general problems of the 2014 Subaru Outback

My Subaru has some kind of electrical issues I was driving and car stopped would start again I had to towed to arts repair shop they said was starter put new starter in 400 dollars later says it wasn't starter some kind of electrical and they dont do that electrical service they recommend carlins automotive geico would not tow again I pd out of pocket they had it 2 days said could not figure it out put electrical meters on find nothing so decided to look at fuses again replaced #13 fuse said it started and thought was fixed (carry 15a fuses with me) picked up that day drove it stopped and drove got it home next morning taking older client and standed again, im [xxx] I take of seniors that dont have family I see no recalls kept reading said updated 2024 an 2025 electrical issue with engine everyone stumped could this be the recall on it or issue (you look look im not only out of a car clients are left without me no fuses work now. The service center said could be this or that I can't go on guesses im on limited income when you turn it on it tries to start stops try restart nothing no sound all lights on dash come it but no nothing to try and start Subaru never given me no problems at all please help I found the electrical issues on your site information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I purchased this vehicle in may 2024 within 2 months of purchase the eyesight function malfunctioned. I took it back to the dealership where I purchased it and they attempted to diagnose it at cost of parts and I ended up paying a few hundred dollars for that repair. That didn’t work and they offered to attempt something else but this was just guessing. Then a few months down the line I receive a post card in the mail for a ‘warranty extension’ on the exact issue I am having. I take it to the Subaru dealership once and they had me return a second time saying they couldn’t diagnose it at that time because the lights that appear on and off weren’t appearing for them. Returning a second time they said they were able to diagnose the issue but the warranty only covers 75%. The remaining 25% that’s left to me comes to $1098. 34. The issue I have with this is being it is a safety concern. The features eyesight provides are to be additional safety features. The biggest one being the cruise control that has gone out on me while using it. Going high velocity down the freeway using it and it shuts off completely, luckily I it hasn’t caused an accident and there hasn’t been anyone behind me when it happens and no one to close in front of me but this has happened on multiple occasions to myself, my boyfriend and most recently a friend when we went out of town when I didnt think to inform her of it. We no longer use the cruise control being it is scary and a risk to our safety. I have escalated to Subaru of America who says that it is a warranty extension to care for their customers but the representative I spoke with denied it being a known issue. He says the warranty expired in 2016 for my vehicle but Subaru extended it as to care for the customers. With that in mind I do not think I’m the only one with this issue and concern or else why would they put this extension out if they’re no just trying to be compensated and avoid a recall for the issue.

For several years, the nav/camera/radio screen goes black. Only turns back on when car is turned off and restarted, then does it again. It is available for inspection upon request. I almost ran into pedestrian at grocery store without backup camera and have had many more incidents like this. Dealership I visited won't look at it unless I pay. Independent Subaru service provider saw this and said to contact you to help with "service campaign" as other clients of his have mentioned same complaint. No warnings/messages prior to failure or patterns for when it happens. Just happens at random times while driving.

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.

The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while the vehicle was at a standstill when the contact saw the warning lights were flickering on and off. The contact parked the vehicle and went inside a store, when approximately 10 minutes later the vehicle was on fire. Fire marshals and police extinguished the fire and a report was taken; no one was injuried. The vehicle was then towed to an insurance lot where the contact is awaiting a diagnosis. The manufacturer was informed of failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Driving at highway speeds with over half a tank of gas and car just shut down, no warning lights, no noise just shut down and lost all control. Fortunately was able to safely move to shoulder. Sat there for a few minutes, called Subaru dealer (no suggestions though I now know there is a recall (NHTSA 21v587000) for an identical problem in newer Subaru Outbacks and also plenty of online sites suggesting this has happened to other Outbacks. Car restarted and we were able to complete our ride home, very scary to think of what could have happened if we were in a different situation of traffic or highway conditions.

Horn malfunctions. Press horn on steering wheel is dead silent. However, if I enable the panic button on key, the alarm sounds. When I start the car after pressing panic button, the horn I steering wheel works. Sporadic operation.

The roll connector harness failed, and use of the horn was disabled. It is due to the mechanical steering of the vehicle, and fails over time. As a multiple Subaru owner this has been a topic of safety with most of the owners with 2014 Subarus. Subaru changed the design/engineering of this part in 2016 due to the concern. Because they won't issue a recall, and the cost of repair is high ($400+), mainly due to the location of the part, many will not fix the issue. There is no way to warn other drivers or deer without use of the horn. This has put me in harm's way multiple times until I finally got it fixed. I have contacted my dealer who says it is one of the more common issues they see with this year and probably 2015 as well. It needs to be recalled so everyone with this problem can get their cars fixed instead of Subaru charging for a known problem and making money over safety.

The rear view camera was not designed or manufactured properly and it allows moisture to get into the camera itself. After a while the camera with fuzzy picture and eventually you can not view things properly or see them at all. There are many other complaints by others on the internet. This makes it unsafe to back the car up if trying to use the camera to assist in clearing the path especially at night.

1. Rear liftgate will not open when using remote or sensor on vehicle. Only way to open is to crawl from inside to the back, pop a lid and then maneuver latch release. No way to open liftgate from outside the vehicle. I'm 66 and disabled. 2. Excessive oil use reported by technicians during oil change.

Hvac fan control switch and connector melted.

The back-up camera started flickering when backing in parking lot. That happened twice. The next time it completely stopped working when backing out of driveway. The screen doesn't even show that I'm backing-up.

My back-up camera completely stopped working. The car doesn't even switch into a mode where I can see the camera when I shift the car into reverse; it stays on whatever screen it was on. Nothing happened to the vehicle, it just quit working yesterday afternoon.

Spontaneous engine fire while driving - Mar 07,2019 - 2014 Subaru Outback with current maintenance and no prior history of malfunction. During a 2. 1 mile drive on city streets electrical disturbances of the radio/media console were noted, followed shortly thereafter by black smoke from under the hood. The car was immediately pulled to the side of the road. Upon exiting the car, the smoke had become white and flames were noted under the car. The front of the car soon became engulfed in flames. The entire front of the car was burnt/melted. No one was injured.

Rear tail running light bulbs inside the lift/tail gate were burnt out and when replacing the bulbs the plastic housing the bulbs press into were charred and cracked. I fear this is a potential fire hazard given the state of charring. My vehicle did not experience a fire, but I am submitting this complaint in case similar vehicles have caught fire from this area.

Electronic parking brake actuator failed. When this occurs you can't use the parking brake and the eyesight safety equipment does not work. This occurs at startup, when the vehicle goes through it's diagnostic checks. Car has stranded us twice with the brake not allowing us to disengage. Eventually, after starting car multiple times or removing battery, it will work briefly to allow to disengage. Now we don't set the parking brake, or use the eyesight. Subaru has recalled their manual transmission models with this issue, but not the automatic transmission models.

Vehicle is stopped, transmission is in park and ignition key can not be removed after turning vehicle off. Jiggling the transmission shifter seems to fix the issue.

For the past few days, my vehicle many times hesitates for at least 3-5 seconds when trying to accelerate from a stop/rest at a stop light, almost cause accident when trying to enter into an intersection. It seems to happen around 2000 - 3000/rpm. The car even exhibited slight jerky when at the start of accelerating up a slight sloppy hill. This is serious issue as accident is imminent when the car has no acceleration when trying to get going in traffic. . Read more...

On 3/22/15 while approaching a stop sign the electric parking brake locked on at 10 mph. After pulling off to the side of the road and releasing and applying the parking brake several times it finally released while the check engine and flashing brake light remained on. After shutting the vehicle off for 10 minutes the system reset to normal. The system remained normal until arriving at a Subaru dealer on 3/24/15 when the same problem occurred. The dealer took control, identified and replaced a relay and several sensors. The car performed normal until 4/1/15 when the same problem occurred while traveling 25 mph. After stopping and releasing and applying the parking brake several times the system reset but the check engine, brake and cruise control lights remained steady or flashing. After letting the vehicle set for a period of time the system reset itself. Another appointment has been made at the dealer for 4/6/15. The concern is that if the parking brake locks at high speed or in heavy traffic it could cause a serious accident.

Zero oil pressure (red) indicator light illuminated at safe and prudent operating speed. Low oil indicator light (yellow) never illuminated. Light remained on for three miles, one at speed 55 mph to zero and two at 20 mph. Then went out. Inspection of oil level showed level approximately one centimeter above low level marker on dipstick. Addition of . 5 quart us raises level to approximately one centimeter below full level marker on dipstick. Vehicle returned to dealership; had full oil service performed 2,500 miles ahead of scheduled service. Dealership claims "sensor resistance is high, will r&r. " dealer failed to provide empirical oil pressure psi reading despite request. Part replacement yet to be done.

This is an update: dealer called us to have alice dickey drive the car with a service technician present ( tech named alex) car was driven aprox 5-6 miles without incident . . . System did not fault. Dealer told us they have been on the phone with Subaru tech center & completed all the test procedures but have not been able to duplicate any of the brake-check/ engine faults experienced 3 on 5/22 or 1 on 5/23/2014. Scott spath service coordinator is not certain what else can be done at the dealership. We asked if the vehicle was safe once the system faulted & the electronic stabilization & traction control system are shut down ( as a result of the fault). I asked them not to guess when they answered this question. Dealership has decided to keep the car an additional day for additional testing. They are trying to get the system to fault while under test procedure. The dealership appears to have exhausted all the standard procedures to determine root cause. It seems Subaru factory must get involved with this vehicle beyond the dealership telephone calls. Our concern is a vehicle will be returned to us in an condition which may prove to be unsafe. . . Since they have done all they can on the telephone.

The electronic parking brake engages while the vehicle is underway. When the fault is cleared and driving resumes the electronic parking brake again engages. The mfg ( Subaru) provides a small tool & instructions how to crawl under the car, use the tool to mechanically release the electric parking brake. If a tool is provided along with instructions in the owner manual how to release a faulty electronic parking brake ( which may engage while the vehicle is under way ) this is a clear warning of a possible unsafe operating condition. The car had to be towed to the dealership for repair. The dealership tells us ( this parking brake problem has never happened) the tow truck operator tells us towing vehicles to dealerships because of faulty electronic parking brakes is a major part of his business.

This is the second incident where the electric parking brake light indicates the brake has been set & not released. The car was towed into dealership yesterday (5/22/2014) for same reason. Dealer stated they spoke with Subaru & were unable to find any reason for the fault. They stated computer indicated the brakes were not engaged but that this same system does disable the electronic stability control when this fault occurs. We are very concerned the vehicle is safe to drive despite the assurances of the service manager ( alex) that the vehicle is safe (no worries). The instrument light on the panel also flashes "check engine light at the same time light flashes indicating parking brake has been set & not released.