Owners have filed 42 complaints on the Subaru Loyale, covering 1990–1994. The system named most often is Seat Belts (10 reports). Worst years by volume: 1992, 1993, 1990; cleanest: 1994, 1991, 1990. 5 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 5.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Subaru Loyale
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 42 Loyale complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Seat Belts 10 Read
Vehicle was involved in a collision , theseat belt on the drivers side did not properly restrain the driver, causing head and chest injuries
Vehicle was involved in an accident at approximately 20-25 mph. Upon impact, both front seat belts failed to lock into place. Both driver & passenger side seat belts sustained minor injuries. *ak
The drivers and front passenger shoulder belts did not restrain the occupants in an accident causing further injury. Please describe
Engine And Engine Cooling 9 Read
The nut worked loose off of the oil pump gear. The gear walked foward,eating thrugh the timing cover,finally wiping out the timing assembly. Final result - the engine lost oil pressure and the engine continued to run,causing the engine to seize in traffic.engine was a loss. This all could of been avoided if a lock nut…
This car has died on three occasions with no warning, and with one incident occuring on the interstate at 60+ mph. Dealer has been unable to diagnose the problem after multiple attempts. My concern is safety - this fortunately has so far not resulted in any injury. The dealer has not reported this to manufacturer -…
The vehicle has an oil leakage that is posing an ignition hazard
Power Train 7 Read
No summary
While traveling on highway and without prior warning engine check light came on dashboard. Also, transmission went out
Driving vehicle at 30 mph was exiting freeway when vehicle started shaking & vibrating; lost control of vehicle; put hazards on & pulled over; called & had vehicle towed to shrever's auto; informed it was front axle that broke
Tires 3 Read
The contact owns a 1992 subaru loyale. The spare tire was a nokian nordman (na), size 165/80r1383q (na) mud and snow tire. The spare tire was in the trunk of the vehicle and it had 21 bulges, three inches in height in the sidewall. The tire was not taken to a mechanic and had not been replaced. The current and failure…
Firestone tire (p185 70 r13) experienced tread separation
Out of the four new tires that were purchased two tires in the rear blewout while consumer was driving. Contacted dealer and they were not willing to do anything. Replacement tires, 50000 miles, p175/70r13, mounted on a subaru, royal, 1990. *ak consumer state tire side wall blew out. DOT. # mkev5bhr 195
Fuel System 2 Read
Vehicle hesitates, especially when cold
Fuel injection system failed during cold or humid weather, causing vehicle to lose power. Also eletrical system and power windows failed
Vehicle Speed Control 2 Read
While driving at any idle speed control module failed ,resulting in loss of power. Tt
Upon starting engine races up to 3000 RPM's for appox. 10 minutes before it settles down, dealer's made several attempts to correct, was told to live with it
Structure 2 Read
Hood flew open, and obstructed visibility. Tt
Pcv valve froze, causing engine to pump oil and damage valve train/rod bearings
Visibility 1 Read
The contact owns a 1994 subaru loyale. The contact stated that the sun visors were too small and as a result, were obstructing her view of the roadway. Due to the failure, the contact was involved in a crash where she sustained soft tissue damage to the left leg and minor bruising. The vehicle was destroyed and a…
Loyale years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Visibility | 1 | — | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1992 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | — | |
| 1991 | Power Train | 1 | — | |
| 1990 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 41 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.6 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Loyale?
By complaint volume, 1992, 1993, 1990 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Loyale years are the cleanest?
1994, 1991, 1990 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Subaru Loyale have?
42 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1990–1994. Of those, 5 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.