Used 2014 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews
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First subaru
fannibal, 02/09/2014
2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
41 of 41 people found this review helpful
I've had my car for 2 weeks and I absolutely love it! It is definitely a practical buy, so people looking for prestige/performance should look elsewhere. mpg is great, I am getting 28-30 in the first few hundred miles, even though I am mostly in 20-30mph traffic during most of my commute. I recently drove through a major snowstorm in the northeast and this thing performed wonderfully!
UPDATE 60,000 Mile Review ---> Now at 78,000 miles
Daxer, 09/09/2015
updated 03/16/2016
2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
68 of 69 people found this review helpful
This is an update to my earlier review posted on 09/09/15 (I got an email notice from Edmund asking me to do so, so what the heck). Apparently there's a word limit, which I'd reached with my first review, so please refer to that original post to see my full review although I'll touch on a couple of items mentioned earlier. It's been 6 months and another 18,000 miles since my first post (yes, I drive a lot of miles). Regarding the oil consumption issue: In my original post I mentioned my low-oil light came on for the first time at 51,500 which was about 1000 miles shy of the 52,500 scheduled maintenance interval. At that time I just changed the oil then and there. At the time of my post I was at 58,000, still in the "safe zone" on the dipstick, and wondering whether I'd see another low-oil light before the next 7500 interval. I did not. I've changed the oil twice since then; once I had to add oil, the other time I did not. So my oil change and oil consumption history to date has been: 0 - 45400: Oil changed roughly every 7500 miles. No excessive oil consumption (i.e. no low-oil light) during this period. 45400 - 51500: Low-oil light came on at 51,500 - changed oil early. 51500 - 59222: No low-oil light. 59222 - 66950: No low-oil light. 66950 - 74388: Low-oil light came on at 73,450 - added about 3/4 quart. 74388 - 77,980 (current): No low-oil light, oil level one-third down from top hole on dipstick. By the way: In January 2016 Subaru announced they were settling the class-action lawsuit regarding oil consumption: "Subaru has agreed to extend its 5 year, 60,000-mile warranty in respect to the alleged defect to an 8 year, 100,000-mile warranty. SOA will also reimburse certain expenses for vehicle repairs, rental cars, towing and the purchase of up to six quarts of oil per vehicle with appropriate proof." Moving on. The other issue I commented on in my first review was the lousy OEM tires and how I couldn't wait to change them, which I did at 65,000. I was down to 4/32s and started to hydroplane in moderate downpours so that was a no-brainer. With a fresh set of General Altimax RT43s grip and handling improved greatly, both in wet weather and especially in light snow (I put my snows back on in January). In fact, if anything these particular tires are a little too grippy as my mileage droped by a couple of mpgs but as I was getting great mileage beforehand I'm not too disappointed with this aspect of things. What I am a little disappointed with however was the new tires didn't improve the ride comfort. I've always felt my Forester rode a little harsh on rough roads and over bumps and railroad tracts, etc. I had attributed some of this to the lousy OEM tires and was hoping a change to fresh rubber would help. The ride has improved somewhat but I still feel more rough road than I'd like. One last testament conerning traction and winter driving: In late January, I had to venture down unplowed dirt roads the morning after a 10 inch snowfall (having by this time changed over to my second-year Goodyear UltraGrip Ice WRTs). Chewed through the fresh snow without incident. Amazing. Not much else to add to my original post, no other maintenance issues to speak of. I fear I'll need new brakes soon and not looking forward to that expense but I'll adhere to the schedule and hope to have my Subie for many more years.
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OIl problem fixed
Jonathan Patchett, 07/16/2015
updated 01/17/2017
2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
25 of 25 people found this review helpful
This was the original complaint, but see also new paragraph below. "Anyone buying this car should know that it will very likely use large amounts of oil. Subaru know about this, but do not mention it until the customer complains. Then they have an "oil consumption test", where the criteria to pass are ambiguous, but in essence if the car uses 0.33 quarts or less in 1200 miles, or can be argued to be in that ballpark of usage, they will not take any action. That criterion of 0.33 quarts in 1200 miles would leave the owner adding more than 1.5 quarts of oil between oil changes (synthetic oil, 6000 miles). The dealership appears to use any means available to avoid admitting there is a problem". Following settlement of a class-action lawsuit, the approach of the dealership seemed to reverse course. The service personnel then determined that our car failed a newly-conducted oil consumption test, even though the results seemed to us to be substantially the same as before. The dealership and Subaru America replaced the main part of the engine block (called the short block), and now the car loses very little oil, if any. We are now very pleased with the dealership, the outcome, and with the car.
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Constantly having to check engine oil
john749, 04/30/2014
2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
39 of 40 people found this review helpful
Ok. we do drive a lot of miles(33,000) in 1 year. We have car serviced every 5000 miles at our local Subaru dealer with Subaru products. Each time of service I buy 2 extra quarts of oil this will keep it full until next service.I have complained they(dealer) tell me it's normal consumption.No leaks. It does drive and ride well just a pain to keep up with the engine oil.We bought this car brand new and we don't abuse it.This is info for anyone thinking of buying the 14 forester 2.5.We buy a new car every 3 years not sure if we'll buy another Subaru.
2.0XT Touring is a high quality jem
autotimer, 01/02/2014
2014 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
19 of 19 people found this review helpful
I have owned this car for two months. It is really fun to drive. I drove the2.5i Limited first but when I drove the 2.0 XT I fell in love with it. I have sacrificed gas mileage but the smooth power and increased handling capabilities sold me. Then the dealer offered me a trade in price for my car I could not pass up. I had a Mazda CX5 which was a good car but my wife had problems getting in that car and its visibility was not great. The Forester solved those problems. There is a solid high quality feeling with the Forester. Each day I drive this car I feel the refinement of its build.
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