Two problems related to side/window air bag have been reported for the 2014 Subaru Forester. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2014 Subaru Forester based on all problems reported for the 2014 Forester.
When turning on the car or while driving, a notification appears on the display indicating the passenger side airbag is off. Also a light illuminates on the dash indicating the same thing. This has happened 4-5 times in the last few months. The notifications/light usually stay on for the duration of the trip. It happens both when there is someone in the passenger seat and when the seat is empty. The dealer found a stored ods sensor code but since the light wasn't on the day I brought it in they wouldn't go further with correcting the issue. 2015-2018 Foresters currently have a recall for this issue. I believe my 2014 Forester to be affected by the same issue. ## #vpic# 1 - check digit (9th position) does not calculate properly; 4 - VIN corrected, error in one position only (indicated by ! in suggested VIN), multiple matches found; 14 - unable to provide information for all the characters in the VIN. #vpic#.
According to media reports "there's an electrical connection under the passenger seat that may loosen over time, according to Subaru. That connection is necessary for the detection system to function. Subaru says that only cars equipped with heated front seats are subject to this recall, as those are the only ones equipped with the specific harness where this would be possible. " the recall in question applies to 2015 Subaru Foresters. However,my 2014 Forester IA a mid year model that has front passenger side air bags and seat heaters. The recall should be extendeded to the 2014 model.