Three problems related to brake fluid leak have been reported for the 2005 Subaru Legacy. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Subaru Legacy based on all problems reported for the 2005 Legacy.
I was driving my 2005 Subaru Legacy and was approaching a turn. While braking at maybe 30% brake force I felt a slight loss of brake pressure. I knew right away something was very wrong and tried to lightly feel for brake pressure to see if I would be able to emergency stop if necessary. I was able to downshift and knew the roads very well to decrease speed. Once stopped I was able to modulate the brake and look under the car. I observed brake fluid pouring from the underbody tray directly in front of the rear passenger wheel. These brake lines were treated by Subaru as a part of a previous recall approx. 2 years prior with a anti-corrosive rust solution. I'm lead to believe there was a second recall notice regarding the same issue, but whether it was completed by the dealership at that time I don't know for sure. I don't believe it was though. I took my Subaru to the dealership 6 days ago and they have ordered parts to fix the issue, and I'm lead to believe it'll be paid in-full by the dealership. This was a sudden and bad situation, stopping distance was greatly and quickly reduced. I'm certain there are other drivers would not have noticed the issue until much later.
Dealer (suburban Subaru vernon, CT) performed brake like recall wqk-47r in September 2014 and "applied anti corrosion wax" in January 2019, the rear brake lines rusted through at the junction box next to the fuel tank which is a known failure location in the recall. This resulted in a fluid leak, I was able to notice the leak before the reservior fully emptied and the brakes would have failed completely. Dealer/Subaru refused to cover under the recall and tried to charge me for looking at the car.
The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Legacy. While operating the vehicle, the brake sensor suddenly illuminated. Moments later, the bakes failed and the brake pedal extended to the floor. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake lines positioned above the fuel tank were corroded and caused the brake fluid to leak out. The contact was informed by the dealer that the vehicle was previously serviced per NHTSA campaign number: 04v274000 (service brakes). The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 129,500.