Subaru Legacy 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

29.1% of 1,337 MOT tests of the Subaru Legacy first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 94.1 (95% CI 84.8–103.5; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Subaru Legacy built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	29.1	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	1337
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 84.8–103.5)	94.1	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	1337
Rank among this model's 14 build years	2	of 14	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	1337
Tested in 2024	263	tests	median 93,128 miles	2024	263

Built 2012 against Subaru Legacy normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 21% vs n/a%; age 8: 27.6% vs 27.1%; age 9: 28.8% vs 29.8%; age 10: 29.3% vs 30.1%; age 11: 30% vs 32.8%; age 12: 29.7% vs 34.6%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 Subaru Legacy by registration · All Subaru Legacy MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2012 Subaru Legacy fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Subaru Legacy built 2012: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
7	267 (rough estimate)	21	16.5–26.3	not available	not available
8	257 (rough estimate)	27.6	22.5–33.4	27.1	102
9	271 (rough estimate)	28.8	23.7–34.4	29.8	96.5
10	273 (rough estimate)	29.3	24.2–35	30.1	97.5
11	273 (rough estimate)	30	24.9–35.7	32.8	91.5
12	263 (rough estimate)	29.7	24.5–35.4	34.6	85.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,604 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2012 Subaru Legacy?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 25.2 items per 100 first tests, against 33.9 across all build years of the Subaru Legacy. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Subaru Legacy built 2012 against the Subaru Legacy in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	25.2	33.9	405
Brakes	11.6	15.3	186
Suspension	11.1	27.9	178
Noise, emissions and leaks	8.5	11.6	137
Tyres	8.1	9.1	130

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,604 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 14 published build years of the Subaru Legacy, 2012 ranks 2 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 95.1. 2013: index 99.4.

Subaru Legacy build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2000	108.8	96.8–120.8	no different (rough estimate)	678
2001	108.3	98.5–118.2	no different (rough estimate)	1,004
2002	105.5	96.1–115.0	no different (rough estimate)	1,090
2003	106.3	99.3–113.3	no different (rough estimate)	1,992
2004	100.5	95.7–105.3	no different	4,074
2005	98.9	94.5–103.2	no different	4,969
2006	101.9	97.5–106.4	no different	4,927
2007	97.2	91.8–102.6	no different (rough estimate)	3,300
2008	102.8	96.8–108.9	no different (rough estimate)	2,857
2009	93.7	87.9–99.5	better (rough estimate)	2,990
2010	98.0	92.1–103.9	no different (rough estimate)	3,167
2011	95.1	88.9–101.4	no different (rough estimate)	2,938
2012	94.1	84.8–103.5	no different (rough estimate)	1,337
2013	99.4	86.4–112.3	no different (rough estimate)	768

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 36,091 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Subaru Legacy 2012 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/subaru-legacy/2012/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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