2003 Subaru Legacy Problems and Repair Histories
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Subaru Legacy
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2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Wagon
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| Subaru Legacy in New Hampshire, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Dec | 2010 | 140000 | First odometer entry | |
| Jun | 2011 | 149000 | 0 | 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 | 2011 | 154000 | 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 | 2011 | 156000 | 0 | 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 | 2012 | 160000 | 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 | 2012 | 167000 | 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 | 2013 | 172000 | 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 | 2013 | 175000 | 0 | 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 |
| Subaru Legacy in Quebec, Canada | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Jun | 2009 | 800 | A/C compressor | |
| Mar | 2010 | 96720 | 1325 | water infiltration in rear hatch door, front wheel bearing front brakes pads and rotors |
| Oct | 2010 | 101680 | 560 | Check engine light. Error code indicated seized "valve for fuel fumes"?? Part was replaced ($300 with tax and labour) |
| Sep | 2011 | 111600 | 0 | 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 | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Jan | 2009 | 73000 | First odometer entry | |
| Jun | 2009 | 78000 | 360 | Dash bulbs (took tech 1 hour to replace) upstream O2 sensor. |
| May | 2010 | 90700 | 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 | 2010 | 96000 | 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 | 2012 | 129300 | 300 | Outside front right CV joint was failing. Axle had to be replaced. Dealership provided a free loaner car. |
| Sep | 2012 | 137000 | 0 | Outside right CV joint failed |
| Feb | 2013 | Most recent odometer entry. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Minnesota, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Sep | 2011 | 57000 | First odometer entry | |
| Dec | 2011 | 59000 | 1200 | Brakes were making a lot of noise. Had them replaced as closely to factory standards as possible. |
| Jan | 2012 | 60000 | Most recent odometer entry. | |
| Subaru Legacy in Virginia, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Nov | 2003 | 0 | AC condenser drain stopped up and water came into car | |
| Sep | 2010 | 82000 | 110 | Headlights where oxidized and foggy reducing clarity. Replaced both headlight assemblies. |
| Dec | 2010 | Most recent odometer entry. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in New York, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Feb | 2012 | 140000 | First odometer entry | |
| Mar | 2012 | 141000 | 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 | 2012 | 141700 | 0 | 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. |
| Mar | 2013 | 145000 | Most recent odometer entry. | |
| Subaru Legacy in Florida, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Jul | 2012 | 119000 | First odometer entry | |
| Aug | 2012 | 119000 | 950 | timing belt,brakes,plugs,wires,valve cover and spark plug gaskets. |
| Subaru Legacy in British Columbia, Canada | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Feb | 2009 | 63860 | First odometer entry | |
| Sep | 2009 | 67580 | 1000 | routine brake work |
| Mar | 2012 | 83700 | 3000 | head gaskets; timing belt |
| Nov | 2012 | 89860 | 4000 | engine heads needed to be replaced. as a result a engine rebuild was necessary including timing belt etc |
| Mar | 2013 | 91140 | Most recent odometer entry. | |
| Subaru Legacy in Alberta, Canada | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Jan | 2009 | 34100 | First odometer entry | |
| Oct | 2009 | 36580 | 800 | left side head gasket issue, Subaru Canada assisted with covering parts and half labour. leaking coolant under the car |
| Dec | 2009 | 37200 | 95 | Vaccuum sensor needs replacement |
| Dec | 2011 | 44640 | 700 | Power steering pump failed! |
| Mar | 2013 | 50840 | Most recent odometer entry. | |
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sedan
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| Subaru Legacy in Virginia, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Sep | 2004 | 0 | Warranty service. I complained that the engine was not running smoothly when the car was driven at neighborhood speeds. The service manager said that the car's operation was normal. | |
| Oct | 2004 | 0 | I tried several times over the next two years to figure out a way to make the engine run more smoothly. I helped a little but the engine still ran uncomfortably. | |
| Subaru Legacy in New York, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| May | 2010 | 94000 | First odometer entry | |
| Jun | 2010 | 95000 | 300 | Replaced water pump for third time in 2 years drain for sunroof reattached |
| Jun | 2011 | Most recent odometer entry. | ||
| Subaru Legacy in Wisconsin, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Jun | 2009 | 400 | cv boot needed to be replaced | |
| Jan | 2010 | 134000 | 1300 | Head gasket |
| May | 2010 | 142000 | 189 | AC did not work |
| Apr | 2013 | 184000 | 300 | Rear brakes completely worn. |
| Subaru Legacy in Ontario, Canada | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Nov | 2009 | 118420 | First odometer entry | |
| Dec | 2009 | 119660 | 1300 | Knocking sound in engine and transmission seal oil leak Transmission shifter fork seal leaking |
| Jul | 2010 | 127100 | 0 | viscous center differential needed replacing when sold. |
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sedan
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| Subaru Legacy in Maryland, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Apr | 2009 | 75000 | First odometer entry | |
| Nov | 2009 | 81000 | 263 | 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 | 2010 | 84000 | 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 | 2010 | 89000 | 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 | 2011 | 93000 | 630 | replaced catalytic converter and part of exhaust pipe. |
| Dec | 2011 | 99000 | 0 | Subaru original battery prematurely died with only about 25 months of use. Battery was under warranty. Dealer replaced without charge. |
| Sep | 2012 | 105000 | 0 | Replaced timing belt and water pump due to vehicle reaching 105K miles. |
| Mar | 2013 | 111000 | Most recent odometer entry. | |
2003 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sedan
165-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed automatic AWD
| Subaru Legacy in Ohio, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| May | 2009 | 109000 | First odometer entry | |
| Nov | 2009 | 115000 | 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 Tennessee, United States | ||||
| Month | Year | Odometer (in miles) |
Cost | Problem/Repair Description |
| Oct | 2006 | 0 | 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. | |
Expert 2003 Subaru Legacy Repair Advice
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What People Are Saying about Problems with the 2003 Subaru Legacy
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