1999 Subaru Legacy Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Legacy years
- About as many complaints as other years 14th of 31 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 3 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 94 complaints with NHTSA about the 1999 Subaru Legacy. That ranks 14th out of 31 Legacy model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is power train (18 complaints, 19%), typically at around 92,000 miles. Complaints mention 18 crashes, 1 fire, 12 injuries. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year.
- 94owner complaints
- 3safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 18complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1999 Subaru Legacy problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 18 | 19% | 92,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 12 | 13% | — | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 12 | 13% | 91,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 11 | 12% | 155,134 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 11 | 12% | 53,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 8 | 9% | 160,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 5 | 5% | 128,782 | — | — |
| Tires | 5 | 5% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 4 | 4% | 86,693 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 4 | 4% | 58,500 | — | — |
| Child Seat | 3 | 3% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 3 | 3% | — | — | — |
| Electrical System | 2 | 2% | 109,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 2 | 2% | 158,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 2 | 2% | 87,015 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Steering | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 1% | 101,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Seats | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Visibility | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1999 Subaru Legacy recalls (3)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Suspension:front:springs:coil springs
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with front coil springs originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new york, new jersey, new hampshire, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virginia, and wisconsin, and in the district of columbia. The front coil springs were produced with poor paint quality which, after continued exposure to corrosive salt, can result in breakage of the spring.
Risk: Depending on the location of the fracture, a broken spring could move past the spring seat and contact a front tire. Some tires have deflated due to contact with a broken spring.
Fix: Dealers will notifiy customers to bring their vehicle to an authorize dealership to have a spring guard installed on both front struts to prevent tire puncture and replace any broken springs free of charge. Owner notification began september 18, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783.
Service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:master cylinder
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger and sport utility vehicles equipped with anti-lock braking system (abs). (the 1999 2.2 liter legacy vehicles are excluded). In extremely cold weather, the brake pedal goes to the floor and the vehicle stopping distance is increased.
Risk: This condition causes the vehicle stopping distance to be increased, possibly resulting in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder.
Engine and engine cooling:engine
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles, also service parts supplied to subaru dealers are involved (lot numbers f01 j21d2, f01 j30d2, f02 j09d1, f02 j09d2, and f02 j20d1). The purolator oil filter cans used on these vehicles can fracture causing a vaporized oil spray and subsequent oil leak.
Risk: This vaporized oil spray can result in oil vapor ignition by the hot exhaust system resulting in a possible underhood fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace these engine oil filters.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Front right coil spring broke at base of strut.
Leaking coolant and replaced radiator, thermostat and still leaking and started to overhead. Found out it was head baskets and did research on recalls for this year make and model. Found out on forums that there were multiple problems with both types of engines that year the single and dual…
Wife coming home from work spring blew and went through tire came to a sudden stop had it fixed when being fixed repair shop said other side was broke to so had both repaired later found subaru had a recall on this so called them on the 1800 number they said it was vin spec and ours wasn't on there…
Started noticing a problem when coming down a long, steep hill with extensive shuddering when braking. When i got into town, there was a even more shuddering when coming to a stop at a red light. I had to pull on the parking brake to stop the car. When we started up again, it pulled very hard so we…
Driving in heavy traffic in the left lane of i-78, the shifter popped out of 5th gear by itself (that is, without any human intervention). The vehicle completely lost power immediately, as it was now in neutral. *tr
Other Subaru Legacy years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Legacy | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 Legacy | 17 | 0 |
| 2023 Legacy | 10 | 2 |
| 2022 Legacy | 34 | 2 |
| 2021 Legacy | 31 | 3 |
| 2020 Legacy | 121 | 6 |
| 2019 Legacy | 123 | 3 |
| 2018 Legacy | 117 | 3 |
| 2017 Legacy | 119 | 2 |
| 2016 Legacy | 147 | 3 |
| 2015 Legacy | 160 | 3 |
| 2014 Legacy | 53 | 10 |
| 2013 Legacy | 66 | 12 |
| 2012 Legacy | 90 | 16 |
| 2011 Legacy | 167 | 16 |
| 2010 Legacy | 150 | 18 |
| 2009 Legacy | 65 | 13 |
| 2008 Legacy | 65 | 9 |
| 2007 Legacy | 33 | 9 |
| 2006 Legacy | 87 | 7 |
| 2005 Legacy | 184 | 9 |
| 2004 Legacy | 49 | 10 |
| 2003 Legacy | 60 | 14 |
| 2002 Legacy | 54 | 4 |
| 2001 Legacy | 77 | 7 |
| 2000 Legacy | 94 | 3 |
| 1999 | 94 | 3 |
| 1998 Legacy | 114 | 4 |
| 1997 Legacy | 139 | 5 |
| 1996 Legacy | 123 | 3 |
| 1995 Legacy | 182 | 2 |
See all Subaru Legacy problems by year, every Subaru model, or the Subaru VIN decoder.
Similar Subaru models
Embed this 1999 Subaru Legacy badge on your site
Copy this code into your blog or forum post. It shows live complaint and recall counts and links back here.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1999 Subaru Legacy?
Owners most often report power train, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control problems. The top one, power train, accounts for 18 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1999 Subaru Legacy?
Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 1999 Subaru Legacy a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Legacy model years, the 1999 has about as many complaints as a typical year. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.