I HAVE OWNED AND DRIVEN THIS SUBARU SINCE JULY 06 AND HAVE DRIVEN IT THROUGH 5 NORTHERN ILLINOIS WINTERS. TODAY WAS OUR FIRST SNOWFALL THIS SEASON AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE CAR EXHIBITS VERY "UN-NERVING" HANDLING QUALITIES IN VERY LIGHT SNOW ROAD CONDITIONS. SOMETHING HAS CHANGED TO MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I WILL LOOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT WANTS TO FISHTAIL OUT OF CONTROL AT ANY SPEED OVER 30 MPH. STRANGE "WANDERING" BEST DESCRIBES IT.IT FEELS LIKE I'M DRIVING IN DEEP RUTS OF HEAVY ROAD SNOW THAT WANTS TO PULL THE CAR INTO THE RUTS BUT THE ROAD IS BARELY COVERED. ON TWO LANE ROADS IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR COULD EASILY CROSS THE CENTER LINE BECAUSE OF THIS ODD STEERING FEEDBACK I FEEL ON SLICK SNOW COVERED ROAD CONDITIONS. I DON'T FEEL IT IN RAIN CONDITIONS. IT HAS "NEVER" FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE. THE REAR STRUTS WERE REPLACE LAST SUMMER WITH OEM STRUTS. THE CAR HAS NEVER HAD AN ALIGNMENT BUT HAS ALWAYS TRACKED DOWN THE ROAD VERY STRAIGHT. TIRE WEAR IS EVEN AND TIRES HAVE BEEN ROTATED MULTIPLE TIMES. TIRES ARE BRIDGESTONE TURANZA SERENITY WITH 66K AND BEEN THROUGH 3 WINTERS BEFORE WITH NO HANDLING ISSUE. ONCE I NOTICED ON THIS SITE THAT MANY OUTBACK OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME SYMPTOM, I KNEW I NEEDED TO GET THIS POSTED IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT. I'M NOW AT LEAST ON RECORD WITH MY "HANDLING CONCERN COMPLAINT" AND SUBARU OF AMERICA CAN'T SAY MY CONCERN WAS NEVER ADDRESSED WITH THE NHTSA. A CAR SHOULD NEVER DISPLAY THE KIND OF HANDLING ISSUES THAT MAKES IT FEEL UNSAFE TO DRIVE IN LIGHT WINTER CONDITIONS. P.S. I TOOK MY SON'S HONDA CRV WITH 198 K FOR A TEST DRIVE IN THE SAME CONDITIONS TODAY,ON THE SAME ROADS AND FOUND ITS HANDLING VERY PREDICTABLE. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THESE OUTBACKS ? *TR
2013
WHEELS
YOUR MANDATE FOR THE USE OF TPMS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF GOVERNMENT GOOD INTENTIONS RESULTING IN LITTLE BENEFIT AND UNNECESSARY COST TO CONSUMERS. I WANT TO RUN WINTER TIRES ON OUR SUBARU AND PLANNED TO PURCHASE THE TIRES ON WHEELS EQUIPPED WITH TPMS SENSORS. HOWEVER, THE ONLY WAY TO RE-SET THE SENSORS IS TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE SUBARU DEALER AND PAY $90 IN THE FALL WHEN THE WINTER SET GOES ON AND TO PAY ANOTHER $90 IN THE SPRING WHEN THE ALL-SEASON TIRE GO BACK ON THE CAR. THE WINTER TIRES ARE EXPECTED TO ADD A SIGNIFICANT MARGIN OF SAFETY IN SNOW/ICE CONDITIONS. THE ANNUAL COST OF RE-SETTING THE TPMS SENSOR WILL LIKELY KEEP ME FROM RUNNING WINTER TIRES. WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A TPMS SYSTEM THAT CANNOT BE EASILY RE-SET BY THE VEHICLE OWNER? *JB