NHTSA Safety Recalls
2008 Subaru Legacy Recalls
The 2008 Subaru Legacy has 9 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on January 2, 2020.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2008 Subaru Legacy. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 9
- Owner complaints
- 65
- Crashes reported
- 3
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
1 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2008 Subaru Legacy, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
9 recalls on the 2008 Subaru Legacy
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 20V001000
- Reported
- January 2, 2020
- Vehicles affected
- up to 258,813
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2003–2007, 2009–2014 Legacy, 6 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 20V002000
- Reported
- January 2, 2020
- Vehicles affected
- up to 127,547
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2003–2007, 2009–2014 Legacy, 6 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 20V003000
- Reported
- January 2, 2020
- Vehicles affected
- up to 111,562
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2003–2007, 2009–2014 Legacy, 6 other models
Electrical system: ignition: switch
- Campaign
- 19V297000
- Reported
- April 11, 2019
- Vehicles affected
- up to 511
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2007, 2009–2014 Legacy, 5 other models
Electrical system
- Campaign
- 16V738000
- Reported
- October 13, 2016
- Vehicles affected
- up to 100,127
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2007, 2009 Legacy, 3 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 15V323000
- Reported
- May 28, 2015
- Vehicles affected
- up to 432,016
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2003–2007 Legacy, 4 other models
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- Campaign
- 14V311000
- Reported
- June 10, 2014
- Vehicles affected
- up to 461,338
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2007, 2009 Legacy, 5 other models
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- Campaign
- 13V110000
- Reported
- March 27, 2013
- Vehicles affected
- up to 274,402
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2007, 2009 Legacy, 1 other model
Engine and engine cooling: engine
- Campaign
- 08V460000
- Reported
- September 11, 2008
- Vehicles affected
- up to 16,715
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2007 Legacy, 2 other models
2008 Subaru Legacy complaints by year
NHTSA has received 65 owner complaints about the 2008 Subaru Legacy, the newest on July 21, 2023. Of these, 3 describe a crash (5%) and 1 a fire; owners reported 1 injury.
In complaints about the 2008 Subaru Legacy, the component group named most often is the air bags (38%), followed by the service brakes (17%) and the electrical system (14%).
4 of the 2008 Subaru Legacy's 9 recalls also concern the air bags.
Where 2008 Subaru Legacy owners gave the mileage (46 complaints), the median was 76,877 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Air Bags25
- Service Brakes11
- Electrical System9
- Power Train6
- Vehicle Speed Control5
- Engine4
Complaints received, by year
| 2007 | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 5 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 5 | |
| 2013 | 4 | |
| 2014 | 5 | |
| 2015 | 8 | |
| 2016 | 6 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2018 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 6 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2021 | 5 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 |
Complaints about the 2008 Subaru Legacy peaked in 2015, when NHTSA received 8. 17% arrived between 2007 and 2011, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2008 vehicles, the 2008 Subaru Legacy drew 0.4× the complaints of the median Subaru Legacy year in the same window: 20th highest of the 21 ranked years.
That makes 2008 one of the three best-measured Subaru Legacy years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 4/5
The 65 complaints about the 2008 Subaru Legacy are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
2008 Subaru Legacy crash tests and safety technology
For the 2008 Subaru Legacy, NHTSA lists electronic stability control as an option and no forward collision warning or lane departure warning. Forward collision warning became standard on the Legacy with the 2019 model year, 11 years after this one.
NHTSA puts the chance that the 2008 Subaru Legacy rolls over in a single-vehicle crash at 10.7% (4 stars). That is tied for the highest of the 18 Legacy years NHTSA rated from 2004 on (10.1%–10.7%); the 2015 had the lowest, 10.1%. Of 103 other 2008 cars with NHTSA ratings on this site, 30 (29%) had a lower rollover risk; their median was 11.3%.
Photos: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, NHTSA test vehicle 2404, shown from static.nhtsa.gov. Ratings, rollover risk and technology of the 2008 Subaru Legacy: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings API, retrieved October 28, 2026; NHTSA terms of use. How the tests work
Subaru Legacy by model year
Other 2008 Subaru models
Newest record on this page: July 21, 2023. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted