2013 Subaru Legacy problems
Owners have filed 84 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Legacy. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. After that come air bags (17%) and drivetrain & axles (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 84 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 30,000 miles 62 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 | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 62 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 30,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 32,000 miles (13 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 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 2013 ranks 16th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Subaru Legacy with enough data (56 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 12 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.
On 03/18/2017, I was involved in a head on collision with another vehicle that ran the red light, and my vehicle failed to deploy the air bags. As a result I hit my head on the widow and sustained various injuries.
Car accident that totaled car on highway with front end collision with guard rail and airbags did not deploy. Accident due to rainy weather.
Subaru legacy driver side air bag failure. Was pulling forward on a green light when I was t-boned on drivers side door and front wing/wheel. My speed approx 5 MPH,, straight, other car driving above the threshold for a front airbag to deploy in a hyundai sonata 2013, which I believe above 14 MPH into solid concrete wall or 28 MPH parked car per tests. Hyundai car was perpendicular to legacy when it struck. Side airbags failed to deploy despite extensive damage to driver door and left wing.
Car has extended cranking issue - it acts like the starter is bad or the battery is dying. Took it to the dealer and told them that the car has a hard time starting. It has died a couple times so I replaced the battery with an interstate battery and they told me that the battery was bad. I had the battery checked and it is definitely not bad. Asked the dealer to check the starter and they said it is fine. It seems that the car has some other issue with power being drawn from somewhere else.
Torque convertor clutch solenoid went out while driving on the highway at 75MPH. Ended up having it replaced at 138,000 miles on 2013 subaru legacy. Cost $1,700 at subaru dealership.