What are the common problems with the 1991 Subaru Legacy?
Owners of the 1991 Subaru Legacy have filed 78 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seat belts (19) and the powertrain (16). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 4 of its 78 complaints list a mileage (56,000 to 193,100 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
Buying this 1991 Legacy? Enter its VIN.
Complaint figures describe the model year, not one vehicle. The decode is free; the original ClearVIN PDF is $14.99 one time, with no account: odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for that VIN.
Title brands · Odometer records · Auction history, where reported
No subscription. No charge to check the VIN. Report contents vary by vehicle; applicable tax is shown at checkout.
See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 78 owner complaints on the 1991 Subaru Legacy. Owners named the seat belts most often: 19 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 78 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Check the records on file before you buy
VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1991 Subaru Legacy.
One VIN. One $14.99 history report.
For $14.99, VIN Lookup delivers an original ClearVIN vehicle-history PDF for the 1991 Subaru Legacy VIN you enter: title brands, odometer readings, accident and auction records on file. ClearVIN is on the U.S. Department of Justice’s list of approved NMVTIS data providers; VIN Lookup sells that original report. The records returned vary by VIN.
The VIN decode is free. No card is needed until you choose to buy; applicable tax is shown at checkout. A missing record is not proof that an event never happened.No account · Refund reviewed if not delivered, unopenable or wrong VIN by our error · Sold by VIN Lookup (SH LLC, Sheridan, WY)Original provider PDF
One time, no subscription
Common problems with the 1991 Legacy
NHTSA's file holds 78 owner complaints on the 1991 Subaru Legacy. Owners named the seat belts most often: 19 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Belts | 19 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 16 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 14 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Structure | 13 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 10 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 78 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 1991 Legacy
Too few complaints on the 1991 Legacy list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 4 of its 78 complaints list a mileage (56,000 to 193,100 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1991 Legacy wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 1,415 NHTSA owner complaints on the Subaru Legacy that list mileage came after 58,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Subaru Legacy last? →
Is the 1991 Legacy a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1991 is a good or a bad Legacy: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1991 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 78 complaints, the 1991 ranks 19th of the 35 Subaru Legacy model years from 1990 to 2024 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2005 (184). The fewest: the 2023 (10).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Legacy | 81 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1991 (this page) | 78 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1992 Legacy | 55 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1993 Legacy | 77 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1994 Legacy | 60 | 11 | 125,000 |
| 1995 Legacy | 182 | 19 | 166,116 |
| 1996 Legacy | 123 | 23 | 90,000 |
| 1997 Legacy | 139 | 23 | 92,000 |
| 1998 Legacy | 114 | 32 | 108,000 |
| 1999 Legacy | 94 | 29 | 101,000 |
| 2000 Legacy | 94 | 36 | 90,130 |
| 2001 Legacy | 77 | 39 | 62,540 |
| 2002 Legacy | 54 | 32 | 65,501 |
| 2003 Legacy | 60 | 41 | 79,800 |
| 2004 Legacy | 49 | 25 | 85,000 |
| 2005 Legacy | 184 | 140 | 74,000 |
| 2006 Legacy | 87 | 74 | 96,000 |
| 2007 Legacy | 33 | 20 | 60,785 |
| 2008 Legacy | 65 | 46 | 76,877 |
| 2009 Legacy | 65 | 44 | 70,000 |
| 2010 Legacy | 151 | 106 | 70,000 |
| 2011 Legacy | 167 | 119 | 77,000 |
| 2012 Legacy | 90 | 66 | 87,000 |
| 2013 Legacy | 66 | 47 | 30,000 |
| 2014 Legacy | 53 | 28 | 30,000 |
| 2015 Legacy | 160 | 104 | 15,000 |
| 2016 Legacy | 147 | 81 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Legacy | 119 | 60 | 31,000 |
| 2018 Legacy | 118 | 54 | 20,000 |
| 2019 Legacy | 123 | 43 | 6,125 |
| 2020 Legacy | 121 | 52 | 5,800 |
| 2021 Legacy | 32 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2022 Legacy | 34 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 Legacy | 10 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Legacy | 17 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
Every Legacy year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Subaru Legacy years to avoid →
1991 Subaru Legacy recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 1991 Subaru Legacy. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1991 Legacy lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1991 Legacy.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 74 of the 78 complaints on the 1991 Subaru Legacy give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: LEGACY. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: LEGACY.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1991 Subaru Legacy questions
What are the most common 1991 Subaru Legacy problems?
NHTSA's file holds 78 owner complaints on the 1991 Subaru Legacy. Owners named the seat belts most often: 19 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 78 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 3 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 1991 Subaru Legacy?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 1991 Subaru Legacy: 4 of its 78 complaints list a mileage (56,000 to 193,100 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 1991 Legacy can cover.
Is the 1991 Subaru Legacy a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1991 is a good or a bad Legacy: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1991 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 78 complaints, the 1991 ranks 19th of the 35 Subaru Legacy model years from 1990 to 2024 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2005 (184). The fewest: the 2023 (10).
How many recalls does the 1991 Subaru Legacy have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 1991 Subaru Legacy. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1991 Subaru Legacy before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1991 Subaru Legacy.