2014 Subaru Forester — Problems & Complaints
NHTSA has 403 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.
Subaru Forester — 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.
262 complaints
147 complaints
105 complaints
78 complaints
403 complaints
615 complaints
415 complaints
589 complaints
498 complaints
834 complaints
602 complaints
210 complaints
What Owners Complain About Most
Recent Owner Reports
I HAVE HAD IGNITION PROBLEMS TURNING OFF THE ENGINE AFTER STOPPING ALSO I HAVE TO KEEP PUTTING A QUART OF OIL IN WHEN THE OIL LIGHT COMES ON WHILE DRIVING
FAILURE OF THE CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION (CVT) IS A KNOWN AND DANGEROUS DEFECT FOR CERTAIN MODELS OF SUBARUS. SUBARU OF AMERICA ISSUED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY IN 2018 WHICH PARTIALLY ADDRESSED CVT PROBLEMS, BUT FELL SHORT OF A RECALL, WHICH IS WHAT CUSTOMERS DESERVE AND ARE OWED. ADDITIONALLY, THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY ONLY RECOGNIZED PROBLEMS WITH SPECIFIC CVT COMPONENTS, BU…
TAILGATE LIFT SUPPORT FAILURES- ON NOV 3, 2019, MY 2014 FORESTER WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. I OPENED THE TAILGATE AND ALLOWED MY DOG TO JUMP INTO THE BACK OF THE CAR. WHEN I CLOSED THE TAILGATE THERE WAS A LOUD METAL-ON-METAL CRUNCHING NOISE. I CAREFULLY OPENED THE TAILGATE AND THEN NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE TAILGATE LIFT SUPPORT WAS HANGING DOWN BECAUSE IT HAD SNAPPED O…
FAILED REAR WHEEL BEARINGS TWICE WITHIN 20,000 MILES. INCREASINGLY LOUD NOISE WHEN IN MOTION.
I had 2 accidents with this car. The first was on October 10, 2023. I pulled into a parking space and braked. I move forward a little more and braked again. The car suddenly accelerated and hit 2 vehicles parking across from me. My car was damaged, and one of the cars I hit was badly damaged, and the other had less damage. My 93 year old father was not injured. I had an in…
Recalls & Crash Tests
Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2014 Subaru Forester, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.
Problems Checker
Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.