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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2014 Subaru Outback — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 208 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

208
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
14
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
2
Involved Fire
owner-reported
21
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Subaru Outback — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

360 complaints

652 complaints

292 complaints

297 complaints

208 complaints

509 complaints

642 complaints

917 complaints

813 complaints

1,035 complaints

899 complaints

296 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 38 reports
Engine 35 reports
Electrical System 32 reports
Power Train 25 reports
Unknown Or Other 22 reports
Service Brakes 22 reports
Steering 17 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 14 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 11445596 12/30/2021

my air bags didn't deploy when I hit a tree, and the seat belt gave loose. A police report was filed, and the car was evaluated by a collision center. The insurance company has not yet evaluated the vehicle. The air bag indicator light indicated the air bags were in good working order. I slid off the road in snow and hit a tree dead on and my entire front end crumpled, but my …

Visibility/wiper ODI 11291766 12/28/2019

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY WINDSHIELD CRACKED IN AN ARC PATTERN STARTING FROM THE DRIVERS SIDE TO PASSENGER SIDE RESULTING IN A PERFECT SYMMETRICAL PATTERN. IT WAS AROUND 10 DEGREES OUTSIDE AND THE VEHICLES DEFROST AND HEAT WERE ON HIGH. NO OBJECT HIT WINDSHIELD BEFORE CRACK FORMED. VERY LOUD CRACKING NOISE AND SLOW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT FORMATION. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE…

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 10816416 12/28/2015

I NEED TO PURSUE A CRITICAL PROBLEM THAT THE DEALER IS UNABLE TO RE-CREATE/SOLVE. APPROXIMATELY A DOZEN TIMES(10 BY MY WIFE AND 3 BY ME), WE'VE TURNED LEFT FROM A STOP(TYPICALLY AT A RED-LIGHT) ONLY FOR THE CAR TO STALL FROM 3 TO 6 SECONDS. THE 3 TIMES I WAS DRIVING, MY WIFE AND A GRANDCHILD WERE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE AND NARROWLY MISSED A DIRECT SIDE IMPACT. THE PROBLEM IS…

Engine ODI 10668476 12/27/2014

BRAND NEW CAR AND ENGINE BURNING OIL ISSUE: SUBARU OF GEORGETOWN, TX, DEALER TOLD ME THAT I DID NOT HAVE TO CHANGE THE OIL UNTIL I REACHED 7500 MILES ON MY BRAND NEW 2014 SUBARU OUTBACK. AT 4900 MILES, OIL PRESSURE AND LOW OIL LIGHTS CAME ON BRIEFLY, THEN TURNED OFF 30 MILES LATER. I DIDN'T CHECK THE LEVEL SINCE THE LIGHTS TURNED OFF. THEN 50 MILES LATER, BOTH TURNED ON AGAI…

Electrical System ODI 11498796 12/25/2022

I noticed when driving that my horn had stopped working. I am unsure if this is related to the airbag replacement or some other issue. The concern is that most people do not check their horns for functionality before it is really needed. I was able to get it repaired at a cost of 529.58

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2014 Subaru Outback, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2014 Subaru Outback reliable?
Owners have filed 208 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2014 Subaru Outback, most often about air bags. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Subaru Outback years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.