222 of the
4,165 complaints filed about the Subaru Legacy
are about the fuel system —
5% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2005.
I am reporting a Sudden Unintended Deceleration event in my Subaru. The vehicle grinded to a halt without driver input. The car stopped in the left lane of a major highway. We put on our hazards and called the state police for help. They were unable to get to us in time. We were hit from the rear. The car's failure created a stationary hazard that led to a high-speed rear-end collision by a Jeep and truck which caused the car to do a 360-degree spin.
NHTSA complaint #11721080 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
At the end of a drive of 75 mi, 55-65 MPH on an 8 lane highway the engine stalled. Stopped in HOV lane. Restarting failed several attempts. Called police 911. Dusk, with light rain, slick highway. Poor visibility. Wife and I prayed a lot. Scarier than my year in Vietnam. Restarted after about 10 minutes, and prior to police arriving. Made it home 5 min away. Neither dealer nor Subaru can recreate or define the cause. My family and I fear the thought of driving again in that car. Not knowing the cause means no one can fix it.
NHTSA complaint #11705999 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am reporting a safety issue with my 2019 Subaru Legacy that hesitates and nearly stalls when accelerating from a stop and is now undriveable due to stalling and shaking. I bought the car new from AutoNation Subaru Carlsbad in 2019. It has about 65,000 miles and I have driven it less than 2,000 miles since its last dealer visit in August 2025. Since around August 2025, the car has intermittently lost power under light acceleration from a stop or low speed, especially while pulling into or through intersections. Pressing the accelerator sometimes produces very little power, the engine feels like it may stall, and traffic behind me must brake or go around me, creating a risk of a rear‑end collision in intersections. In August 2025 I took the car to AutoNation Subaru Carlsbad and reported that the symptoms seemed like a fuel pump problem (my independent mechanic agreed). The dealer kept the car for about two weeks, experienced the hard‑starting/turn‑over issue, but did not test or replace the fuel pump. They performed other services, charged me $1,956.21, and returned the vehicle without fixing the safety issue, even though they later acknowledged the fuel pump is covered under an extended warranty. One day after picking the car up, the same hesitation and loss of power recurred in an intersection. On November 26, 2025, the car again became disabled: it cranks, briefly starts roughly, shakes, and then stalls, and will not stay running. I believe this is a defective low‑pressure fuel pump or related fuel system component, similar to known Subaru fuel pump defects that can cause stalling and loss of power. No crash or injuries yet, but there have been near‑misses due to unexpected loss of power in traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11701769 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My wife experienced an unintended acceleration in her 2018 Subaru Legacy. My wife had begun to slowly back out of a parking space in a school parking lot when her 2018 Legacy went into an unintended rapid acceleration in reverse. The car took off in reverse and did not respond to her applying the brakes. Somehow she managed to steer the car which was rapidly acceleration in reverse, virtually uncontrollable, and guide the car down a row of parked cars until she clipped the front of another car at the end of the row and her car came to a stop. Thank God there were no students in the parking lot at the time! The floor mats in our Legacy are Subaru mats that lie flat and in no way would affect the accelerator pedal. As the car was accelerating in reverse, and she had removed her foot from the accelerator onto the brake, the brakes did not slow the car. There is considerable damage to the right rear of the car and trunk. After the accident, when the car was restarted, the accelerator and brakes worked fine and she was able to drive it home from the scene. Thank god students were not in the parking lot! [XXX] [XXX] (cell) [XXX] Nashua, NH 03062 (May-Oct), Ponte Vedra, FL (Nov-April) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11694618 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving on highway and engine failed light came on, along with low fuel sign. Engine shut off. Luckily I was able to safely pull over. The Dealer determined that the low fuel sensor failed thus shutoff the engine. Shutting engine off on a highway is dangerous and life threatening event. Need a different strategy to warn the driver with a time to safely pull over. It cost me over $1,500 to get the part repalce.
NHTSA complaint #11647892 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The catalytic converter has been replaced twice and is now needing a third replacement. The car emits gas fumes, unsafe emissions, and the fuel causes the mechanism to be extremely hot and unsafe. Over time, the car has had reduced gas flow and will stop running. The dealer has confirmed the three converters installed have been defective. The manufacturer, Subaru, was contacted to inspect the car but refused. Precious years have recalls of the fuel mechanisms. The check engine light stays on when unsafe emissions are detected.
NHTSA complaint #11647812 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Subaru puts on plastic fuel tanks, and overtime the connections that connected to the car that are metal will rub a hole into the fuel tank and caused leaking. If you park this in a garage a puddle will form any spark, such as a outlet will ignite the garage and blow up the house.
NHTSA complaint #11639977 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5 engine. Fuel gauge is inaccurate. My daughter was on the highway when it ran out of fuel. Had car towed to a independent shop. They said that the fuel gauges is a problem for Subaru 's and that they had seen it before on other Subaru's.
NHTSA complaint #11613803 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Thermo control valve is faulty and my friends is too. There is a class action lawsuit concerning this part. I replacement part was designed in 2021 and Subaru is aware of this issue, but refuses to do a recall. So far 2019, 2020 and 2021 models are affected.
NHTSA complaint #11578035 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have a 2018 Subaru Legacy 2.5. The front catalytic converter failed April 2022 with 130k miles. the part was replace by Subaru and the part has failed again. Oct 2023 with 180k miles. Exhaust fumes enter the passenger compartment (which are Carbon Monoxide). The same part has failed two times in a short period of time. Subaru states this is not a warranty issue .This must become a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11553381 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A friend was trying to move the car from the street when it suddenly lurched and accelerated and hit a tree, and boulder, and another car. They had not stepped on the accelerator yet. She lost control of the car. It was totaled as per State Farm.
NHTSA complaint #11541885 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact parked and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was slow to accelerate. After refueling, the fuel dissipated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the throttle body and valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
NHTSA complaint #11536960 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When running on a highway and you press down on the accelerator hard to merge onto a highway or go around a vehicle to move out of the way of vehicles quickly coming up behind you, the engine takes over and speeds up on its own. It has occurred three times on a newly purchased used car and it will increase speed up to 100mph. You have to press intermittently on the brakes to pull over to the shoulder and turn off the car for five minutes for the car to reset. If you try to just break, you get a burning smell. I see two class action lawsuits on similar acceleration issues for 2015 to 2017 Outback/Legacy series.
NHTSA complaint #11513949 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fuel Pump failed. Available for inspection upon request. Vehicle shut down near a busy intersection. There were no warnings, just failed while leaving a restaurant.
NHTSA complaint #11509257 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A smell of gas was present in the passenger area. I took it to my mechanic. He said the Damper Fuel Assembly (Part # 42086AE040) was leaking. It is a high pressure gas hose. Subaru no longer makes the part, making the car valueless. We tried junkyards, etc, but that part seems to be leaking on all. It is dangerous. I can drive it, perhaps, but the gas smell is in the body of the car. Subaru said it's "unfortunate" that the car that was worth $6-7,000 last week is worth nothing. Unless I want to drive it unsafely.
NHTSA complaint #11505416 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I had a episode of sudden unintended acceleration while I was driving in the highway. If I would let the brake pedal go, my car would probably escalate its speed to maximum until it crashes. The RPM was almost 5 even though I was applying the brake. I could not make it stop by applying the brakes at all . I only could make it finally stop when I changed the gears to neutral and them to park and finally turn the engine off. I was lucky I was in the highway and when I got in the first light it was green, other wise an accident would've happened.
NHTSA complaint #11505236 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.