Subaru Legacy · model year

2023 Subaru Legacy

10 NHTSA complaints, 2 crash reports, and 2 recall campaigns listed for this cohort. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

NHTSA overall rating

5 / 5 ★

New Car Assessment Program

Complaints
10
Recalls
2

The verdict

The 2023 Subaru Legacy pairs top-10% complaint standing with a top NHTSA safety rating.

Top 10%
fewest complaints, own model years
5/5
NHTSA overall rating
2
recall campaigns

The 2023SubaruLegacy carries 10 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 2 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 5/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 5/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2023 Legacy is air bags with 2 filings, followed by unknown or other (2) and visibility:windshield (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause. This cohort has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns listed below. Enter a VIN in NHTSA's official recall lookup to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

NHTSA currently has 14 investigation files overlapping the 2023 Legacy. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.

10
Complaints
2
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
2023 Subaru Legacy - NHTSA crash-test profile NHTSA NCAP crash-test star ratings for the 2023 Subaru Legacy. Overall composite: 5.0 of 5 stars across 3 safety dimensions. Front CrashSide CrashRollover 5.0 NHTSA NCAP of 5 stars
  • Front Crash 5.0 ★
  • Side Crash 5.0 ★
  • Rollover 5.0 ★
NHTSA overall 5.0/5 stars, with front-crash, side-crash and rollover ratings from standardized NCAP barrier and dynamic tests.
A+
PlainCars Safety Score
97/100
2023 Subaru Legacy

PlainCars' own composite of NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings and rollover-risk assessment, each dimension normalized against the federal scale or the full national model-year corpus. Not an official NHTSA figure, and not a substitute for a specific vehicle's VIN-level recall check.

NHTSA Overall Rating A+
5/5 ★
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program overall crash-test rating.
Front Crash A+
5/5 ★
Frontal barrier crash-test rating.
Side Crash A+
5/5 ★
Side barrier and pole crash-test rating.
Rollover Resistance A+
5/5 ★
Static stability factor + dynamic rollover test rating.
Rollover Risk A-
10.1%
Lower than 84% of 2,516 rated model-years.

Total Complaints

10 filings

Crashes Reported

2 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: 5/5 - Top NCAP rating · Front: 5/5 · Side: 5/5 · Rollover: 5/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
AIR BAGS2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE1
VISIBILITY/WIPER1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS1

Recalls (2)

23V64700021/09/2023

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2023 Outback, Legacy, Ascent, and Impreza vehicles. The center support bolts for the driveshaft may loosen, resulting in the disconnection of the front end of the driveshaft.

23V75500009/11/2023

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH

Subaru of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2021 Crosstrek, 2022 Forester, 2021-2023 Legacy, and Outback vehicles. An insufficient weld may allow water to enter the inhibitor switch, causing it to fail.

Recent Complaints

20251205UNKNOWN OR OTHER

While driving home after work on the interstate, I was quite startled to see a large popup on the vehicle's main screen; initially I thought it might be some sort of vehicle-problem, but it was a large advertisement for free access to SiriusXM for a limited time. The ad covered the screen and was quite jarring while driving in traffic. In order to close it, I pressed a red X in the upper corner. Such in-vehicle advertisements should NOT be presented while driving (actually, at any time).

20250918UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Voice command in my 2023 legacy is not working. I can not speak into system to say call a person already entered without taking hands off steering wheel. Already reported to dealer & to corporate Subaru & it is a known issue. Reference # with corporate is 250620-1900992. This was reported to dealer in June 2025 when in for service & no fix has been noted other than Subaru is working on it? Feature built into car at purchase is thus useless & seems like a safety issue if I can’t use hands free when driving.

20250302FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

This issue started on the trip back from Nashville. Upon cold start in the morning the center console display won't start. This affected infotainment, climate, eyesight, cruise etc. The system didn't work during the entire trip of 3 5 hours and inability to operate climate control caused the car to build up fog on all windows reducing visibility significantly at times. Turning ignition off, lock-unlock sequences didn't help the issue. The system booted normally after it sat locked for few hours upon arrival. A visit to dealer didn't find any issues. The usual comment the car needed software update, which I couldn't verify.

20250302FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

This issue started on the trip back from Nashville. Upon cold start in the morning the center console display won't start. This affected infotainment, climate, eyesight, cruise etc. The system didn't work during the entire trip of 3 5 hours and inability to operate climate control caused the car to build up fog on all windows reducing visibility significantly at times. Turning ignition off, lock-unlock sequences didn't help the issue. The system booted normally after it sat locked for few hours upon arrival. A visit to dealer didn't find any issues. The usual comment the car needed software update, which I couldn't verify.

20250302FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

This issue started on the trip back from Nashville. Upon cold start in the morning the center console display won't start. This affected infotainment, climate, eyesight, cruise etc. The system didn't work during the entire trip of 3 5 hours and inability to operate climate control caused the car to build up fog on all windows reducing visibility significantly at times. Turning ignition off, lock-unlock sequences didn't help the issue. The system booted normally after it sat locked for few hours upon arrival. A visit to dealer didn't find any issues. The usual comment the car needed software update, which I couldn't verify.

20250215CrashAIR BAGS

i was traveling into work in Boston and a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup hit me broadside (drivers side wheel, rear door). My air bags (driver front or side) did not deploy and my car was determined to be a total wreck by my insurance company. I was bruised and out of work for a couple of days but was a fortunate to walk away from this accident.

20250111VISIBILITY/WIPER

Accorn fell on windshield. At 14,000 miles windshield cracked. Was driving approximately 35MPH

20240315CrashFORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the forward collision avoidance warning system would independently be active without an obstacle in front of the vehicle; the "Obstacle Detected" warning message would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that the forward collision avoidance feature had failed to operate on two separate occasions in which the contact struck a deer. In both instances, the contact struck a deer while driving at about 30 MPH. No alerts, warning messages, or safety features were activated during either accident. The air bags did not deploy in either accident. A police report was not filed and no injuries occurred during either accident. The vehicle was taken to two separate dealers-Jenkins Subaru(750 Lodgeville Rd, Bridgeport, WV 26330) and Subaru of Morgantown(1730 Mileground Rd, Morgantown, WV 26505), but neither were able to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was also notified of the f

Mileage: 50

20230721AIR BAGS

My wife is a petite woman, 4 feet 7 inches, 85pounds clothed. We bought the car March 29, 2023 and drove home, and the passenger airbag worked properly thru April 2. Behavior after that became erratic, passenger airbag sometimes on, sometimes not. Became more erratic and brought to dealer (Balise Subaru) April 12. Service technician reported system worked properly, no error codes. I asked Service manager to look at the car with my wife rather than a 180 pound technician sitting in it. He observed that with my wife in the passenger seat he would start and stop the car, and sometime the airbag was on, other times off even though she never moved or change position. He was going to check with Subaru, saying nothing in the system could be adjusted and it had a trigger weight of approximately 80.5 pounds. Erratic behavior became worse such that airbag was off 75% of the time. Tried various seat positions to no effect. Note: My wife sits 23 inches from the dashboard. On April 18 on a round tr

20230223VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that when she entered her vehicle, she noticed that there was a crack in the windshield down by windshield wiper on the driver's side. The contact stated that the crack had begun to expand up the windshield and stopped approximately 4 inches from the where the windshield joins the vehicle subframe. The contact stated that this was the second windshield she had installed. The contact stated that dealer told her the first replacement had been from road debris. The contact stated she never had no windshield strikes in the five weeks she had owned the vehicle. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local glass shop where it was diagnosed and determined that the windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

Mileage: 2,000

Compare 2023SubaruLegacy to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Vehicle Safety Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2023 Subaru Legacy have?
The 2023 Subaru Legacy has 10 NHTSA complaints, 2 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2023 Subaru Legacy?
The 2023 Subaru Legacy received an overall NHTSA safety rating of 5/5, front crash rating of 5/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 5/5.
Are there any recalls for the 2023 Subaru Legacy?
Yes, the 2023 Subaru Legacy has 2 recall(s). The most common affected component is POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2023 Subaru Legacy?
The most-complained component for the 2023 Subaru Legacy is AIR BAGS with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include UNKNOWN OR OTHER and VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD.
Is the 2023 Subaru Legacy safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2023 Subaru Legacy has an NHTSA safety rating of 5/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.

Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2023 Subaru Legacy; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.