CarComplaints.com Notes: Is burning a quart of oil every 1,000 miles normal? Depends on who you ask. While Subaru says it's within "normal specifications," owners wonder why they need to top off their oil reservoir 4 times between every 5,000 mile oil change.

5.6

fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
$300
Average Mileage:
58,750 miles
Total Complaints:
5 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (5 reports)
2014 Subaru Forester electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2014 Subaru Forester:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2014 Subaru Forester Owner Comments

problem #5

Oct 242018

Forester

  • Automatic transmission
  • 69,200 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Hill assist, traction control, ABS lights come on and turn of sporadically for no reason. Went to an auto mechanic to get a diagnostic test today, 11/7/2018. They said they tried but could not communicate with the cars' computer. The electrical system says the car isn't running but it was. They said to take it to the Subaru dealership. Have not gone yet.

Also, when we got there to the mechanic the lights on the dash were not on, so they said it couldn't be tested unless they were on. We left and came back 5 minutes later because the lights came on. If you have this problem make sure to go with the 3 dash lights on, and when you get to the dealership keep the engine running, because they most likely will disappear if you cut off the engine and restart.

- Heather M., The Villages Fl, US

problem #4

Apr 302018

Forester Limited 2.5i

  • CVT transmission
  • 94,500 miles

Went to dealer to check engine codes. Dealer said I had several codes (several pages worth) - could not tell what was recent codes. They cleared codes and I went on my way. Dealer said if car acts funny again, to come back. Dealer said could be surge in battery ???

- fnpmfcc7732wx7, Manchester, nh, US

problem #3

May 042016

Forester

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,000 miles

So I bought our second 2014 Subaru Forester after 9 Months of seeing my wife's car perform. We needed to go over the cascades often as my son was in his first year of college at WSU. The car handled great, it got amazing gas mileage and the room was great for hauling stuff back and forth. This solidified my decision to get a second one. But now this means we are getting 2 times the problems. My wife's car started to have problems with the warnings coming on saying Hill Assist needs to be checked, and ABS not working. Then my two front doors locks stopped working. These are both the same problems she is having. I'm surprised that there aren't recalls on these issues and the dealer acts like they have never seen these problems. But I have two 2014 Subaru Foresters and they both have the same problems.

- Brian F., Snohomish, wa, US

problem #2

Mar 022016

Forester

  • Automatic transmission
  • 40,000 miles

We started getting the message HILL ASSIST NEEDS TO BE CHECKED, ABS NOT WORKING. This was concerning at first but when I googled the issue it said it was an electrical short but did not effect the driving of the car. Then the message started to appear and would lock in gear and wouldn't release until you pumped the breaks. This was annoying, but got worse as it then would lock in gear and not release. We had to use the emergency gear release located under the small tab on top of the gear shift and had to place a thin screw driver down it to get it to release so we could drive the vehicle. Took it to the dealer and they said they didn't know of the issue but were able to fix for $300. After that was fixed the front door locks stopped working. This has not been fixed yet.

- Brian F., Snohomish, wa, US

problem #1

Jan 092017

Forester

  • CVT transmission
  • 54,000 miles

A series of small issues has lead me to believe that this vehicle has some sort of electrical issues. I have had the same start problems as others who have left complaints. No matter the weather, randomly it cranks for an exaggerated length of time and finally, last week, it wouldn't start at all and the battery had to be replaced. On top of this, I have replaced 4 various bulbs on the car, the fuse for the lighter/phone charger outlet had to be replaced, the remote start doesn't work and now the horn doesn't work. I test drove this car a few times and in hindsight, the salesman always had the car running for me when I got into it. Hmmmm. Time to look for a different car, just not sure if I am going to give Subaru another shot. Very disappointed. I really did love the car and always said I would buy another one in a heartbeat but this is just getting annoying.

- reviewreader40, Buffalo, NY, US

Not what you are looking for?