2005 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

WE HAVE A 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK THAT SWAYS IN THE REAR OF CAR UNDER THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS 1. OVER BUMPS THE REAR WILL SWING TO THE RIGHT AND DIP. WHEN ROADS ARE SLICK IT WILL ALMOST SPIN THE VEHICLE. IF YOU ARE IN A LEFT HAND CURVE, EVEN AT LOW SPEED, THE CONDITION IS EXAGGERATED MORE THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT SORT OF LIKE IT WAS PUSHED IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL INERTIA YOU WOULD EXPERIENCE. 2. REAR END TRACTION BECOMES UNSTABLE UNDER ICY CONDITIONS WHERE IT APPEARS THAT TOO MUCH POWER IS BEING DISTRIBUTED TO THE REAR OF THE DRIVELINE THEN OSCILLATING TO EACH INDIVIDUAL REAR WHEEL. IN MY OPINION 100% OF THE VEHICLES POWER CONCENTRATED TO THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL IS ALTERNATELY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE REAR WHEELS AND KIND OF GETS STUCK IN THIS MODE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WINDOW EXPLODED AND SHATTERED WHEN HE ROLLED IT DOWN. THE CONTACT HAD NO PRIOR PROBLEMS WITH THE WINDOW AND THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE THAT COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING A WINDOW COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE, REFERRED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY, WHO WOULD REPLACE THE WINDOW AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 60,800. UPDATED 0/29/10. *LJUPDATED 09/21/10

I HAVE SEVERAL TIMES EXPERIENCED WHAT IS KNOWN AS GHOST WALKING WHILE DRIVING MY 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK 2.4I. I HAVE DRIVEN UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS WITH THE CAR MINIMALLY LOADED. ONLY ON THE TIMES THAT THE CAR WAS LOADED WITH MORE THAN 2 PASSENGERS AND THEIR BELONGINGS DID I EXPERIENCE GHOST WALK. ON THOSE TIMES I WAS DRIVING MY OUTBACK ON SNOW OR ICE COVERED ROAD. I WAS DRIVING AT A STEADY RATE OF SPEED WITH CONSISTENT PRESSURE ON THE GAS. THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE WOULD BEGIN TO PITCH BACK AND FORTH AS IF BEING BLOWN BY A HEAVY WIND. THERE WAS NO WIND ON THOSE OCCASIONS, OR NOT SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THE TO SWAY THE WAY IT DID. IT FELT AS THOUGH THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE WAS ATTEMPTING TO PASS THE FRONT. I SLOWED DOWN EACH TIME, EVEN THOUGH THE ROAD SURFACE CONDITIONS DID NOT DICTATE IT. I WAS PASSED BY 2 WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES, BECAUSE MY CAR FELT UNSTABLE AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS WHILE THE CAR WAS LIGHTLY LOADED UNDER THE SAME ROAD CONDITIONS.

1. SLIGHTLY ICY ROAD CONDITION. 2. ABNORMAL LOSS OF ROAD FEEL AND CONTROL. 3. NO KNOWN SOLUTION. *TR

THIS COMPLAINT CONCERNS THE INTERMITTENT REFUSAL OF THE CRUISE CONTROL ON MY 2005 SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK TO GIVE UP CONTROL OF THE ENGINE WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL HANDLE IS PULLED DOWN TO THE COAST POSITION AND TO CAUSE AN UNEXPECTED, DRAMATIC INCREASE IN CAR SPEED WHEN THE INTENT IS TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL AND SLOW CAR SPEED (?THE PROBLEM?). THE PROBLEM HAS EXISTED SINCE PURCHASING MY SUBARU AS NEW IN 2005. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN INTERMITTENT, OCCURRING "OUT-OF-THE-BLUE" AND WHEN LEAST EXPECTED. ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION WHEN I WANTED TO SLOW BUT NOT BREAK THE CAR BY PULLING THE CRUISE CONTROL HANDLE TO THE COAST POSITION, THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD REFUSE TO GIVE UP CONTROL OF THE ENGINE AND, IN SOME INSTANCES, THE ENGINE WOULD ADVANCE TO GREATER SPEED, ALMOST CAUSING A COLLISION WITH TRAFFIC I WAS FOLLOWING. IN ONE TEST I CONDUCTED AFTER ALMOST SLAMMING INTO THE REAR END OF CAR BEING DRIVEN IN FRONT OF ME, NOT ONLY DID THE CRUISE CONTROL NOT GIVE UP CONTROL OF THE ENGINE WHEN I PULLED THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVER TO THE COAST POSITION, THE ENGINE CONTINUED ADVANCING FROM A SPEED OF 65 MPH TO 80 MPH DURING THE ENTIRE TIME THAT I HELD THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVER WAS IN THE COAST POSITION. THE ONLY WAS I WAS ABLE STOP THE CRUISE CONTROL FROM CONTROLLING THE ENGINE WAS BY BREAKING THE CAR. THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED REGULARLY AND CONTINUOUSLY ON AN INTERMITTENT BASIS SINCE MY PURCHASE OF THE CAR ON 5/14/2005 FROM LITHIA SUBARU IN RENO, NEVADA. ALTHOUGH CAUSES APPEAR TO DIFFER, THE PROBLEM IS SIMILAR IN NATURE TO TOYOTA CARS EXPERIENCING UNEXPECTED SPEED INCREASE DUE TO DEFECTIVE ACCELERATOR PEDALS AS NOW BEING DESCRIBED IN THE NEWS MEDIA. *TR

IN DECEMBER OF 2008 I DROVE FROM IDAHO TO MONTANA OVER CHRISTMAS. ROAD CONDITIONS WERE BROKEN ICE AND COMPACT SNOW. WHENEVER THE CAR WOULD HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD, THE REAR END WOULD TEND TO KICK FROM SIDE TO SIDE. I WAS FORCED TO REDUCE MY SPEED TO AROUND 30 MPH, EVEN THOUGH ALL OTHER VEHICLES COULD MAINTAIN HIGHER SPEEDS IN A SAFE MANNER. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM ON SEVERAL LATER OCCASIONS, AND IT APPEARS TO OCCUR ONLY WHEN THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN LOADED DOWN WITH PASSENGER(S) OR CARGO. SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG HAS A GIGANTIC THREAD ON THIS TOPIC. IT APPEARS I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM. HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=B16BA9FDCE5398DEC3B38124C6D0E1B9&THREADID=11267&PERPAGE=20&PAGENUMBER=1 IN MARCH OF 2009, I HAD AN ALIGNMENT DONE AT A SUBARU DEALERSHIP IN BOISE. I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM TO DATE, BUT THIS WINTER HAS BEEN UNSEASONABLY WARM, AND I HAVE NOT DRIVEN ON MUCH PACKED SNOW OR ICE. MOREOVER, I HAVE NOT DRIVEN WITH EXTRA CARGO, WHICH SEEMS TO EXASPERATE THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, I AM NOT CONVINCED THE PROBLEM IS GONE, AND JUDGING BY THE CONTINUED AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS ON SUBARUOUTBACK.COM, I BELIEVE SUBARU NEEDS TO FORMALLY ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK TURBO. TURBO FAILED AT 65K MILES. AXEL BROKE AT 64K MILES AND NOW THE RIGHT WHEEL BEARING IS OUT AT 70K MILES. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A RECALL ON BOTH REAR BEARINGS BUT NOT THE FRONT. TURBO HAS BEEN A BIG PROBLEM TOO. *TR

IN COMPARISON WITH MANY TRUCKS AND CARS I HAVE DRIVEN IN WINTER CONDITIONS FOR OVER 30 YEARS, OUR 2005 SUBURU OUTBACK IS MUCH MORE UNSTABLE ESPECIALLY IN THE REAR END WHENEVER HARD PACKED SNOW OR ICE IS ENCOUNTERED EVEN AT MODERATE SPEEDS (30-50 MPH). AT LEAST ONCE THIS CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO SPIN UNCONTROLLABLY. IN IDENTICAL CONDITIONS, A TRUCK IN 2WD (I HAVE SEVERAL TRUCKS ON MY RANCH) IS FAR MORE STABLE. THERE IS A CLEAR SAFETY PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE FOR WHICH TIRES, INFLATION, ALIGNMENT ACCORDING TO MANUFACTURERS SPECS FAILS TO CURE. *TR

I'M A RECENT OWNER OF A 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK XT WITH 58K MILES AND UNDER CERTAIN ADVERSE WEATHER SITUATIONS; THE CAR'S TRACKING/DRIVING CHARACTERISTICS PERFORM IN A HAZARDOUS AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY MANNER. WHEN TRAVELING IN SNOWY AND OR SLUSHY CONDITIONS ON PAVED ROADS, THE CAR'S REAR TIRES MOVE FROM SIDE TO SIDE LOOSING DIRECTIONAL STABILITY (I.E. OVERSTEER) WITH NO PROVOCATION FROM THE DRIVER OR OUTSIDE INFLUENCE. THIS OCCURS REGARDLESS OF THE LOAD IN THE CAR (PASSENGERS/CARGO), AND UNDER ALL DRIVING SITUATIONS (ACCELERATING & COASTING). THE CAR HAS SNOW TIRES ON ALL FOUR WHEELS (NOKIAN 225-55-17) THAT HAVE LESS THAN 10K MILES OF USE AND ARE CORRECTLY INFLATED AS INSTRUCTED BY THE CAR'S MANUFACTURE (30F/32R). INITIALLY, I THOUGHT THE CAR MIGHT BE OUT OF REAR ALIGNMENT (TOE), HOWEVER AFTER BEING INSPECTED BY THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND INDEPENDENT TIRE ALIGNMENT SHOP, THE CAR IS WITHIN SUBARU'S CURRENT SPECS FOR THE MODEL AND TSB NOTICE (5-36-07) FROM SUBARU OF AMERICA. I DRIVE 200 MILES DAILY TO AND FROM WORK (PA/NJ) FOR THE LAST 11 YEARS AND IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS WITH ZERO ACCIDENTS OR MISHAPS. THE PURPOSE OF BUYING A SUBARU WAS FOR THE ALL WEATHER CAPABILITY ADVERTISED BY THE MANUFACTURER. HOWEVER, APPARENTLY I AM NOT ALONE, AS A RECENT SEARCH ON LINE PROVIDED AN OUTBACK FORUM DEDICATED TO THIS CAR (2005-2009) WHICH INDICATES THIS IS AN INHERENT PROBLEM WITH THIS GROUP OF CARS BY THE NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS FROM OTHER OWNERS WITH THIS PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTIC. SOA NEEDS TO STEP UP AND CORRECT THE OBVIOUS 'ENGINEERED COMPROMISE' WITH A RAISED REAR SUSPENSION, AND MODIFY THE LOWER CONTROL ARMS IN ORDER TO CORRECT THE REAR END STEPPING OUT DUE TO ADVERSE ROAD CONDITIONS AND LOADS CARRIED BY OWNERS UNDER WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE NORMAL OPERATING PARAMETERS. *TR

I DRIVE A 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK XT LIMITED AND HAVE EXPERIENCED THE REAR SWAY, UNSTABLE CONDITIONS THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE SEEM TO BE EXPERIENCING. I HAVE DONE MUCH RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEM AND HAVE FOUND THAT SUBARU'S REAR SWAY BAR AND ALIGNMENT SPECS. TO BE UNMATCHED FOR THE LONGER WHEEL-BASE AND THE WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER THE REPLACEMENT OF THE REAR SWAY BAR TO A HEAVIER DUTY ONE AND A BETTER ALIGNMENT MY OUTBACK NOW DRIVES OUTSTANDING AND HANDLES LIKE A DREAM. I AM A SPIRITED DRIVER AND I DRIVE IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS INCLUDING ICE AND SNOW AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS SINCE THE UPGRADES. *TR