2014 Subaru Outback Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe slow or missing response when accelerating from a stop, and many report the engine using oil between changes, sometimes enough to turn on the low-oil light well before the next service. Complaints also cover the backup camera and other electrical items going dark, and several parking-brake complaints; reports come in from near-new mileage up past 100,000 miles.

1. 1
   Vehicle speed control

   Hesitation or delayed response when accelerating from a stop

   • 22 complaints (11%)
   • median 15,000 mi at 1.5 yrs old (21 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2014–2020

   Owners describe pressing the accelerator from a stop or at low speed and getting no response for a few seconds, followed by a sudden surge forward. Many say it happens most when pulling out or turning left into traffic, and some report it while already driving at speed. According to complaints, dealers often could not duplicate the condition, described it as a design characteristic of the CVT, or applied computer updates without a lasting change. Reported from very low mileage up to about 90,000 miles, often in city or stop-and-go driving.

   What to check: Drive the car from a dead stop several times, including a turn into traffic, and see whether throttle response feels delayed. Ask whether any transmission or throttle software updates have been applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “3 to 15 second hesitation in throttle response. Last incident nearly resulted in a collision. I stopped waiting for traffic to clear before making an left turn. Made the left turn, gently applied the throttle pedal, no response, pushed it to maximum travel, still no response, car coming toward me in oncoming lane, then my car suddenly accelerated so that a collision was avoided. City 2 lane street, turning left.”

   NHTSA complaint #11173783, filed 2019-02, 91,000 miles

   “Multiple incidents of lag when driving slowly into cross traffic or from a dead stop that sometimes last up to several seconds that has resulted in some very close calls in heavy traffic. The worst times have been while making a left turn across traffic when you are creeping out and try to accelerate and nothing happens! I have called the dealer and taken it into the dealer and they tell me it is a design flaw in their CVT transmission and that there is no fix at present. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10654170, filed 2014-11, 500 miles
2. 2
   Engine

   Engine oil consumption between changes

   • 27 complaints (13%)
   • median 37,953 mi at 3.8 yrs old (22 state mileage)
   • filed 2014–2022

   Owners report the low-oil light coming on well before the next scheduled change, needing to add oil more often as mileage accumulates, and in some cases oil found at or near the low mark on the dipstick. Complaints describe oil leaking from the cam carriers and upper oil pan and a burning oil smell. Dealers are said to have run oil consumption tests, replaced oil level sensors, or told owners the usage was normal. Reported from roughly 15,000 to 170,000 miles, with several owners noting it starting early in ownership and worsening with age.

   What to check: Check the oil level and smell it for a fuel odor, ask how often oil was added between changes, and ask whether an oil consumption test was ever performed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have a 2014 Subaru Outback with an excessive oil consumption issue. Subaru recently settled the class action for the same issue for several vehicle models but not my vehicle is included. My vehicle has shown the excessive oil consumption issue when I drove about 50k miles. I went to Subaru dealership, Subaru imports of troy in mi, for the issue but they just refilled the oil when I asked them to check it. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11308094, filed 2020-02, 49,000 miles

   “At approximately 29000 mileage on the my 2014 Subaru Outback, I was driving on the highway and the oil level lamp illuminated. I pulled over and checked the oil level and found it to be not readable on the dipstick. I added a quart, which brought the level to half. I then reported to the dealer, beardmore Subaru in bellevue, ne. They updated the software and replaced the oil level switch. They also initiated a an oil consumption test and I have to return in 1200 miles to have level recorded. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10817426, filed 2016-01, 29,000 miles
3. 3
   Brakes

   Electronic parking brake warning and engagement problems

   • 34 complaints (16%)
   • median 14,500 mi at 2.0 yrs old (28 state mileage)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2014–2023

   Owners report the parking brake light staying on or the brake failing to release, sometimes leaving the car unable to move until it is restarted several times or the battery is disconnected. Some complaints describe the electronic stability control being disabled at the same time, and others describe the car rolling after being left parked. Dealer responses described in the complaints ranged from no fault found to advice not to use the parking brake. Reported from under 1,000 miles to about 115,000 miles, often noticed at startup during the system's self-check.

   Recall 18V626000

   What to check: Cycle the parking brake on and off a few times on a slope and confirm the light goes out, and ask whether the parking brake campaign for manual-transmission cars was ever applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On january 1st and again on january 3rd after vehicle was parked at least 5 hours, I came out of building and vehicle had rolled 2 feet forward from where I originally parked it. Went and talked with patrick motors where I had purchased the car new. Service foreman said never heard of that. He said make appt. And they will see if it rolls. I then talked with Subaru of america and was told the same thing. I left the car for 2 days and it did not roll. Now have been told nothing can be done until it rolls there. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10946210, filed 2017-01, 25,200 miles

   “I have change my emergency breaks. However.keep the light on.idid take to Subaru dealer and they toll me not uses the emergency break..samething is wrong..”

   NHTSA complaint #11338130, filed 2020-07, 80,000 miles
4. 4
   Electrical system

   Backup camera flickers or stops working

   • 10 complaints (5%)
   • median 85,500 mi at 5.2 yrs old (8 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2018–2024

   Complaints describe the reverse camera flickering and then going to a black screen or staying on the previous display when reverse is selected. Some owners link it to moisture reaching the camera or its wiring in wet conditions. According to the complaints, diagnosis and repair were typically handled at the owner's expense. Mostly reported between about 39,000 and 142,000 miles, several owners noting the problem appeared in wet weather.

   What to check: Shift into reverse and confirm the camera image appears clearly on the screen, and look for fogging or corrosion around the rear camera lens and wiring.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “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.”

   NHTSA complaint #11306786, filed 2020-02, 98,000 miles

   “Rearview camera stopped working. It appears to be in wet climate, moisture is penetrating through the rear view camera and corrosion happens to camera wiring and stops to display the image while taking reverse/back. Camera does not display any image (black screen) but shows only the colored lines. Its been noticed that its happening in most of the outbacks, kindly verify and recommend for necessary recall notice as this relates to safety feature which comes as standard feature.”

   NHTSA complaint #11113849, filed 2018-07, 39,000 miles

Buying note. Have a mechanic check oil consumption history and the parking brake operation before purchase, and confirm any open airbag or parking brake campaigns were completed. A short test drive with several stops from rest will show whether the slow-throttle behavior feels acceptable to you.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.