Does the Subaru Legacy fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Subaru Legacy records 15.35 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 19.43 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−4.08, 95% interval −4.50 to −3.66). It ranks 541 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Subaru Legacy by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Subaru Legacy is “a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm”, recorded 1,467 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 1,467 | 3.46 |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 1,215 | 2.86 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 740 | 1.74 |
| ESC MIL indicates a system malfunction | 323 | 0.76 |
| Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn | 304 | 0.72 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 42,459 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Subaru Legacy gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
13.8% of Subaru Legacy MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 4,533 miles later (7,895 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 7,895 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Subaru Legacy 2000 · Subaru Legacy 2001 · Subaru Legacy 2002 · Subaru Legacy 2003 · Subaru Legacy 2004 · Subaru Legacy 2005 · Subaru Legacy 2006 · Subaru Legacy 2007 · Subaru Legacy 2008 · Subaru Legacy 2009 · Subaru Legacy 2010 · Subaru Legacy 2011 · Subaru Legacy 2012 · Subaru Legacy 2013 · Subaru Legacy in Norway · Subaru Legacy in Finland · Subaru Legacy in the Netherlands · Subaru Legacy by postcode area · Subaru Legacy body, chassis and structure failures · Subaru Legacy vehicle identification failures · Subaru Legacy lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Subaru Legacy noise, emissions and leaks failures · Subaru Legacy road wheels failures · Subaru Legacy seat belts and airbags failures · Subaru Legacy steering failures · Subaru Legacy suspension failures · Subaru Legacy tyres failures · Subaru Legacy visibility failures