1990 Subaru Legacy Problems, complaints & recalls

Tire bead failure while it was my spare & only used 200 miles.. *Ak

The lock/latch on my car's passenger door is defective and the recall 90v18400 did not fix the problem. The door is difficult to open and could easiy fail any day and trap my passenger in the car. The same thing is happening to the front drivers door. The manufactuer will not fix the problem at no charge. *Ak

The cv boots on the front of the vehicle constantly need replacing. *Ak

The vehicle's door locks experienced the defect stated in recall 90 v 184 000 but it's vin was outside of the remedy scope. The dealership refused to repair the door. *Nlm

Headlight device is plastic, making it hard to see when turning headlights on. Dealership is not aware of problem.*Ak the plastic lens material becomes significantly less transparent with time, diminishing visability at night. The adjacent turn signal lens has not aged. This indicates to consumer that the headlight lens is not made from the same material as the turn signal lens. *Jg

Consumer states the front passenger door would lock itself whenever the door is shut. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified. Nlm

I have a 1990 subaru legacy. Each time I try to exit the car the doors lock automatically. It has automatic door locks that are accuated by pushing the drivers door lock. I have had the lock apart and the problem with all 4 of my door is that a single spring in the lock mechanism is responsible for having the inside door handle return to the closed position and to have the lock buyyon stay open. The handle is attached to the bottom half of the spring and that part of the sping keeps the door lock open. Well,...

Locks on door will lock even when unlocking doors. Locks will automatically lock back up. Consumer has to hold lock u, and then push the door open to get out of vehicle. Contacted dealer. *Ak *yh

I noticed another incident on the database reporting this same failure. The plastic shield traps debris against the filler pipe causing the pipe to rust through. I don't know how many '90 subaru legacys are still on the road, but I suspect (given the severity of the rust), that almost all of them have this same condition. Even if they haven't rusted through to the point of leaking, they may easily rupture upon impact. *Ak

Both frontal passive restraint belts fail to operate, will not go around the tracks, leaving driver and passenger without any restraint if vehicle gets involved in a crash. Manufacturer contacted, and willing to go half in repairs. Feel free to provide any further information.*Ak

Vehicle has a master door lock button on driver's side. 2 Rear doors lock when door is closed. Passenger's door should not lock once it's closed. Lock knob has to be held up to open anb close the door. Consumer has gotten locked out a few times because of the problem. *Ak

Passenger front door-lock failed initially requiring passenger to manually push latch and pull door lever simutaneously in order to open door. Rear door-locks do not work now and require same effort. All doors will lock on their own while getting in and out. In case of accident or fire, the occupants may not be able to exit vehicle in a timely manner. Also, driver-side visor falls down while driving which has proven to be very distracting and dangerous. Contacted subaru dealership for both problems. ...

Fuel filler pipe leaking - fuel pipe rusted causing fuel to drip from filler pipe near passenger rear tire. Rust caused by mud/dirt and moisture getting stuck between plastic pipe shield and fuel pipe.*Ak

Mfg refused to fix rear door latches under nhtsa recall 90v18400. The problem is the same as with the front doors. Failure of the latches would not permit exit from car in a wreck and who is likely to ride in the rear..Children who would panic. I was charged $140 to correct these manufacture defects that had been part of, in my opinion, a safety recall as noted. Was it your intent from a safety standpoint that all latches were to be repaired on these cars or just the front lateches??

I also purchased an 1992 subaru svx that has a failed transnission (same style tranny) this car has 146000 miles on it, ii've done some research on this and it appears these transmissions are prone to failure, our legacy's went out on the interstate, and could easily have been fatal

The lap belts in this vehicle have come apart at the "flap" where the belts snap into the receptacle. We have had the car in several shops, and none can get replacement belts. The latest attempt was with the subaru dealer in new orleans, and they have "ordered them from japan". So far, no belts. Junk yards sometimes have the belts, for $100, and they are faulty too. We were advised by the subaru dealer not to drive the car until the belts are replaced, yet what can we do when none are available. There must be many more 1990 subaru owners with this same dilemma. It is a definite safety issue, and would bear investigating. Any help you can give will be appreciated. *Ak

POWER DOOR LOCKS LOCK BY THEMSELVES. *AK

The door handle when opened causes the door to automatically lock when opened from the inside. The passenger side front broke in 1993. The passenger side rear door broke in 1998. The driver side front door broke in 1999 which is the most annoying as it locks all the door every time the handle is used to open the door from the inside. It costs $80 to replace the part.

Design flaw of right front axle came off the wheel, causing vehicle to depend on rear wheel drive only and allowed the front right drive line spin aimlessly, resulting in damage to components in transfer case. *Ak

When driver took off from a stop with foot on the brakes, vehicle took off. Shifting the vehicle to neutral and heavy brake application stopped the vehicle. Vehicle had been driven for about 15 mintues before this happened. *Ak

Sudden acceleration caused the vehicle to run 90 mph. Yh

POWER STEERING PIPE A AND PIPE B

(1) The air conditioning compressor is fine; but it comes on only occasionally; mechanics unable to find problem. (2) Doors automatically locking causes great inconvenience; (3) sun visor falling down impairs vision; velcro and even duct tape won't keep it up. *Ak

DOOR LOCKS FAILED ON ALL DOORS. MJS

Left front driver and passenger side door locks engage after unlocking making it very difficult to enter or exit vehicle. Yh