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Subaru Legacy, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

3,539 Subaru Legacys are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 64.3% of initial MOT tests, 8 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Legacy? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Subaru Legacy at the MOT

64.3% of 4,666 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Legacy 444th of 575 models. Subaru Legacys aged 6 to 10 years passed 80.4% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 63.6%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Subaru Legacy64.3%
  • All Subaru modelsThe Legacy is 10.2 pts behind74.5%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Subaru Legacy tests in 2025.

  • 6 to 10 years168 tests80.4%
  • 11 years and over4,429 tests63.6%

Where Legacys fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Subaru Legacy tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment28.4%
  • Suspension21.4%
  • Brakes11.7%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks11.6%
  • Body, chassis, structure8.5%

The items testers recorded most often were position lamp not working (7.4%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.8%) and stop lamp not working (4.2%).

The MOT page lists every common Legacy MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Subaru Legacy MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Legacy's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.28.4% of Legacy failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.21.4% of Legacy failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.11.7% of Legacy failure items

Subaru Legacys in the UK

3,539 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 71% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−71%from 12,321 licensed
Declared off the road
3,17147% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Subaru Legacys since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201412,321
End of 201511,286
End of 201610,335
End of 20179,243
End of 20188,392
End of 20197,448
End of 20206,771
End of 20216,051
End of 20225,454
End of 20234,870
End of 20244,248
End of 20253,730
End of June 20263,539

Legacy engines and fuel

2.0 litre engines made up 63% of Subaru Legacy MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.5 litre at 22%. Petrol accounts for 85% of licensed Legacys and diesel for 14%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 4,659 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre62.8%
  • 2.5 litre22.2%
  • 3.0 litre14.1%

Fuel type, licensed Legacys

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol3,01985%
Diesel49914%
Gas210.6%

Subaru Legacy recalls

13 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Subaru Legacy. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Legacy is affected.

  1. Mar 2019 R/2019/052

    A driving range indicator in the multi information display has a program error

    Legacys built Jul 2017 to Aug 2018 · 422 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Driver multi-function display inaccurate remaining fuel mileage range.
    Remedy
    Affected vehicles will have a software enhancement.

  2. Mar 2019 R/2019/025

    The load may exceed the valve spring's fatigue strength and the spring may fracture

    Legacys built Jan 2013 to Dec 2014 · 812 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Engine valve springs may fracture.
    Remedy
    Replace all engine valve springs.

  3. Jan 2019 R/2018/346

    Electronic parking brake capacitor on inner circuit board and magnet ring of the sensor may fracture

    Legacys built May 2005 to Jun 2014 · 4,199 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Electronic park brake capacitor may fracture and fail.
    Remedy
    Replace the park brake actuator on affected vehicles.

  4. Dec 2018 R/2018/326

    Mis connection of the fuel pump connector

    Legacys built Jan 2004 to Jul 2009 · 6,649 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Fuel pump wiring poor connection.
    Remedy
    Replace fuel pump harness and inspect pump flange or damage. Replace if required.

  5. Sep 2018 R/2018/229

    Obstruction in cowl area may force wipers to park out of position and overheat

    Legacys built Jan 2009 to Dec 2014 · 3,906 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    If wipers become obstructed motor may over heat with risk of fire
    Remedy
    Replace wiper motor bottom cover on affected vehicles

  6. Jul 2018 R/2018/141

    Front passenger airbag inflator may rupture in a deployment event

    7,589 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Potential injury if Airbag deployed
    Remedy
    On Affected vehicles replace Airbag inflator unit

  7. Apr 2018 R/2018/122

    Front passenger airbag inflator may fail

    Legacys built Jan 2004 to Dec 2009 · 13,200 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Front passenger air bag inflator may fail.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace airbag inflator unit.

  8. Aug 2016 R/2016/147

    Engine may stall

    255 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The crack on air intake ducts could cause the engine rough idle lower the power and the engine stall. Engine may stall whilst driving. Possible safety hazard whilst driving in traffic
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and check date on air intake duct. Depending on finds the air intake ducts may have to be replaced.
How to check a specific Legacy for recalls

Other Subaru models

The most-tested Subaru models in 2025, against the Legacy's 64.3% MOT pass rate.

All 6 Subaru models

Subaru Legacy FAQs

How many Subaru Legacys are there in the UK?

3,539 Subaru Legacys were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 3,171 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Subaru Legacy reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 64.3% first-time pass rate for the Subaru Legacy across 4,666 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Subaru Legacy had any recalls?

13 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Subaru Legacy. The most recent was published in March 2019. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Subaru Legacy?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Subaru Legacy's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Legacy?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Subaru history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Subaru VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.