AutoUtility currently tracks 117 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Subaru Legacy. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 40 complaints (34.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 7 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 117 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (40 reports • 34.2% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (32), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (10)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 7 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Subaru Legacy
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18V773000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18V935000 VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Fuel & Propulsion System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V587000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
Brakes & Traction Control
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Subaru Legacy
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Following an engine-out service at an authorized dealer (Bill Kolb Jr. Subaru), a primary powertrain mounting bolt was left unthreaded by approximately 1 inch, creating an undetected 8,000-mile safety hazard that resulted in extensive drivetrain and suspension component failures. Subsequently,..."
"The vehicle on board video entertainment display has stopped working properly. It does not allow any input to the touch screen. And the only way to regain some functionality is by pressing the steering wheel source button. However it works intermittently. And this causes Driver Distraction while..."
"The factory Harman Kardon Starlink touchscreen infotainment system in my 2018 Subaru Legacy has experienced severe touchscreen delamination. The display has developed widespread bubbling beneath the glass and now generates repeated "ghost touches" without any driver input. The system activates..."
"The computer screen has an issue where there is bubbling in the lamination causing the screen to go nuts and become a distracting hazard that you can not shut off. It's a known Subaru Legacy issue and should be a recall. A new screen is $2000 plus, which is not feasable for the average person to..."
"The car 2018 Subaru Legacy 2018, has touch screen delamination on thecentral information/ entertainment screen, which leads to screen freezing, unresponsiveness, and erratic "phantom" inputs. These malfunctions disable vital safety features, like backup cameras, etc.. Subaru has settled claims on..."
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 | 118 | 10 | 2 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Subaru Legacy Current Page | 117 | 7 | 3 | Current |
| 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 2018 Subaru Legacy
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 39 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EQUIPMENT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PARKING BRAKE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.