2021 Subaru Legacy: Sell It Now or Keep Driving It?

The setup

You own a 2021 Subaru Legacy. It's five years old now, well past the honeymoon period but not yet ancient. Maybe you've gotten a recall notice or three in the mail. Maybe you're wondering if it's time to move on, or if this car has another 100,000 miles of reliable service left in it. The answer depends on whether you're willing to drive around with three open safety recalls, one of which involves airbags that might not work when you need them most.

This is not a theoretical concern. The recalls are real, the parts have been slow to arrive, and owners are frustrated. We'll walk through the numbers, show you the math, and tell you what we'd do.

What NHTSA data actually shows

The 2021 Legacy has 31 owner complaints on file with NHTSA and 3 safety recalls. Of those complaints, 0 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 1 reported injuries. That's a low complaint count for a five-year-old model, and the crash test results are excellent: 5 out of 5 stars overall, with 5 stars in frontal, side, and rollover testing. The rollover probability sits at 10.1 percent.

But the recall situation is a mess. All three campaigns remain open. The worst is 24V227000, which covers a defective occupant detection sensor on the front passenger seat. If that sensor fails, the airbag may not deploy in a crash. NHTSA's consequence statement is blunt: "An air bag that does not deploy during a crash can increase the risk of injury." Dealers are supposed to replace the sensor free of charge, but parts availability has been a problem.

Airbags top the complaint list with 6 reports, followed by electrical system issues and visibility/wiper problems at 5 each. Engine and power train complaints sit at 2 apiece, and back over prevention rounds out the list with 2.

Owners are vocal about the recall delays. One filed this with NHTSA: "The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Legacy. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of..." Another wrote: "A Recall was issued Mar 22, 2024 for a dangerous safety issue. AN AIR BAG That Does NOT Deploy During A Crash CAN Increase THE Risk OF Injury. Remedy Dealers Will Replace THE ODS Sensors ON THE Front Passenger Seat, Free OF Charge. Interim Letters Informing..."

A third owner report captures the frustration of multiple unresolved issues: "ODS sensor recall still not fixed/remedy available, used heat for first time since i purchased the car, minor cracks in the windshield, car radio/monitors randomly go black, reverse camera won't work, restarts on there own after a while."

The other two open recalls involve the automatic transmission. Campaign 22V485000 addresses a drive chain that may slip and break, causing loss of drive power and increasing crash risk. Dealers will reprogram the transmission control unit, inspect for chain slip, and replace the transmission if damage is found. Campaign 23V755000 covers an inhibitor switch that may prevent reverse lights and the rearview camera from working, also increasing crash risk. The fix is a switch replacement.

Three open safety recalls on a five-year-old car is not normal. One involving airbags that may not deploy is a red flag you cannot ignore.

The math

Let's assume you still owe money on this car. If you financed $28,000 at 4.5 percent over 72 months back in 2021, you've made 60 payments of roughly $450 each. You have 12 months left, about $5,300 remaining on the loan, and you've already paid $27,000 toward principal and interest.

If you sell now, you exit before anything expensive breaks and before the recall situation gets worse. Let's say you can get $16,000 in a private sale (we're illustrating, not appraising). You pay off the $5,300 loan balance and pocket $10,700. You're out from under the recall liability, and you have cash to put toward something newer or more reliable.

If you keep the car, you make 12 more payments totaling about $5,400, then you own it free and clear. But you're still driving a car with three open safety recalls, and you're betting that nothing major breaks in the next few years. Transmission work on a Subaru with a CVT can run $4,000 to $7,000 if the recall remedy doesn't catch a problem in time. And you're assuming parts for the airbag recall eventually show up.

Here's a simple comparison:

The sell or keep decision usually hinges on whether the car is reliable and paid off. This one has question marks on both fronts.

What we recommend

Sell it. The airbag recall alone is disqualifying. You should not be driving around wondering whether your passenger-side airbag will work in a crash, and you should not be stuck waiting on a manufacturer to source parts for a safety defect that was identified in March 2024, more than two years ago. Add two transmission recalls on top of that, and you have a car that represents more risk than reward.

The low complaint count and excellent crash test scores are real positives, but they do not offset three unresolved recalls that directly affect crashworthiness and driveability. If you sell now, you walk away with equity, no recall liability, and the freedom to buy something without an open airbag campaign. If you keep it, you're hoping Subaru gets its act together and that the transmission holds up long enough to justify the gamble.

We would not make that bet. The market pulse for used sedans is stable enough that you will not get punished for selling a five-year-old Legacy, and you will sleep better knowing your next car's airbags actually work.

What would change our mind

If all three recalls were completed and the car had a clean bill of health from a Subaru dealer, we would reconsider. A Legacy with no open campaigns, low miles, and no history of transmission trouble could be worth keeping for another three to five years. The bones are good: the crash scores are top-tier, the complaint volume is low, and the platform is generally sound.

We would also feel differently if this were a 2019 or earlier model with all recalls already addressed. But it is not. It is a 2021 with three open safety campaigns, two of which involve the transmission and one of which involves a life-safety system that may not work when you need it.

If you have already paid off the car and you have no immediate need to sell, you could wait for recall completion and then reassess. But do not keep driving it with passengers until the airbag sensor is replaced. That is not a reasonable risk to take.

Bottom line

The 2021 Subaru Legacy earned 5 stars in every NHTSA crash test, has just 31 complaints on file, and shows no pattern of fires or crashes in owner reports. Those are all good things. But it also has three open safety recalls, one of which may leave your passenger without airbag protection in a crash, and owners report long delays getting parts. That is not acceptable.

Sell it now, take your equity, and buy something without an open airbag campaign hanging over your head. The math works, the risk profile does not, and you deserve better than a five-year wait for a safety fix that should have been handled in 2024. If Subaru cannot supply parts for a recall filed more than two years ago, that tells you everything you need to know about how much margin for error you have left in this ownership experience.

For more on weighing these decisions, see our refinance verdict and lease vs buy guides.

Safety figures on this page come from the NHTSA public complaint and recall database for the 2021 Subaru Legacy, retrieved 2026-09-12. Complaint counts reflect reports filed by owners and are not verified defect findings.