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What 121 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 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 (121)Crash / fire / injury (2)Visibility & wipers (66)Electrical system (15)Driver assistance (7)Transmission & drivetrain (7)Engine (4)Speed control (4)Brakes (2)Lane Departure (2)Airbags (1)Backup camera & sensors (1)

1 of 121 complaints match · Engine · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jul 16, 2025Electrical systemEngineFire

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 indicating any problems prior to this. The car burned very quickly and the firefighters extinguished the fire but not before the entire car was burned to ashes. The car is wrapped and in the possession of the insurance company pending investigation.

NHTSA ODI 11674078

Working with the data? Download all 121 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 2020 Subaru Legacy verdict →