Electrical System Problems of Subaru Legacy - part 1

I front passenger window stop working and does not roll up and down. I had this issue and reported the issue since I bought it brand new from the lot. I main main audio console has been replacement 2 times already from defectives. My tires tmps is flashing now but my tire pressure are fine. My incline break button comes on by itself from time to time and does not allow for me to move the car.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Aug 2025: 2018 Subaru Legacy, 55,500 miles. Issue: rearview camera froze with high-pitch sound for about 10-seconds, then shut off, while in reverse. I was not aware immediately of this. Did not hit the cars behind me but definitely could have. Unknown if reverse lights affected. Based on online searches, rearview cameras not working is criteria for a recall. Background: my main screen is affected by Subaru screen delamination (can't use touch at all). My exact model got an extended warranty, but I was not aware of this extension until after it passed. Subaru of America and dealers refused to service it unless I paid full price out-of-pocket. Fast-forward to now, reverse camera being affected. I also see mention online of emergency broadcast radio being blocked, since it does not stay on one channel, due to screen issues. I do not recommend Subaru (not the only issue I've had on a once new vehicle).

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.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The entertainment system got bubbles and stopped working only after 50,000 miles.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Car battery dies after the vehicle sits for longer periods (approximately 2 weeks or more?). Roadside assistance has tested battery twice after jumping the vehicle and stated the battery is still healthy. Various subara owners report similar situations in online forums, and the culprit seems to be a design flaw where the dcm module is trying to connect with the obsolete 3g cellular network, causing a parasitic battery drain.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that the display touch screen laminated cover had developed bubbles, causing the touch screen to malfunction. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the display erroneously turned on or erroneously turned off. During the failure, the touch screen feature was inoperable, and the driver was unable to access certain safety features within the settings on the display. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the touch screen display unit was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 30,000.

The navigation/radio screen stopped responding to touch but continues to randomly press buttons. While driving the car the touch screen is randomly calling people, changing radio stations, and messing with the lights and navigation. I reached out to Subaru to let them know what was happening and they claim it is a known issue but they haven't chosen to make a recall on it. They claim it is an issue on all of the vehicles from 2018/2019. They claim the screen is delaminating which is why it is causing random buttons to be pushed making the car extremely unsafe to drive. The distraction alone isn't safe but for me as an autistic driver the inability to turn it off is a huge issue. There is no work around available and it will just continue to make noises and randomly call people and mess with the interior of the vehicle. Working in the insurance industry I see the results of distracted driving and cannot believe this hadn't been recalled yet. There was no warning before this started. The touch screen was working fine on my way to work and then on my way home it started to go crazy. I was unable to use the touch screen installed in the car and am not able to turn it off. Subaru is aware of the issue and has not either created a safe way to disengage the part nor are they willing to replace the part.

The issue began as air bubbles appearing on the center touchscreen. This has escalated to the screen having episodes of complete loss of control, it acts as if it’s rapidly receiving input and will change settings, perform or end calls, change what’s being displayed. My biggest concern is that it will turn the radio volume completely up. When these episodes occur, I am unable to override anything that is happening. We had the stereo volume turn completely up while on the highway with my 1 year old child in the car and I was unable to turn it down. This was a safety concern for us because if I spent time troubleshooting the screen I was distracted from watching the road while traveling at high speed, but I couldn’t leave the volume blasting with a 1 year old in the car.

The radio on this model, just as some of the later Subaru models, does things on its own, such as switches channels, or become totally non-responsive to touch. This began a few weeks ago and the radio is pretty much useless, unless reprogrammed or replaced. I stopped into hodges Subaru last week and described the problem and I was told that the issue sounded like the 2019-2023 models having the same issue.

If the car is not driven every day the battery dies due to a parasitic draw. Subaru knows there is a problem with the dcm from these years but refuses to correct the issues which there are 3 that are known. Dcm constantly searches for 3g network that is no longer killing the battery, Subaru changed the recommended cold cranking amperage of the battery well after manufacture, and won't test without a new battery being installed, and they expect the consumer to pay for both the testing and battery, to meet certain epa standards they altered the function of the alternator so it doesn't charge the battery until the engine is warm and won't fully charge the battery.

In inclement weather the windows will not roll up, especially heavy rain events. The window will attempt to go up and then go into the fully open position. You have to wait a minute before the window will allow you to attempt again of reset the windows. This happen to me on the highway in a heavy rain. It has happened several times. Subaru knows of this problem and has a technical bulletin about it to change the motor and window tracks. They all should be changed before a fatality occurs.

Parasitic drain on battery leaves the car dead and unable to start with out a jump. Battery is only six months old. Replaced old battery because of this same issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact became aware that while the check engine light remained illuminated the horn failed to function as designed. The contact stated that after the check engine warning light issue was resolved the horn returned to normal functionality. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance; however, the manufacturer informed the contact that the failure was a known issue and advised the contact to stop driving the vehicle until the check engine warning light issue was resolved. The failure mileage was 184,000.

The starlink screen becomes uncontrollable and begins changing screens on its own making driving very distracting and losing all control of vital functions such as radio, gps and phone. I have no control over it. I have video of the incident but cannot figure out how to upload it. I k low previous year models were recalled for the same situation and I believe there is a class action lawsuit.

Emergency breaking deployed during traffic where no indication of collision was about to take place; vehicle safety features disabled and enabled off and on automatically while driving, this led up to sudden stop of vehicle in heavy traffic and vehicle would never restart. Subaru starlink emergency services failed to work or respond after trying for several minutes. Steering wouldn’t work to guide vehicle safely out of traffic.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The occupancy detection sensor module failed. Similar to the 2014 forester recall the module has failed and Subaru dealership wants $3300 to replace the module. The passenger airbag is off due to the sensor not working. Previous airbag recall has been resolved, but I am concerned that they are related.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Ods sensor recall still not fixed/remedy available, used heat for first time since I purchased the car, minor cracks in the windshield, car radio/monitors randomly go black, reverse camera won’t work, restarts on there own after a while.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Warning light on infotainment screen for eyesight and transmission oil issues. Warning from mysubaru system via website. Warning on infotainment screen while using carplay "there was a problem loading this content. " contacted Subaru of America britt senior customer service advocate telling them dealer is not making appointment to fix car and no response. Car is clearly having electrical issues. On previous trip to dealerships service was told some cars seem to have issue near train lines and have sporadic electronic issues. Car has had hazard lights flash upon start up on several times. Subaru of America is not taking this seriously. In my honest opinion someone is going to be seriously hurt or killed because of soa refusal to fix this issue with 2024 Legacy.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Carplay infotainment system built into vehicle and advertised on Subaru. Com as works "perfectly" is showing this message "there was a problem loading this content". Subaru website: the centerpiece of the updated Legacy interior is the available 11. 6-inch starlink multimedia touchscreen. The stunning big-screen interface makes it easy and intuitive to customize options and delivers seamless control of the wireless apple carplay". This is false advertising. This is extremely dangerous safety issue. The entire infotainment screen which controls things like hvac is freezing up for no reason.

2009 Subaru Legacy 2. 5i parasitic drain if vehicle is not driven every 2-4 days in winter or every 6-8 days when is warmer it will need a jump start. I looked for a recall but there isn't one for the year of my car or for the fourth generation 2005-2009 series. I took it to the dealer 4 times and they said there was nothing wrong the first two times. On the 3rd time they said it was my problem was that the battery was old and to prove them wrong I got one of their Subaru brand/label batteries and the same problem kept happening. I took it to one more mechanic with the same results. I keep seeing this articles on blogs online about Subaru's from multiple years and series having parasitic drain issues. I do have the receipts pack in boxes if need it.

See all problems of the 2009 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Radio is delaminating and causing random calls and radio changes while driving. Serious safety issue. Subaru covered a portion of the replacement but entire cost should be covered due to it being an obvious manufacturer defect.

My Subaru ran perfectly fine until the water pump and cooler lines got replaced after these were replaced it was tried to be driven and the car then had no idea what gear it was in drive is drive neautral is drive and reverse does not work at all paddle shifters won’t work at oil temp light check engine light brake light flashing cruise control light all came on and the car will only go forward and it’s making some crazy shutter noises when you start it and sometimes it shuts off after it was started.

Battery dies over and over again. I drive every day, I never leave lights on, and I am having to purchase a battery over and over again.

The software on starlink on Subaru has been a huge burden while driving or in parking mode. When driving the starlink will constantly connect and disconnect to phone. It constantly changing the music by itself. And the navigation system will input random addresses. Messing with my navigation and ability to concentrate. Ive tried many different things to not have this issue. Like turning off the whole radio itself but it turns it’s self on and off there’s been many times where I almost crashed due to this issue. Ive also contacted Subaru since this is a very big known issue. But they did not want to take responsibility the only solution they gave me was to pay $4,000 to change the starlink system. A service that is way out of my budget and something I should not have to pay for.

The Subaru models from 2019 have a known parasitic battery drain problem. My car will have a dead battery after a week not driving it, or even just 2 days in winter. The problem is confirmed by Subaru but not addressed in any way.

Infotainment system of car mutes iphone telephone to person on other end of phone causing driver to need to pick up phone or interact with screen taking eyes off road. I reported to Subaru of America and was told this is happening in almost every 2024 Subaru. They paid for and provided headphones which causes me to need to use telephone navigation instead of built in to car carplay navigation. Subaru of America and liberty auto city Subaru of libertyville IL refuse to service vehicle or fix car. Subaru of America britt senior customer advocate specialist | 1-800-782-2783 | dial option 1 | direct ext 119143 Subaru of America, inc. | one Subaru drive | camden, NJ 08103 tells me they will have a software fix in fall of 2024. This is totally unacceptable and very dangerous safety issue.

Recall not fixed yet, what happens if a car hits me & the passenger airbags don’t work? unsafe, doesn’t seem like it’s being fixed in a timely manner.

Na.

Mar 2024: 2018 Subaru Legacy, 36,000-miles. (1) front windshield had crack in it randomly one day. Coming up from bottom heating element. Easily able to find similar crack shape online. Find lots of windshield crack issues online for Subarus. Zero action from Subaru on this. (2) broke again 11 months later [Feb 2025] in similar fashion, randomly one day.

Battery replaced last year at dealer under battery class action lawsuit. Car was stored using a battery tender from may through January and put back into service with regular use several times a week. Today car failed to start. Have appointment with dealer tomorrow. A battery is not a permanent fix and does not instill confidence that you will not be left stranded. Subaru is aware there is a problem with their starlink system and the use of 3g. The system keeps attempting to make contact using the defunct 3g network thereby draining the battery and stranding the vehicle.

My car's belt had been screeching for a few weeks. I was planning on taking my car in the next day. When I turned my car off, all the electrical went out and it started smoking on the driver's side. I got my car towed to the nearest auto shop. They replaced the battery and belt and yet the electrical was still out. When they tested the fuse, the driver's mirror caught on fire and was smoking. Thank goodness I was not driving when this occurred as that could have been scary. They replaced the fuse, but now I can't auto up / down my window. When I reached out to Subaru, they wanted $200 just to inspect it and $1,000 for a mirror replacement. I told them the situation and they didn't care. I also emailed them and never received a response. I googled this issue and other Subaru cars have had this issue and noted water coming in the mirror so now I'm frightened to get a car wash. There was no warning light or anything unfamiliar.

Main infotainment display delamination, this causes a safety concerns, as the screen can become irresponsive, and even black out during reverse making the backup camera, nonfunctioning. The other safety issue at risk is that because of the delamination it causes "ghost-clicking" on the screen, and makes the screen irresponsive, veering the drivers attention away from the road, potentially causing accidents as the main display controls all radio and bluetooth, and navigation. There are no indication or warnings from the manufacturer that the vehicle could be a risk to drive. When I called Subaru of America, I was told by the agent that they could not assist, when I brought up, based on my research this was a known issue, Subaru of America offered to pay $600 towards the replacement of the head unit. The head unit dependant on the dealer and labor time can vary from $1400-2200 for the repair.

Parasitic battery drain due to dcm fuse problem.

My Legacy has a battery drain issue. I was told by the dealer it is a dcm. I have already replaced my battery and the car is dead with a new battery installed. This dead battery issue has left me stranded which I feel is extremely unsafe. If I can’t find someone to jump me, I could be left stranded again and new england weather is nothing to joke about.

There is a recall for this issue in Subaru vehicles through 2018 but our 2019 Legacy has the same issue. The head unit very soon after purchase (brand new from dealer) started to delaminate and not respond to touchscreen interaction. Now it is so bad that it is as if the head unit is possessed. It changes radio and settings randomly, cycles the screen, makes random phone calls if a phone is connected, changes navigation (android auto) on its own and suddenly it's navigating you to mexico. . . Even if we aren't using the screen it is dangerously distracting because it is constantly glitching. We are out of warranty so the dealer wants us to pay for this repair on our own. We want to see the recall expanded to include 2019 and later model years. According to numerous reports online, I know we are not the only ones. We also have issues with this vehicle's battery draining unusually fast but that is not as critical an issue as this head unit problem.