AutoUtility currently tracks 118 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Subaru Legacy. Visibility, Wipers & Glass issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 35 complaints (29.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 10 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 6 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 118 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (35 reports • 29.7% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (29), Steering System (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 10 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 6 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2017 Subaru Legacy
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
Electrical System
Steering System
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #16V292000 STEERING:COLUMN
- Campaign #16V716000 STEERING:COLUMN
Air Bags & Restraints
Body & Structure
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Subaru Legacy
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
12V Battery Parasitic Drain / Dead Battery
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Subaru Legacy
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Major fuel leak within engine bay"
"The battery has died several times and had to be replaced over the years due to a likely slow drain issue that Subaru is well aware of and was part of a class action suit against them."
"I drove into the parking lot of Walgreens, then drove around and pulled into a parking spot facing the south side of the building and put my foot on the brake to stop and park. Instead of stopping, the car suddenly lurched forward violently and slammed into the brick wall of the building. My wife..."
"My 2017 Legacy is on it's 3rd windshield this year. I had impact damage on July 17th, had it replaced the first week of August, and it cracked without impact damage in October. Subaru refused to replace it under warranty and it was replaced through insurance in December. The genuine Subaru..."
"The OCS sensor is faulty and doesn’t detect a passanger and may cause the airbag not to deploy, this is common according to other Subaru owners. This is a common problem on many cars and those cars have been recalled"
Complaint History for Subaru Legacy
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2025)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Subaru Legacy | 159 | 15 | 3 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Subaru Legacy | 146 | 9 | 3 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Subaru Legacy Current Page | 118 | 10 | 2 | Current |
| 2018 Subaru Legacy | 117 | 7 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Subaru Legacy | 123 | 2 | 3 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Subaru Legacy | 121 | 1 | 6 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Subaru Legacy | 31 | 0 | 3 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Subaru Legacy | 32 | 3 | 2 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Subaru Legacy | 10 | 2 | 2 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Subaru Legacy | 16 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Subaru Legacy | 6 | 0 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Subaru Legacy
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 29 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STEERING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.