Buyer Research

2020 Subaru Legacy — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $16,000–$22,000. There are 4 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

First year of the seventh-generation Legacy on Subaru's new global platform — a 2.5-liter flat-four or, in the XT, a 2.4 turbo, a CVT, all-wheel drive, and the tall tablet screen in the dash. The record is 121 complaints and one of them is the story: 66, or 55%, are windshields cracking from the edge with nothing having hit them, on parked cars, on cars replaced once already. That carries over from the previous generation and it is not a recall. What the first-year car did collect is six recalls, and four of them matter — a fuel pump that can stall the engine, a transmission programming error that can let the CVT chain slip and snap, a brake-pedal bracket bolt that may be loose or missing, and a passenger-seat sensor that can switch that airbag off. Every one is a free fix, and every one has to show closed on the VIN before this is a car to buy. The complaint count fell from 42 in 2021 to 5 in 2025, which reads like a first-year car whose faults surfaced early and were mostly caught; the thermo control valve and the battery drain in the electrical cluster are the ones still out there. With all six recalls closed and a windshield you have inspected in raking light, this is a comfortable, safe, well-screened family sedan and a fair buy.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 121 owner complaints for the 2020 Subaru Legacy, and 6 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 55% of them are about one thing — glass, wipers and mirrors. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

6 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2020 Subaru Legacy

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Windshield cracks from the edge with no impact — 55% of everything owners filed on this carMedium

Sixty-six complaints, and they read alike: a crack starting at the very edge of the seal, at mid-height on the passenger side or bottom centre, on a car parked for two days, or at 30 mph with nothing on the road. One owner paid for two replacements in four months, both cracking from the side. Dealers have blamed rock chips the owner could not find. The glass is thin acoustic laminate with the EyeSight cameras mounted behind it, so a replacement means OEM-spec glass plus a camera recalibration, and a cheap aftermarket windshield can leave EyeSight misjudging distances. Owners cite a class action over Subaru windshields; ask a dealer whether any goodwill applies to this VIN rather than assuming. At the car, run a fingernail around the whole edge of the glass and look across it in low sunlight.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$1,200 per windshield including EyeSight recalibration

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (66).

Low-pressure fuel pump can fail and stall the engine while driving (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 21V587 covers the 2020 Legacy along with most of the Subaru range from those years: the low-pressure fuel pump in the tank has an impeller that can swell, bind and stop, and the engine loses fuel, sputters and stalls without restarting. Dealers replace the pump free, and letters went out in September 2021. A stall on a highway is the failure mode, so this is not a recall to leave for later: run the VIN on NHTSA's lookup and, if it is open, have the seller get it done before you hand over money.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

CVT chain can slip and break because the transmission software clamped it too late (two recalls)High — wallet impact

Recalls 21V955 and 22V485 cover the 2020 Legacy for the same defect: a programming error in the transmission control unit could let the clutch engage before the CVT's drive chain was fully clamped between the pulleys, so the chain can slip, wear the guide and eventually break, which is a sudden loss of drive. The remedy is a reflash, then a read of the TCU data for slip events and a look at the chain guide; if either shows damage the transmission is replaced, all free. Seven power-train complaints sit behind this, including a car whose shifter froze with warning lights on. Ask for the recall paperwork and specifically whether the inspection found slip, then drive it: a whine that rises with speed like a turbo, or a shudder pulling away, is a transmission to walk from.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $6,000–$9,000 for a replacement CVT if the damage was never caught — about 47% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (7); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Brake pedal bracket bolt may be loose or missing, letting the pedal mount deform over time (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 19V664 covers early 2020 Legacys and Outbacks: a bolt in the brake pedal mounting bracket may have been left out or not tightened, and over time the mounting area can bend, which changes pedal travel and cuts braking performance. Dealers inspect the hardware and replace the bolt or the whole pedal assembly, free. Only two brake complaints are on this record, which fits a defect caught before many cars aged, but a soft, long, or oddly angled brake pedal on a car with this recall open is a reason to stop the test drive.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Passenger-seat occupant sensor can short and switch the front passenger airbag off (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 24V227, issued in 2024 with letters mailed February 2025, covers 2020–2022 Legacys and Outbacks: a capacitor in the front passenger seat's occupant detection sensors can crack and short-circuit, which can keep the passenger airbag from deploying in a crash. Dealers replace the seat sensors free. Because it is recent, a car that had every earlier recall done on time can still have this one open; check the VIN, and if the passenger airbag-off lamp stays lit with an adult in the seat, that is the symptom.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Battery drain, a thermo control valve that shuts down EyeSight, windows that will not close in rain, and a rear camera software recallMedium

Fifteen electrical complaints with one fire among them, and four threads inside. Batteries drained by the car's network modules staying awake after shut-off — the same drain owners of the previous generation report, and one owner here filed after being stranded following half an hour with the radio on. The thermo control valve, which replaces a thermostat on this engine, failing and setting a check-engine light that also disables EyeSight and adaptive cruise; one owner says the failure shorted its whole circuit and stopped the car in traffic. Power windows that refuse to auto-close in heavy rain and drop back down instead. And recall 20V766, for mid- and high-grade navigation units whose 2020 over-the-air update could stall halfway and corrupt the software, blanking the rearview camera — dealers reprogram or replace the cockpit control module free. Scan for codes warm, check the camera image, and ask when the battery was last replaced and why.

Repair cost: $400–$900 for a thermo control valve; $150–$250 for a battery; $0 with the recall for the rearview display — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (15); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

EyeSight braking for shadows, and a car that surged from a parking space in DriveMedium

Seven forward-collision-avoidance complaints and four under speed control, one of those a crash: EyeSight braking hard on an empty road for an overpass shadow or a car in the adjacent lane, and, from the other direction, a car that accelerated over a parking median while the owner's foot was on the brake. The camera pair behind the windshield is the whole system on this car, so a replacement windshield without a recalibration — see the windshield issue — is the first thing to rule out. Test adaptive cruise in real traffic and drive under a few overpasses before you decide.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 for an EyeSight recalibration; $1,000–$2,000 for a camera unit

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (7), throttle and cruise control (4).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A crack or chip starting at the edge of the windshield, or an aftermarket glass brand in the corner
✗Seller cannot show all six recalls, especially 21V587 and the CVT pair, as performed
✗A whine that rises with road speed, or a shudder pulling away from a stop
✗Brake pedal that sits low, feels soft, or is angled differently than you expect
✗Check-engine light on, or EyeSight and adaptive cruise showing disabled
✗Passenger airbag-off lamp lit with an adult in the seat
✗Car needed a jump before the test drive, or a battery under a year old with no explanation

Good Signs

✓All six recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup, with the CVT inspection paperwork noting the chain guide passed
✓Windshield replaced with Subaru OEM glass and an EyeSight recalibration invoice
✓Thermo control valve replaced, with the dealer invoice
✓Battery replaced under Subaru's extended coverage, with the paperwork, and the car cranked strongly after sitting a week
✓Smooth, quiet pull from 0 to 70 mph with the CVT holding steady revs
✓A clean scan with the engine warm, and the rearview camera showing a clear image
✓Adaptive cruise that brakes and resumes smoothly behind traffic on the test drive