Reliable Auto DB

2014 Subaru Legacy reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2014 Subaru Legacy has 53 complaints with NHTSA after 13 years, or 5 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Legacy years here — under the median of the other years, which is 8. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Inflator, Switch, and Parking brake.

2012 Subaru Legacy
Photo by IFCAR, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons Public domain
Complaints

53

Per year

5

Recalls

10

Years on the road

13

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (14 of 53), then Electrical system (11) and Structure (7). Those filings include 4 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2013 and 2015

The 2013 Legacy has 66 complaints, 7 per year, and the 2015 has 159 complaints, 26 per year. The 2014 has fewer complaints per year than the 2013. The 2014 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2014 Subaru Legacy. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (10)

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2020-01-02 · NHTSA campaign 20V002000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2020-01-02 · NHTSA campaign 20V003000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2020-01-02 · NHTSA campaign 20V001000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.
Recall electrical system, ignition, switch 2019-04-11 · NHTSA campaign 19V297000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition switch installed as a replacement part. The ball spring inside the switch may break, reducing the strength of the ignition switch. If this occurs, the weight on the key ring and certain road conditions could cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position to the accessory position, turning off the engine.
Remedy Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition switch, replacing the ignition switch, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 10, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUF-91.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2019-01-09 · NHTSA campaign 19V007000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-19.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2019-01-09 · NHTSA campaign 19V008000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-19.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2019-01-09 · NHTSA campaign 19V009000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-19.
Recall Parking brake 2018-09-13 · NHTSA campaign 18V626000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. The electronic parking brake (EPB) may not engage as intended, allowing the vehicle to rollaway if the transmission is not in the proper gear when parked.
Remedy Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the EPB actuator assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTV-81.
Recall visibility, windshield wiper, motor 2016-09-27 · NHTSA campaign 16V694000
Summary Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Legacy vehicles manufactured November 26, 2008, to June 7, 2013, and 2010-2014 Outback vehicles manufactured January 9, 2009 to June 7, 2013. Due to contamination, components within the windshield wiper motor bottom cover may interfere with each other. If an obstruction, such as a buildup of snow or ice prevents the wiper arms from being able to stop in the parked position, the wiper motor may overheat and the bottom cover may melt.
Remedy Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the windshield wiper motor bottom cover assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTK-71. Note: This recall supersedes recall 11V-469. All vehicles that were remedied under that campaign are affected by this campaign, and need to have their wiper motor bottom cover replaced again.
Recall powertrain, automatic transmission 2013-08-01 · NHTSA campaign 13V336000
Summary Subaru of America is recalling certain model year 2014 Legacy 3.6R and Outback 3.6R and 2013 Tribeca vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through June 28, 2013 and equipped with 5-speed automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the parking rod may come loose inside the automatic transmission.
Remedy Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission, free of charge. The recall began during August 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's recall number is WQJ-46.

Complaints by component (53 total)

Air bags
14
Electrical system
11
Structure
7
Powertrain
6
Engine
5
Exterior lighting
5
Visibility
5
Speed control
3
Seats
2
Steering
2
Forward collision avoidance
1
Fuel and propulsion system
1
Parking brake
1
Service brakes
1
Suspension
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Show 8 more Show less
Crash-flagged

4

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

1201342014120158201672017520181020196202022021220224202432025
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, there was a clicking sound coming from underneath the vehicle, and the vehicle swayed slightly before coming to a stop.…"
    Structure · filed 2025-09-12
  • "The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated before accelerating. The contact stated that there was a lag in the vehicle while driving and attempting to accelerate above 65 MPH.…"
    Powertrain, Electrical system · filed 2025-02-14
  • "Believe the torque converter in the cvt transmission is causing the vehicle to stall. Happened multiple times going through an intersection and was almost side swiped. Was an extended warranty on cvt but no recalls for…"
    Powertrain · filed 2025-02-06
  • "The occupancy detection sensor module failed. Similar to the 2014 forester recall the module has failed and Subaru dealership wants $3300 to replace the module. The passenger airbag is off due to the sensor not working.…"
    Electrical system, Air bags · filed 2024-11-25
  • "My Subaru ran perfectly fine until the water pump and cooler lines got replaced after these were replaced it was tried to be driven and the car then had no idea what gear it was in drive is drive neautral is drive and…"
    Powertrain, Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance · filed 2024-10-22

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2014 Subaru Legacy 4 DR AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Legacy all-wheel drive 2.5L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed All-wheel drive 21 29 24 MPG $2700
Legacy all-wheel drive 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (5-speed) All-wheel drive 18 25 20 MPG $3250
Legacy all-wheel drive 2.5L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) All-wheel drive 24 32 27 MPG $2400

Specs and fitment

5th generation (BM/BR), 2012–2014
Body styles Sedan
Oil 0W-20 synthetic (2.5L; 5W-30 if 0W-20 unavailable) , 5.1 qt capacity
Tire size 215/50R17, 225/50R17 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA safety recall 18V626000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. The electronic parking brake (EPB) may not engage as intended, allowing the vehicle to rollaway if the transmission is not in the proper gear when parked. A vehicle rollaway can increase the risk of a crash. Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the EPB actuator assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTV-81. When NHTSA lists multiple Subaru nameplates in one campaign, the published unit count is shared across them.

Compare

Previous year 2013 Subaru Legacy Next year 2015 Subaru Legacy See every Subaru Legacy model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2014 Subaru Legacy reliable?

The 2014 Subaru Legacy has 53 complaints with NHTSA after 13 years, or 5 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Legacy years here — under the median of the other years, which is 8. NHTSA has 10 recalls on file, including Inflator, Switch, and Parking brake.

What are common problems with a 2014 Subaru Legacy?

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (14 of 53), then Electrical system (11) and Structure (7). Those filings include 4 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2014 Subaru Legacy more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2013 Legacy has 66 complaints, 7 per year, and the 2015 has 159 complaints, 26 per year. The 2014 has fewer complaints per year than the 2013. The 2014 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015.

Has the 2014 Subaru Legacy been recalled?

The 2014 Subaru Legacy has 10 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2014 Subaru Legacy?

Owners have filed 53 complaints about the 2014 Subaru Legacy with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2014 Subaru Legacy get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2014 Subaru Legacy is 23.7 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does a Subaru Legacy use?

Recent Legacy 2.5L US manuals specify 0W-20 synthetic, with 5W-30 only when 0W-20 is unavailable.

What generation is the 2021 Subaru Legacy?

7th generation / BW (2020-on).

What tire sizes does a Subaru Legacy use?

Recent US generations commonly list 225/50R18 and 225/55R17 among trim options.