Front right coil spring broke at base of strut.
The worst 1999 Subaru Legacy problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Transmission18
- Engine13
- Acceleration12
- Brakes12
- Airbags11
- Suspension8
- Fuel system7
- Tires5
- Body4
- Electrical2
- Lights2
- Locks2
- Seat belts2
- Steering2
- Wheels2
- Seats1
- Visibility1
Specific symptoms reported on the 1999 Subaru Legacy
No deployment 7Brake failure 7Hesitation 7Jerking 7Sudden acceleration 5
Recalls 3
Suspension: front: springs: coil springs
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 01V216000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder.
Recall number 99V040000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace these engine oil filters.
Recall number 98V127000 · Recall details
Technical service bulletins for the 1999 Subaru Legacy 39
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This bulletin announces the recommended cleaning procedures to followed when encountering vehicles with...
- This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a...
- This bulletin contains additional information for recommended materials listed in the Service Manuals for...
- This bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic essential information during...
- This bulletin contains additional information for recommended materials listed in the Service Manuals for...
- This bulletin is to advise of SOA’s revised catalytic converter recycling program shipping procedure.
- To help reduce confusion and increase technician efficiency, Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) has developed...
- Special Service Tools Cross Reference List.
- All Models (Vehicle Cleaning- COVID-19Best Practices)
- This Service Information bulletin announces instruction for application of additional lubrication between...
1999 Subaru Legacy fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2L 4‑cyl | 4WD | 20 | 26-27 | 22 |
| 2.5L 4‑cyl | 4WD | 18 | 24 | 21 |
What 1999 Subaru Legacy owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
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 overhead cam engines and all around the same mileage, but only the single overhead cam engine had the recall. I feel there should be a recall on the dual overhead cam engine as well.
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 I wish it met that our car wouldn't have done the same thing. They refused to give any on the repair cost, so they advertise the car is a safe car you hand down to your children but according to the manager I spoke with a 1999 and 140 thousand miles the car was beyond their worries. The car is in otherwise good shape. I guess from where they stand if they make it a few yrs on a bad design noone gets hurt they are off the hook . I just think this is unsafe and it should be taken care no matter what ...
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 pulled over and when I put the car into neutral, the engine raced up above 4,000 RPM. I shut the engine off, but when it was started again, it raced again. I eased it safely home a short distance away with the uncontrolled acceleration problem continuing.
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.
I was stopped at the intersection of 23rd and union in seattle on my way to work. I was going north. It was about 7:40 a.m. On tuesday, 5/20/2014. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a car coming up behind me and it looked like it was going to fast to stop. The driver didn't even seem to slow down. My car was hit pretty hard. My airbag did not deploy. As far as I can recall my head or face did not hit the steering wheel. We got out of our cars. I did not see a license plate on his car either on the front or back of his car. I think that he said that he did not have his driver license...I'm not quite sure now. His car was a orange reddish mercedes, it looked like an SUV. It had tan interior. We moved our cars to the gas station parking lot to talk about the accident. My neck felt sore and painful. I decided to go to work as I drove my side began to hurt a lot, so I went to the doctor. There are new scratches on my bumper and other than that I can't tell if there is any other damage to the car.
Hesitation, surging, and bucking at mid-range engine rpms. This has been a recurrent problem despite replacement of the throttle position sensor x3.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 subaru legacy outback. The contact stated that while refueling, the filler neck corroded and fuel emitted from the tank. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer confirmed that the filler neck needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 128,782.
Automatic transmission problem: hesitates going into gear. Get stuck in neutral. Shift through the gears to see if it will go into gear. Then try revving engine to slip it into gear. It can suddenly catch into gear and then the car surges forward or backwards, causing a dangerous situation. According to complaint sites on the internet, this is a common problem in 5 years of subaru vehicles. This is not acceptable. Repair shop said the seals are "going" and I will likely need a new or rebuilt transmission. Subaru should acknowledge the problem and offer a free fix. The car slipped into gear in a parking lot the other day (finally) and my car surged forward, almost hitting another car. I am no longer driving this vehicle (too dangerous).
With no prior warning, at approx 90km/h or 55 MPH south bound on hwy-11 near orillia, on, canada. The hood latch failed, causing the hood to come back and shatter the windshield. There were no injuries, and my wife maintained safe control of the vehicle onto the paved shoulder. I found other complaints of this issue on line but the local dealership disavows any knowledge of this issue. We called our insurance company and discovered they had reduced our coverage on the vehicle to liability only with out consulting us. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Compare the 1999 Subaru Legacy
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Other model years
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Questions about the 1999 Subaru Legacy
Is the 1999 Subaru Legacy reliable?
Owners have filed 94 complaints about the 1999 Subaru Legacy, 1.2 times a typical Legacy model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1999 Subaru Legacy?
Transmission and drivetrain, with 18 complaints, typically around 101,000 miles. Next is engine (13).
How many recalls does the 1999 Subaru Legacy have?
3 recalls, covering suspension, service brakes, hydraulic and engine and engine cooling.
What year does the Subaru Legacy have bad transmission?
The Subaru Legacy model years with the most transmission complaints are 2010 (50 complaints), 2011 (47 complaints) and 2012 (34 complaints).
What gas mileage does the 1999 Subaru Legacy get?
Official estimates for the 1999 Subaru Legacy range from 21 to 22 mpg combined. The most efficient version (2.2L 4-cyl, 4WD) gets 20 city and 26-27 highway.
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