4,401 tests in 2025
Subaru Legacy reliability and MOT pass rate
71.1% passed first time. The 28.9% fail rate is 6.3 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 18 years old with 110,913 miles.
Pass rate
71.1%
22.6% of all cars failed; 28.9% of these did.
Fixed on the day
6.9%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
110,913 mi
18 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 46 | — |
| 6-9 years | 144 | — |
| 10-13 years | 442 | 28.5% |
| 14+ years | 3,767 | 29.5% |
What the Legacy fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment3 dangerous43.6%
- Suspension48 dangerous42.1%
- Noise, emissions and leaks1 dangerous28.3%
- Brakes176 dangerous26.1%
- Body, chassis, structure12 dangerous22.8%
- Tyres247 dangerous16.7%
- Visibility2 dangerous15.4%
- Steering1 dangerous4.2%
Is the Legacy getting worse?
The fail rate fell 0.8 points to 28.7% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years. Ageing alone would predict about 1.4 points, so it is holding up better than the fleet average for its age.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6,439 | 15 | 29.5% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 5,853 | 16 | 30.5% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 4,636 | 17 | 30.5% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 4,294 | 18 | 28.7% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Legacy at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Legacy in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Position lamp: not working200 tests
- 2Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn165 tests
- 3Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction139 tests
- 4Stop lamp: not working123 tests
- 5Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits119 tests
- 6Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt115 tests
- 7Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick109 tests
- 8Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn107 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Legacy collects 3.7 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn1,002 tests
- 2Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm631 tests
- 3Sub-frame: corroded and seriously weakened461 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick436 tests
- 5Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened413 tests
- 6Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded397 tests
- 7Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases364 tests
- 8Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine334 tests
Questions
What is the Subaru Legacy MOT pass rate?
71.1% of the 4,401 Subaru Legacy first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 28.9% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 6.9% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Subaru Legacy usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Position lamp: not working", recorded on 200 failed tests, followed by "Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn" and "Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 43.6% of failures, suspension appears in 42.1% of failures, noise, emissions and leaks appears in 28.3% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 17.4%; at 14+ years it was 29.5%. The median Subaru Legacy tested in 2025 was 18 years old with 110,913 miles.
Is the Subaru Legacy getting less reliable?
The fail rate fell 0.8 points to 28.7% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years. Ageing alone would predict about 1.4 points, so it is holding up better than the fleet average for its age.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Legacy trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
DVSA has published 13 safety recalls naming the Subaru Legacy: Subaru Legacy recalls.
Other Subaru models
Checking a particular Legacy?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.