2019 Subaru Legacy UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The navigation screen has delaminated and no longer works. You can see where there are layers of screen that are discolored and has a matte finish underneath and the entire screen is erratic and works only 10% of the time. I cannot answer calls through the car any longer and I have to try to navigate long trips from my phone as this function of the car is down. It's a serious problem and puts me and others on the road at risk every time I have to use the car as I travel by myself and I struggle to navigate the roads without this system. The car has a mere 70,000 miles on it and has been well cared for. I bought the car new and this issue is serious. There were no warning signs other than it erratically works less and less. I have researched the issue and see there are so many with this same issue that I wanted to add to the list. I cannot find a second hand part as the demand is too high. The car is available for inspection and I haven't had it to the dealer for this issue. It has been inspected by an auto repair shop and agrees the component needs to come out and be replaced. Please help!
On the beginning of a trip the screen, Infotainment system started jumping, and shaking. We had been using the system for guidance while driving in unfamiliar area. The screen then started randomly selecting buttons while we were still trying to use directions from the screen. Then it called a contact on my contact list 8-9 times, and I had to keep hanging up in order so it would stop. Finally I had to shut down the entire screen. We lost control of the Infotainment and then after I had to turn it off, I tried several times again to turn it back on with no luck. The screen would not respond and continues to be completely frozen. As I have discovered this is a common problem that Subaru dealers have heard about from thousands of customers. Subaru needs to issue a recall.
The radio/ starlink system begins changing screens on its own thus losing all control of critical functions such as phone and gps. There appears to be marks behind the glass of the screen which are not able to be cleaned. There are recalls for this issue on the 2018 Subaru Legacy and there needs to be one for the 2019 Subaru Legacy and other affected Subaru models.
I am a first time Subaru owner and I have an issue with the windshield. November 2023 had a large crack in the windshield and an actual piece of glass came into the car from the inside. I had the windshield replaced by Gerald Subaru of North Aurora Illinois. In January of 2024, as I was pulling out of my garage, I noticed another crack in the new windshield. I had not driven the car in a week and was actually out of state for 2 weeks in December. My car is garaged and do not recall anything hitting the windshield. Went back to Gerald Subaru and they found an extremely small chip up near the top of the windshield. I have reached out to Subaru both by phone and by email and thus far there has been no response. I truly feel these are defective windshields.
Parasitic battery drain from the DCM that is known by Subaru but proper long term repair is not offered easily. Please force them to do the right thing!! This should be a covered fix offered to every affected vehicle.
The radio, which is also impacts screen, is defective. It is available for examination. The radio jumps stations with beeps, the sound can’t be eliminated by turning down the volume. It indiscriminately jumps from satellite to FM. It will hold a station for a while but then it jumps around. I get a few seconds of a music or talk station and then it jumps. It is a safety hazard since the beeps distracts the driver. It doesn’t recognize AppleCarPlay that is used for GPS navigation. The screen when it manages to show the menu, does not respond to touch so you can’t use GPS or access other vehicle processes such as clock, brightness, etc. I can’t use the phone for navigation while charging only seeing turn-by-turn directions, no map. The dealer has ordered a replacement radio but it is back ordered. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than Dan Perkins Subaru in Milford, CT. No warning indicator, it just started exhibiting the jump problem. The experience started gradually and would go back to working order. It got worse over several months, first appearing 7 months ago. Internet search shows this is an issue with several Subaru models and years.
While at a red light, and with foot firmly on brake pedal, the car suddenly began to rev and lurched forward. All the dash indicator lights (Brake, Engine, Lane Departure, etc.) lit up. I was able to keep the car from hitting the vehicle in front of me and managed to put the car in "park" until the light turned green, at which point I put the car back in "drive," pulled into USPS parking lot, collected myself, then drove to my local mechanic (~.25 miles). Braking to turn into mechanic's location the vehicle again revved and was difficult to slow, but I managed to do so, park, and left for them to examine. Later, and on local mechanic's advice, drove (without incident) to Subaru dealer in Milford, NH to drop off for them to investigate amid recent trend in unanticipated acceleration problem and pending class action lawsuit.
During small front end collision, car’s engine failed and car sparked a fire resulting in total loss of vehicle. California highway patrol was called and a report was filed. Insurance was contacted and conducted own investigation to rule car as a total loss. No prior warning lights or messages appeared prior to accident.
I walked out to my car this afternoon to find my third cracked windshield since I purchased the car in September of 2019. I have reached out to the dealership and they have denied any issues and are unwilling to say there are any problems. As many reports and lawsuits are pending, I am trying to figure out what to do.
SPONTANEOUS BREAKING OF FRONT WINDSHIELD. I PARKED THE CAR IN THE GARAGE AND THE NEXT MORNING THERE WAS A CRACK IN THE SHAPE OF AN UPPERCASE T APPROXIMATELY 7"X7". NO EXTREME HEAT OR COLD INVOLVED. THERE APPEARS TO BE A PINHEAD SIZE DENT POSSIBLY FROM A ROCK. THE CAR HAS ONLY 14K MILES
Trend Over Time
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Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2019 Subaru Legacy has 10 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.