2014 Subaru Outback Problems, Recalls & Reliability
276 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2014 Subaru Outback, alongside 10 recall campaigns and 0 defect investigations. It scores 25/100 on the trouble index — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Airbags leads the reports, typically around 45,500 miles.
Typical
Where 2014 sits among all Outback years
What owners report
“Passenger airbag sensor malfunctions after about five minutes of on the road driving with a passenger in the vehicle”— owner report to NHTSA, 2014 Outback
“4 headlamps changed. 2 fog lamps, both front marker lights, both rear stop lights and turn signals. Unit was purchased in may of 2014 from dealer showroom. I have changed more lights on this vehicle than my last 5 cars combined. Is there an electrical or wiring issue here?”— owner report to NHTSA, 2014 Outback
“My subaru outback 2014 has 50,000 miles, low oil light comes up about 4000 miles after oil change. Subaru manual said that is 7500 miles between oil change. Subaru dealer performs oil consumption test. Subaru dealer told me it is normal and that i have to add oil if low oil light come up. I feel…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2014 Outback
“4 year old car's transmission went up at 114,000. Although there was a warranty extension because of the transmissions, subaru did not do a recall on the faulty transmission. Now they are quoting us $9000 for a new transmission.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2014 Outback
“When driving the transmission will slip out of gear not allowing you to accelerate and then it will go back into gear shifting into gear extremely hard. Not safe for highway driving”— owner report to NHTSA, 2014 Outback
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 193 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 32,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 8,800 and 65,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (10)
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of…
Fix: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7,…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of…
Fix: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of…
Fix: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition…
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition switch, replacing the ignition switch, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 10, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine,…
Fix: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of…
Fix: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi,…
Fix: Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. The electronic parking brake (EPB) may not engage as intended, allowing the vehicle to rollaway if the transmission is not…
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the EPB actuator assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614.…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Legacy vehicles manufactured November 26, 2008, to June 7, 2013, and 2010-2014 Outback vehicles manufactured January 9, 2009 to June 7, 2013. Due to contamination, components within…
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the windshield wiper motor bottom cover assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at…
Subaru of America is recalling certain model year 2014 Legacy 3.6R and Outback 3.6R and 2013 Tribeca vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through June 28, 2013 and equipped with 5-speed automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the parking rod may…
Fix: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission, free of charge. The recall began during August 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's recall number is…
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2014 Subaru Outback reliable?
The 2014 Subaru Outback drew 276 complaints in federal safety records — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Its trouble index is 25/100, scored against the model's worst year (2019).
What are the most common 2014 Subaru Outback problems?
The top reported problems for the 2014 Subaru Outback are airbags (41 complaints), electrical (39), and engine (36).
At what mileage do 2014 Subaru Outback problems show up?
Owners most often report 2014 Subaru Outback problems around 32,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 8,800 and 65,000 miles.
Does the 2014 Subaru Outback have recalls?
10 recall campaigns apply to the 2014 Subaru Outback. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.