Issue ID | 1714421 |
Internal NHTSA # | 11385757 |
Manufacurer | Subaru of America, Inc. |
Brand | SUBARU |
Model | OUTBACK |
Model Year | 2017 |
File date | 27/12/20 |
Component | POWER TRAIN |
Product type code | VEHICLE |
Description of the problem | While traveling through michigan's upper peninsula and northern wisconsin during snow fall with a fully packed car on the highway i experienced the rear end "ghost walking" or "steering" or "pulling" to the left and to the right. I had to drive 40mph while two-wheeled drive camrys, civics, vans, etc. Passed us by. Growing up in northern michigan, i'm no stranger to winter conditions and all wheel drive vehicles. I don't think all-wheeled drive vehicles make me invincible, but they do make driving in wintery conditions better. After our trip, i took the car into the subaru dealer and they said at 37k miles, the suspension looked great, alignment looked great, and that they would recommend new tires (tires are at 4/32 and have even wear and tear). I asked to speak directly to the tech working on my car and he said that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and that although they were recommending new tires, the current tire condition would not cause what i was describing. My wife and i then researched and came across several online forums with other driver's experiencing the similar issues, but with prior year models. I called subaru's main customer service line to see if they could help and they said that they would make note of my complaint, but that if the subaru dealer tech said the vehicle was fine other than suggesting new tires, i should get new tires and the vehicle would be fine. Subaru also said there were no "campaigns" open with respect to this problem and that they were sorry i "felt like i had this experience" and there was nothing they could do. Here's a link to a forum, where the people seem to know what is going on: https://www. Subaruoutback. Org/threads/2005-2009-ghostwalking-abnormal-winter-handling-fixes. 30747/page-2. We plan to buy new tires, but are willing to offer our car up for test driving to see what is going on. |
Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 37000 |
Number of Occurences | |
Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
City and State | ELGIN, IL |
VIN pattern | 4S4BSAKC9H3XXXXXX |
Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
Was incedent reported to police? | N |
Was medical attention required? | N |
Was part original equipment? | |
No. of injured persons | |
No. of fatalities | |
Date of purchase | 13/12/24 |
Was original owner? | N |
Anti-lock brakes | N |
Cruise control | N |
Number of cylinders | |
Drive train type | |
Transmission type | |
Vehicle speed | 40 |
DoT tire identifier | |
Tire size | |
Location of tire code | |
Type of tire failure code | |
Was defective tire repaired? | |
Date of manufacture | |
Type of child seat code | |
Type of restraint | |
Dealer's name | |
Dealer's telephone number | |
Dealer's city | |
Dealer's state code | |
Dealer's ZIP code |