The Subaru GL draws 1.06 complaints per production run against 3.73 for the average car — better than typical. The worst model year is 1987 at 1.17 complaints per run; the best is 1988 at 1 — a 1.2-fold gap between two cars wearing the same badge. Failures cluster at 0 years, so only 0% of them fall inside the 3-year basic warranty.
Subaru GL years to avoid — and the best ones
The Subaru GL year to avoid is 1987, at 1.17 complaints per production run. The best is 1988 at 1 — 1.2 times cleaner for a car wearing the same badge. Both figures are rates, not totals: a raw count only tells you which year sold well, so the best-selling year always looks like the worst car. Dividing by the number of production runs strips sales volume out and leaves the fault rate.
| Model year | Per run | Complaints | Runs | Enough history? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 6 | 6 | yes | |
| 1988 | 6 | 6 | yes | |
| 1987 | 14 | 12 | yes | |
| 1986 | 12 | 11 | yes |
Among the 4 Subaru GL years with enough history, the three to walk away from are 1987, 1986, 1988; the three worth hunting are 1989, 1988, 1986. Anything marked «too new» sits outside the ranking on purpose — complaints keep arriving for a decade after a car is sold, so a 2026 build would look flawless next to a ten-year-old one and comparing them would be dishonest.
What actually fails — and at what age
Systems by number of complaints, with the age at which each typically goes. The age column is the useful one — it tells you what to expect next on a car you already own, and what to inspect on one you are about to buy.
| System | Complaints | Typical age | Crash | Fire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Belts | — | 1 | — | |
| Suspension | — | — | — | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | 2 | |
| Structure | — | — | — | |
| Wheels | — | — | — | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | — | 3 | — | |
| Service Brakes | — | — | — | |
| Hydraulic | — | — | — |
Good year or bad year — the VIN settles it.
- Check any VIN against complaints for its exact build year and plant
- Exact value for that car, adjusted for its mileage
- Full research report as a PDF you can hand to a mechanic
- Alerts if a recall lands on a car in your garage
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How we measure it
Reliability scores usually arrive as a number out of five with no working shown. The Subaru GL figure here comes out of 50 individual reports, and here is exactly how they were turned into a rate — two steps in it are arguable and you should be able to argue with them.
Rate, not total. Volume alone would decide the ranking, so we divide by the number of production runs — the distinct first-eleven-character VIN prefixes on record. The Subaru GL alone splits into 47 runs carrying 50 complaints — 1.06 per run against 3.73 for the market.
Age, not year. Incident date minus model year gives the age at failure, which is what the warranty question turns on. It is why our «worst year» rankings exclude anything built in the last 6 years — those cars simply have not had time to break yet.
What this is not. Filing with a federal regulator takes effort, so what you see are faults someone judged serious — not scratched paint, not running costs, not how nice the car is to live with. For the Subaru GL the file runs from 1981 to 1989, so the older years carry a full life of reports and the newest carry almost none.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Subaru GL reliable?
It draws 1.06 complaints per production run against 3.73 for the average car, so better than typical. Failures cluster around 0 years of age.
What are the best and worst years for the GL?
Worst is 1987 at 1.17 complaints per run; best is 1988 at 1. Years newer than 6 are excluded — they have not had time to accumulate complaints.
How long does a GL last?
Complaints reach their halfway point at 0 years. That is when faults start being reported in volume, not when the car stops — but it is the point at which ownership starts costing money.
Will the warranty cover it?
Basic cover is 3 years / 36,000 miles, and 0% of reported failures fall inside it. The rest are yours.
What fails most often?
Seat Belts with 15 complaints.
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