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What 167 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Subaru Legacy

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (167)Crash / fire / injury (8)Transmission & drivetrain (47)Airbags (25)Engine (22)Electrical system (19)Suspension (19)Brakes (18)Lights (18)Steering (16)Fuel system (7)Engine & cooling (6)

1 of 167 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jan 31, 2016Electrical systemEngineVisibility & wipersFire

01/07/2016 SHORTLY AFTER TAKING THE FREEWAY EXIT WIFE NOTICED THE BATTERY LIGHT TURNED ON AND POWER STEERING GOT HEAVY. ALL OTHER WARNING LIGHT ON THE DASH STARTED TO FLICKER AS THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT QUICKLY FILLED WITH SMOKE. SHE THEN PULLED OVER AND HAD JUST ENOUGH TIME TO GET BOTH KIDS OUT BEFORE THE ENTIRE CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. FIRE ORIGINATED FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF HER 2011 SUBARU LEGACY 3.6R LIMITED. THE VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS.

NHTSA ODI 10823290

Working with the data? Download all 167 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Subaru Legacy verdict →