The Subaru Ascent and the Subaru Legacy both have a 2021 turning point, and the years before it are the years to avoid. The Ascent's first two years, 2019 and 2020, have 439 and 319 complaints and scores of 32 and 36; the 2021 car has 100 complaints and scores 81, and the 2022 car 55 and 87. The Legacy is a slower story: five CAUTION years from 2015 to 2019 that end in an AVOID for the 2020 car at 45, followed by a 2021 car with 31 complaints and a score of 86. Buy a 2021 or later Ascent, a 2021 or later Legacy, or a 2013 to 2014 Legacy with its long recall list confirmed.
The Ascent's first two years
The Ascent was a new nameplate for 2019, and the first year's record is the worst of the two Subarus here by every measure: 439 complaints, 62.7 per year on the road, nine recall campaigns. Electrical System leads with 161 complaints, Power Train is second at 87, Visibility/Wiper third at 66, and Engine fifth at 47. The 2020 car has the same shape at a lower level, Electrical System 101, Power Train 57, Visibility/Wiper 49, and 319 complaints.
The campaigns line up with two of those categories. On the electrical side, 22V907000 (08/12/2022) covers 2019 to 2022 cars for a ground bolt on the cabin heater that may have been improperly fastened and can melt its terminal; it is safety-critical. On the transmission side there are two: 19V855000 (02/12/2019), for a hydraulic sensor in the 2019 car's transmission that may measure fluid pressure inaccurately, and 21V955000 (09/12/2021), for a transmission control unit programming error on 2019 and 2020 cars that may let the clutch engage before the drive chain is fully clamped. The 2019 car alone also has 18V508000 (02/08/2018) for missing spot welds around the B-pillar, 19V856000 (02/12/2019) for a crankcase ventilation valve that can separate and enter the engine, and 19V519000 (10/07/2019) for driveshaft centre support bolts that may loosen. The 2019 car carries the low-pressure fuel pump campaign 20V218000 (16/04/2020) and both years carry 21V587000 (29/07/2021) for the same part, and the 2020 car has 21V954000 (09/12/2021) for front tie rod ends that may not fit their housings.
That is a long list for two model years, and the nine and five campaigns sit on top of complaint rates that no other Subaru year in this guide approaches. The 66 and 49 Visibility/Wiper complaints have no campaign behind them; the record shows the pattern and not the cause.
Subaru Ascent: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87 | BUY | 14 | 1 |
| 2024 | 80 | BUY | 50 | 1 |
| 2023 | 85 | BUY | 45 | 4 |
| 2022 | 87 | BUY | 55 | 2 |
| 2021 | 81 | BUY | 102 | 2 |
| 2020 | 36 | AVOID | 322 | 5 |
| 2019 | 32 | AVOID | 441 | 9 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Subaru Ascent model page.
The Ascent from 2021
The 2021 car has 100 complaints, and Power Train leads at 18, Electrical System 17, Unknown Or Other 15, Lane Departure 15 and Visibility/Wiper 14, a list with no dominant category, which is what a settled record looks like. The 2022 car has 55 complaints and the highest score on the nameplate at 87; Power Train is 14 and Service Brakes 11. The 2023 car has 43 complaints and four campaigns, none safety-critical, three of them mechanical: a lower control arm castle nut (23V392000, 01/06/2023), tyre beads damaged during wheel mounting on cars with 20-inch wheels (23V258000, 07/04/2023), and the driveshaft bolts again (23V647000, 21/09/2023); the fourth, 26V436000 (07/07/2026), is a certification label. The 2024 car has 50 complaints, and Visibility leads at 23, which is the one category worth asking about on that year. The 2025 car has 14. From 2023 the evidence is low or medium, so the scores of 79 to 87 are provisional.
The Legacy: 2015 to 2020
The Legacy's sixth generation arrived for 2015, and the record shows it as a plateau rather than a spike: 159, 146, 118, 117, 123 and 121 complaints from 2015 to 2020, between 13.1 and 20.2 per year on the road, and scores that fall from 67 to 45. Two categories share the top of the list throughout. Electrical System leads the 2015, 2016 and 2018 cars at 37, 51 and 40; Visibility/Wiper leads the 2017, 2019 and 2020 cars at 33, 49 and 57, and is second or third in the others. The Visibility/Wiper count peaks on the 2020 car at 57 of its 121 complaints, nearly half, and there is no campaign on record for it in those years. The only wiper campaign, 16V694000 (27/09/2016), covers the 2013 and 2014 cars.
The recall list on these years is short until 2020. The 2015 car has three campaigns, none safety-critical; the 2016 and 2017 cars have a steering column that may have been improperly machined, 16V292000 (11/05/2016), and a knee guard bracket on the 2017 car, 16V716000 (06/10/2016). The 2018 car has a software error that stops the low fuel warning light coming on at the right level, 18V773000 (01/11/2018), and the 2018 to 2020 cars share the fuel pump campaign 21V587000. Then the 2020 car, the first of the seventh generation, has six campaigns: two transmission control unit reprogrammings, 21V955000 (09/12/2021) and 22V485000 (08/07/2022), the same clutch-before-clamp fault as the Ascent; a brake pedal bracket bolt that may be missing or loose, 19V664000 (18/09/2019); an occupant detection sensor capacitor that can crack and keep the passenger air bag from deploying, 24V227000 (22/03/2024), covering 2020 to 2022 cars; and a corrupted over-the-air software update, 20V766000 (10/12/2020).
Subaru Legacy: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89 | BUY | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | 87 | BUY | 17 | 0 |
| 2023 | 90 | BUY | 10 | 2 |
| 2022 | 84 | BUY | 32 | 2 |
| 2021 | 86 | BUY | 31 | 3 |
| 2020 | 45 | AVOID | 121 | 6 |
| 2019 | 56 | CAUTION | 123 | 3 |
| 2018 | 64 | CAUTION | 117 | 3 |
| 2017 | 69 | CAUTION | 118 | 2 |
| 2016 | 65 | CAUTION | 146 | 3 |
| 2015 | 67 | CAUTION | 159 | 3 |
| 2014 | 75 | BUY | 53 | 10 |
| 2013 | 76 | BUY | 66 | 12 |
| 2012 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Subaru Legacy model page.
The Legacy before and after
The 2013 and 2014 cars score 76 and 75 on 66 and 53 complaints: low counts, but twelve and ten recall campaigns, eleven and eight of them safety-critical. Seven of those on the 2013 car are Takata passenger air bag inflator campaigns, regional and staggered: 18V012000 (09/01/2018), three issued on 09/01/2019 and three more on 02/01/2020. Add 19V297000 (11/04/2019) for the ignition switch, 13V194000 (13/05/2013) for a steering column whose inner and outer shafts can disengage, and 18V626000 (13/09/2018) for an electronic parking brake on manual cars that may not engage. A 2013 or 2014 Legacy with every one of those closed is a reasonable car; one with an open inflator campaign is not. The 2011 and 2012 cars have no complaints on record and no verdict.
From 2021 the Legacy's record is quiet: 31, 32, 10, 17 and 6 complaints from 2021 to 2025, scores of 84 to 90, and in the two years with component data, no category above 16 (Visibility/Wiper on the 2022 car). Campaign 23V755000 (09/11/2023) covers 2021 to 2023 cars for an inhibitor switch that can fail when water gets past a weak weld, and 24V227000 still applies to the 2021 and 2022 cars. All five years are low evidence.
What to check before you buy
- On a 2019 or 2020 Ascent, print the recall history by VIN and check every line: 22V907000, 19V855000 or 21V955000, both fuel pump campaigns, and on a 2019 the B-pillar, crankcase valve and driveshaft campaigns. Then drive it long enough for the transmission to reach temperature and feel for shudder from a stop.
- On any Ascent or a 2015 to 2020 Legacy, inspect the windscreen edge to edge for chips and cracks and ask whether it has been replaced; Visibility/Wiper is 66 complaints on the 2019 Ascent and 57 on the 2020 Legacy.
- On a 2020 to 2022 Legacy, confirm 24V227000 (passenger air bag sensor) and, on a 2020 or 2021, both transmission control unit campaigns.
- On a 2013 or 2014 Legacy, count the completed inflator campaigns against the seven on record before you agree a price.
- On a 2015 to 2018 Legacy, check that the electrical faults owners reported, Electrical System is 29 to 51 complaints a year, do not show up as a battery that was replaced early or warning lights on the test drive.
Summary
Avoid the 2019 and 2020 Subaru Ascent and the 2020 Subaru Legacy, and treat the 2015 to 2019 Legacy as CAUTION. Buy a 2021 or later Ascent, a 2021 or later Legacy, or a 2013 to 2014 Legacy with its air bag inflator campaigns documented. In both nameplates, 2021 is the year the record turns.