AI Damage1989 Subaru GL: common problems
Owners of the 1989 Subaru GL filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, most often about seat belts and vehicle speed control. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 9
- involving a crash
- 2
What fails most often
- 1 Seat belts 56% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 22% of all complaints
- 3 Powertrain 11% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 11% of all complaints
- Seat belts: 5 complaints (56% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 2 complaints (22% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 1 complaints (11% of all).
- Service brakes: 1 complaints (11% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 9 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belts | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Failure on the transmission when the vehicle was put in reverse the vehicle suddenly accelearated causing the consumer to have an accident.
Stopped at stop sign all of a sudden car just accelerated,caused accident. Tt
As of spring of 01 and less than 12,000 miles later the brakes have self destructed do to rust. Never have we had this problem with this car before. Only since recent year subaru brake assemblies have been installed. Subaru is not standing behind this.
The automatic transmission linkage lock out failed. (that is the component that prevents shifting from nuetral to reverse faild and the car went into reverse from nuetral.
The front passenger side seat belt buckle when latched the buckle came loose . Tt
Front passenger automatic seatbelts inoperative, belts stuck on track and won't move up or down. Tt
Ask for ext 597. Front and rear passenger seat belt engages and releases intermittently. Tt
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 11,366 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 31% most complained about).
On average one model year of the GL has 7 complaints (11 years in the data). This year has 9, above average.
What to check before buying
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1989 Subaru GL?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: seat belts, vehicle speed control, powertrain. Total complaints: 9. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: seat belts (44%), rust, corrosion (11%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1989 Subaru GL?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1989 Subaru GL from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1989 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.