Home · 2014 Subaru Xv Crosstrek · Complaints

What 106 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Subaru Xv Crosstrek

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (106)Crash / fire / injury (16)Electrical system (22)Transmission & drivetrain (20)Brakes (14)Engine (13)Airbags (9)Speed control (7)Steering (7)Visibility & wipers (7)Body & structure (6)Lights (5)

7 of 106 complaints match · Speed control · clear filters

Mar 13, 2023Speed controlBrakes

The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving approximately 30-40 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly, and then decelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while reversing into a parking spot the following day. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 102,600.

NHTSA ODI 11511551

Feb 19, 2021Speed controlBrakesCrash

UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WHILE PARKING. APPLIED BRAKES BUT CAR KEPT ACCELERATING HITTING CARPORT COLUMN AT CANCER CENTER BRINGING ROOF DOWN ONTO CAR. CAR WAS TOTALED, NO INJURIES.

NHTSA ODI 11397033

Dec 14, 2018Speed controlEngineCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU CROSSTREK. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS ATTEMPTING TO PARK THE VEHICLE, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY REVVED AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO A CONCRETE BARRIER. THE DEALER (DELLA SUBARU, 5105 U.S. AVE, PLATTSBURGH, NY 12901, (518) 324-8400) DENIED ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA ODI 11161315

Jul 7, 2017Speed control

I WAS DRIVING ON THE TURNPIKE, ALL MY DASH LIGHTS WENT ON, & THE CAR STARTED BUCKING LIKE AN UNBROKEN HORSE AT 70 MILES AN HOUR WHILE I WAS SURROUNDED BY TRACTOR TRAILERS. I MANAGED TO GET HOME BY SWITCHING THE CAR TO MANUAL SHIFTING. TAKING THE CAR TO THE SUBARU DEALER, I WAS TOLD BY THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT: 1. THAT RODENTS HAD EATEN PARTIALLY THROUGH MY SPEED SENSOR WIRE AND IT FINALLY COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED WHILE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY. THE SPEED SENSOR WIRE IS WHAT TELLS THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT. 2. THAT THEY SEE THIS PROBLEM AT LEAST 1 TO 2 TIMES A DAY!! 3. THAT THE SENSOR WIRE IS COATED WITH PEANUT OIL!!! (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) 4. THAT IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER MY 6 YEAR, 600,000 MILE EXTENDED WARRANTY PURCHASED IN ADDITION TO THE VEHICLE. AND YES, THE WIRE WAS REPLACED WITH THE EXACT SAME WIRE WHICH THEY CANNOT GUARANTEE THIS WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN. THE DEALER'S SOLUTION: MOTHBALLS AROUND MY CAR EVERY TIME I PARK ANYWHERE OR URINATE AROUND MY CAR. HUMANS ARE APPARENTLY THE BEST 'PREDATOR' TO DETER RODENTS. MY 16 YEAR OLD SON IS LEARNING TO DRIVE & I HAD BEEN TEACHING HIM TO DRIVE ON MY SUBARU BELIEVING IT TO BE THE SAFER OF MY FAMILY'S VEHICLES. HE WOULD HAVE PANICKED ON THE HIGHWAY IF THAT HAPPENED TO HIM AND SOMEONE WOULD BE HURT, IF NOT DEAD. AS IT WAS, WITH 20 YEARS PLUS EXPERIENCE DRIVING, IT WAS STILL A SHOCK AND HAD THE TRACTOR TRAILER I PASSED RIGHT BEFORE THE CAR WENT CRAZY NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION OR BEEN TIRED, THAT TRUCK WOULD HAVE HIT MY CAR AT 70 MILES AN HOUR. UNFORTUNATELY, MY 'DAMAGES' FROM THE ORDEAL ARE ONLY MY $100 INSURANCE DEDUCTIBLE AND SOME TIME OFF WORK, SO I DON'T MAKE A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR A SUIT AGAINST SUBARU. THE CONCERN IS IN WEIGHING COST VERSUS BENEFITS, THE CAR MANUFACTURERS WILL WAIT TO CHANGE ANYTHING UNTIL ENOUGH PEOPLE GET HURT OR DIE TO MAKE IT COST EFFECTIVE TO CHANGE THEIR PRACTICES. PLEASE DO SOMETHING!

NHTSA ODI 11003555

Jun 29, 2015Speed controlCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU XV CROSSTREK. WHILE BACKING THE VEHICLE INTO THE GARAGE, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED RAPIDLY AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE BEAM. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000.

NHTSA ODI 10730961

May 26, 2015Speed controlCrash

I WAS IN A CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY OF A LARGE APARTMENT COMPLEX GETTING READY TO PARK AND WAIT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL. THERE WAS A CAR IN FRONT OF ME SO I WAS PREPARING TO PARK WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR WENT FULL THROTTLE. IT DID NOT RESPOND TO PRESSING ON THE BRAKE. I HAD THE CHOICE OF EITHER HITTING THE PERSON IN FRONT OF ME OR TURNING INTO A 15 INCH VERTICAL ROCK WALL WHICH SERVED AS A RETAINING WALL FOR A RAISED BED AND WAS ABOUT 10 FEET TO MY RIGHT. I CHOSE THE LATTER. THE CAR WAS GOING SO FAST THAT THE FRONT TWO WHEELS CLIMBED THE VERTICAL WALL AND THE TWO FRONT TIRES ENDED IN THE RAISED BED. THE LEFT HEAD LIGHT HIT A CORNER POST AND THE CAR STOPPED. IT WAS THE SCARIEST 5 SECONDS OF MY LIFE. I HAVE A GOOD DRIVING RECORD BUT KNOW THAT I AM NOT BEYOND DRIVER'S ERROR. HOWEVER I AM CONVINCED IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE WHEN THE CAR WAS HARDLY MOVING, THE WEATHER PERFECT, THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR THE ACCIDENT IS UNINTENDED ACCELERATION BY THE VEHICLE ITSELF. THIS WAS THE 7TH SUBARU OWNED BY MY HUSBAND OR ME. I AM A FAN OF THE BRAND AND KNOW THE CAR WELL. IF I HAD WANTED THE CAR TO CLIMB THAT VEHICLE WALL I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT. I AM JUST VERY FORTUNATE THAT I DID NOT HIT ANYONE ELSE OR HURT MYSELF. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP WHERE IT WAS REPAIRED. DAMAGES TOTALED ALMOST $8000 AND MAINLY CONSISTED OF REPAIRING THE HOOK, FENDER, DRIVER'S DOOR, HEADLIGHTS, GRILL, AND RADIATOR. FOLLOWING THE REPAIR MY INSURANCE COMPANY TOWED THE CAR TO MY SUBARU DEALERSHIP WHERE DIAGNOSTICS WERE DONE AND SEVERAL FIELD TESTS CONDUCTED. NO PROBLEM WAS DETECTED. BECAUSE I DID NOT TRUST THE VEHICLE I TRADED IT BACK WITH FULL DISCLOSURE AT A SUBSTANTIAL LOSS TO SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND BROUGHT A SLIGHTLY USED 2015 FORESTER. I ALSO FILED A REPORT WITH SUBARU OF AMERICA.

NHTSA ODI 10721509

Dec 18, 2014AirbagsSpeed controlCrash1 injury

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU XV CROSSTREK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A MEDIAN AND TWO PARKED VEHICLES. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES THAT DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000.

NHTSA ODI 10667115

Working with the data? Download all 106 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2014 Subaru Xv Crosstrek verdict →