke. Fortunately, I caught it early and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. I had been driving 25 to 40 MPH on city streets for about 5 miles before the incident.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 subaru legacy. While approaching a stop light at a speed of approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into the rear end of another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The dealer could not duplicate the failure. The dealer repaired the structure body of the vehicle. The weather was not a factor. The approximate failure mileage was 11,000. The approximate current mileage was 11,000. Updated 07/09/10. Updated 07/13/10.
I got off the highway on a secondary road on my way home, when after the second stop sign trying to cross the intersection the car stalled ,losing its gears with the engine running, but no acceleration. The check engine light went on,the mode driving light and the cruise lights blinking. I turned the engine off ,then on and I proceeded with the only gear left to a safe location. Luckily I was on a secondary road or I could have been rear ended and hurt or worse.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 subaru legacy. The contact stated while inspecting the vehicle, he became aware of corrosion around the brake line. There was fluid leaking from the brake line. The contact stated that while driving, the brake pedal felt soft when depressed. A dealer was not contacted. There was no warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall.