| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2003 Subaru Legacy repairs by problem area
Engine (33%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (18%)
Brakes and Traction Control (5%)
Suspension and Steering (14%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (17%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (12%)
Other (0%)
Chart based on 93 repairs.
2003 Subaru Legacy repair cost distribution
$2500+ (4%)
$1000 - $2499 (10%)
$500 - $999 (13%)
$100 - $499 (46%)
< $100 (28%)
Chart based on 72 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Wagon
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| Subaru Legacy in Massachusetts, United States Feb 2013 - Mar 2016 | |||
| Jul 2014161500 miUS $1000 | A/C service and recharge | ||
| Sep 2014164000 mi | Not clear. Failed state emissions test, mechanic could find nothing wrong or recorded in computer. Check engine light is off, so I will try the inspection again. | ||
| Oct 2015174000 miUS $220 | Passenger side ball joint replaced | ||
| Subaru Legacy in New Hampshire, United States Dec 2010 - Feb 2017 | |||
| Jun 2011149000 mi | AC compressor seized at 60 mph. Stalled engine. Restarted, terrible burning smell and noise. Popped hood, found siezed AC compressor. Shut off all HVAC and belt could spin again. Disconnected wire to compressor for now. | ||
| Sep 2011154000 miUS $110 | Front oxygen sensor failed. Found rust hole inside left rear fender, cut out rust, did my own amateur-night welded patch panel and poor respray. | ||
| Oct 2011156000 mi | 157k miles of hard use resulted in worn suspension bushings. Replaced all bushings on car, a ball joint and spindle, replaced springs with heavy duty aftermarket units(King Springs) that raise car about 2". fixed some rust fixed a water leak | ||
| Jan 2012204500 miUS $180 | Center viscous differential was showing signs of failure for a while (clunking), then failed completely, leaving front drive only. Replaced with used viscous unit purchased from a friend. Shifter linkage bushings worn and mount broken | ||
| Sep 2012167000 miUS $800 | Replace clutch, machine flywheel, replace transmission mounts, replace engine mounts. Replace rusted out oil pan, replace bad valve cover gaskets, replace timing belt and pulleys, replace water pump. Dealer changed timing belt at 100k miles, but didn't replace pulleys, bearings were shot in two of them. W/pump semi preventive | ||
| Jan 2013172000 miUS $350 | Head gasket failed, causing a 1 quart per 100 mile oil leak. Removed engine myself, had heads machined, installed new multi-layer steel head gaskets. | ||
| Mar 2013175000 mi | Rear windshield wiper got caught on chunk of ice and stripped out the motor's gears. Makes really annoying clicking noise, but won't move wiper | ||
| Sep 2013183000 mi | Finally replaced busted rear wiper motor with junkyard unit. | ||
| Nov 2013185000 mi | Bottom of left front fender rusted through. Made my own patch panel. Left rear wheel arch and rocker panel also needed patches. | ||
| Jan 2014187000 miUS $500 | Caliper seized, taking pads and rotors with it. Aftermarket CV joint sloppy and noisy RF wheel bearing noisy, steering felt a little sloppy | ||
| May 2014192000 miUS $275 | Driveshaft front U-joint seized. Had shaft rebuilt at area driveline shop. | ||
| Nov 2014198000 miUS $100 | Repaired rust in both rear quarter panels poorly with welded sheet metal, Bondo, and spray paint. Left rear wheel bearing (original 198k mile unit) noisy. Replaced, but let rear axle fused to splines and also needed replacement. | ||
| Dec 2014199000 mi | Battery not getting charge from alternator. Replaced battery cables, checked resistance on alternator cable. All good. Added "custom" ground straps to alternator and ground points with welding cable. | ||
| May 2015205400 miUS $150 | Rear brake caliper seized. Replaced rear pads and calipers | ||
| Oct 2015209700 miUS $222 | Left rear strut sheared off at mount. Replaced rear struts. | ||
| Nov 2016219300 mi | Car is worn out completely. Drivetrain has multiple faults, as does suspension, and body shell is rotted. Car is going for its final voyage on the 24 Hours of Lemons Rally in February. | ||
| Feb 2017220000 mi | Drivetrain has multiple faults. Suspension problems. Body shell is rotted. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Quebec, Canada Jul 2013 - Oct 2015 | |||
| Jul 2014146320 miC $140 | Front passenger wheel bearing was noisy when turning. | ||
| Aug 2014147720 miC $150 | Pipe came off flange. It broke at the weld. Had to hold the pipe with a strap bescause it was touching the road. | ||
| Oct 2014148800 miC $150 | Pipe of muffler broke at another welded flange. Not the same as july. Again had to hold the muffler with a strap... | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Alabama, United States Apr 2018 - May 2018 | |||
| May 2018235000 miUS $228 | This visit to the shop was for diagnostic purposes. The transmission needs to be replaced but I can still drive it. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Quebec, Canada Nov 2009 - Sep 2011 | |||
| Jun 200986800 miC $800 | A/C compressor | ||
| Mar 201096720 miC $1325 | water infiltration in rear hatch door, front wheel bearing | ||
| Oct 2010101680 miC $560 | Check engine light. Error code indicated seized "valve for fuel fumes"?? Part was replaced ($300 with tax and labour) | ||
| Sep 2011111600 mi | When sold needed a new rear wiper motor, a new cat converter, a paint job and fixing rust spots. | ||
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Wagon
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed automatic AWD
| Subaru Legacy in West Virginia, United States Jan 2009 - Feb 2013 | |||
| Jun 200978000 miUS $360 | Dash bulbs (took tech 1 hour to replace) upstream O2 sensor. | ||
| May 201090300 miUS $120 | Inside right front CV boot split open. Problem caught before any damage was done to the CV joint. CV boot replaced. Damage to boot most likely caused by off-road use of vehicle (rough terrain and brush). | ||
| Sep 201096000 miUS $1500 | Head gasket was leaking oil around the front of the engine. Had to have head gasket replaced. Also water pump replaced, and themostat replaced. | ||
| Apr 2012128500 miUS $300 | Outside front right CV joint was failing. Axle had to be replaced. Dealership provided a free loaner car. | ||
| Sep 2012137000 mi | Outside right CV joint failed | ||
| Subaru Legacy in New York, United States Feb 2012 - Aug 2015 | |||
| Mar 2012141000 miUS $135 | Blown head gasket leaking oil and coolant. My mechanic put in a can of BG cooling system sealer, and I keep an eye on the coolant. The engine now has a noise besides the piston slap that sounds like a bearing knock. | ||
| Apr 2012141300 mi | Accelerator pedal sticking open, engine holding 3500 rpm. Tried WD-40 on cable at both ends, didn't work. Packed high temp grease on engine end of accelerator cable and throttle return springs, fixed problem. | ||
| Aug 2015156000 mi | Replaced rear muffler. Engine never fully repaired after head gasket blew. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in British Columbia, Canada Feb 2009 - Jun 2016 | |||
| Mar 201283700 miC $3000 | head gaskets; timing belt | ||
| Nov 201289360 miC $4000 | engine heads needed to be replaced. as a result a engine rebuild was necessary including timing belt etc | ||
| May 2016109120 miC $280 | Replace crankshaft pulley and belts | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Virginia, United States Jan 2003 - Dec 2010 | |||
| Nov 20031500 mi | AC condenser drain stopped up and water came into car | ||
| Sep 201082000 miUS $110 | Headlights where oxidized and foggy reducing clarity. Replaced both headlight assemblies. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Florida, United States Jul 2012 - Sep 2016 | |||
| Aug 2012119200 miUS $950 | timing belt,brakes,plugs,wires,valve cover and spark plug gaskets. | ||
| Jun 2013121000 miUS $1400 | I had the rear head gasket replaced also new front rotors and brakes I had my oil pump repaired and rebuilt. And I also had aa systems check the car. | ||
| Jul 2016158300 miUS $250 | Compressor bearing faulty. Replaced compressor | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Ontario, Canada Nov 2014 - Jun 2015 | |||
| May 2015138260 miC $200 | Diagnosing no cool air. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Alberta, Canada Jan 2009 - Apr 2014 | |||
| Oct 200936580 miC $800 | left side head gasket issue, Subaru Canada assisted with covering parts and half labour. leaking coolant under the car | ||
| Dec 200937200 miC $95 | Vaccuum sensor needs replacement | ||
| Dec 201144640 miC $700 | Power steering pump failed! | ||
| Aug 201352160 miC $400 | CV Joint work. Electrical also, instrument cluster half of the light bulbs did not lit. | ||
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sedan
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| Subaru Legacy in New York, United States May 2010 - Jun 2011 | |||
| Jun 201095000 miUS $300 | Replaced water pump for third time in 2 years drain for sunroof reattached | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Ontario, Canada Nov 2009 - Jul 2010 | |||
| Dec 2009119660 miC $300 | Knocking sound in engine and transmission seal oil leak Transmission shifter fork seal leaking | ||
| Jul 2010127100 mi | viscous center differential needed replacing when sold. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Wisconsin, United States Dec 2009 - Jun 2013 | |||
| Jun 2009128000 miUS $400 | cv boot needed to be replaced | ||
| Jan 2010134000 miUS $1300 | Head gasket | ||
| May 2010142000 miUS $189 | AC did not work | ||
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sedan
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| Subaru Legacy in Maryland, United States Apr 2009 - Dec 2014 | |||
| Nov 200981000 miUS $263 | caliper on the left front brake system stopped functioning properly resulting in brakes failing to release. Discovered the problem through strong steering wheel vibration on the speed of 50 miles per hour. Also felt strong heat from the front wheel. During one of the trips the calipers on the front left brakes failed to work properly. Due to this problem the brakes did not release and resulted in bumping on the steering wheel as well as made the left front rim extremely hot. The failed part was repl | ||
| Apr 201084000 miUS $230 | The air conditioner stopped working. When I took the car to mechanic it was determined that one of the hoses leaked the refrigerant liquid. The part was replaced and new liquid was put in the system. | ||
| Nov 201088800 miUS $230 | Check Engine light came up. I took the car to a shop to check it out. The oxygen sensor had to be replaced to fix check engine light. | ||
| Jun 201193000 miUS $630 | replaced catalytic converter and part of exhaust pipe. | ||
| Dec 201199000 mi | Subaru original battery prematurely died with only about 25 months of use. Battery was under warranty. Dealer replaced without charge. | ||
| Mar 2014121000 miUS $50 | Had to replace power steering hoses due to air getting into the system and thus creating problems when extensive steering was required. | ||
| Sep 2014127000 miUS $400 | Alternator failed completely and needed to be replaced. | ||
| Dec 2014127000 mi | The car developed coolant leak, had to add few ounces every week. Given that the leak was not apparent, assumed that it was notorious head gasket problem. | ||
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sedan
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed automatic AWD
| Subaru Legacy in Pennsylvania, United States May 2008 - May 2017 | |||
| Jun 2008110000 miUS $2500 | Soon after I bought this car.... Off a kid who beat on it for about 20,000 the trans completely went and I had to have it rebuilt. Other than that tons of little things have gone wrong and I've probably spent another 2500 in repairs. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Ohio, United States May 2009 - Nov 2009 | |||
| Nov 2009115000 miUS $300 | POS subaru head gaskets. common issue. subaru fix is Subaru branded coolant stop leak. never ever a subaru again. Have 1991 BMW no head gasket issues with 325k miles. Many other cars with more miles and had no head gaskets issues. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Maryland, United States Sep 2014 - Feb 2017 | |||
| Dec 2014114000 miUS $160 | Strut tower collapsed due to rust. | ||
| Jun 2015123000 miUS $500 | Front Stabilizer links replaced along with ball joints. Severe knocking on bumps and it turns was fixed by this. | ||
| Dec 2015124000 mi | Replaced rear wheel bearings. Approximately $150 in parts, labor was performed by myself. Shop hours would be around 3-4. Parking brake was dragging and giving many issues. It was temporarily removed to make drivable. Replacement proved difficult and FREQUENT on the Gen 2 Subaru Legacy/Outback Platform. It is still problematic due to rust issues. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Tennessee, United States - Oct 2006 | |||
| Oct 200649600 mi | Sunroof and power lock system died. Subaru at first did not want to pay for the repairs. After I threatened a law suit, the dealership put in a new sunroof motor and seals along with replacing the power door modulator. Their cost >$3400. | ||
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