AutoUtility currently tracks 121 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2020 Subaru Legacy. Visibility, Wipers & Glass issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 66 complaints (54.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 121 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (66 reports • 54.5% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (15), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (10)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2020 Subaru Legacy
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
Electrical System
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #20V766000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION
Powertrain & Transmission
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V955000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
- Campaign #22V485000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Engine & Cooling
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 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.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 Subaru Legacy
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"While driving there is a loss of power, the battery fails, electronic components shut down and car stops. Has happened intermittently. Replaced battery. This is a significant safety issue happened on freeway near exit ramp, in parking lot in driveway, everything cuts out. Opened hood and seems to..."
"Driver's seat structurally unstable due to factory-installed welded nut shearing off the seat rail anchor at approximately 32,000 miles. Confirmed by Napleton Subaru technician on video. Physical component in owner's possession. Failure is consistent with prior Subaru seat rail weld recalls. This..."
"The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that during inclement weather, the front driver and front passenger’s side power windows failed to automatically roll up as intended. The contact was forced to hold the power window button to slowly roll the windows up. The vehicle was taken..."
"One hour into traveling on the highway smoke began to come from under the hood so we pulled off to the side of the road. Upon opening the hood, after the smoke cleared, a fire was observed. At that point the passengers exited the vehicle and called 911. There was no warning lights or sounds..."
"Power window driver side intermittently fails to function, leaving window partly or completely open. This is an ongoing problem. Often I have to restart the car to get the window to operate properly. Difficult to drive when weather conditions change suddenly and window won’t close."
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 | 117 | 7 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Subaru Legacy | 123 | 2 | 3 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Subaru Legacy Current Page | 121 | 1 | 6 | Current |
| 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 2020 Subaru Legacy
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 25 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 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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.