There are 2 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2009 Subaru Legacyin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEED WHEN INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON IN THE DISPLAY AREA. ODOMETER WAS JUST OVER 83,000 MILES. THE ENGINE BEGAN TO MAKE NOISE AS THOUGH ACCELERATING BUT THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN GEAR AND THE VEHICLE LOST SPEED AND ENGINE CONTINUED RUNNING LEADING TO NEAR ACCIDENT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. THEY FOUND TRANS CODE P0766 AND REPROGRAMMED THE TRANSMISSION. VEHICLE WAS ROAD TESTED WITH NORMAL FINDINGS AT HIGHWAY SPEED WITH UP AND DOWN SHIFTS AND KICKDOWN ALL NORMAL. DEALER REPLACED TRANSMISSION FLUID AFTER FINDING BROWN TRANSMISSION FLUID. THIS OCCURRED AFTER NO PREVIOUS TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND TRANSMISSION FLUID REPLACEMENT APPROXIMATELY 20,000 MI PRIOR. TRANSMISSION OIL PAN WAS REMOVED AND CLEANED. THE COOLING SYSTEM WAS FLUSHED. VEHICLE WAS ROAD TESTED AGAIN WITH NORMAL OPERATION WITH A NOTE THAT THE AIRBAG LIGHT TURNED ON (NO FURTHER ACTION TAKEN BY DEALER). AIRBAG INDICATOR HAS ALTERNATED BETWEEN ON AND OFF FOLLOWING THIS BUT MOSTLY REMAINS ON.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SUBARU LEGACY.WHILE PARKED WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ROLL BACKWARDS, SHE WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP TO THE VEHICLE AND APPLY PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT DIAGNOSED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE HAD NOT RECURRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 33,000.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026