Climber76

I had the TSB tension spring replacement on the steering rack done by the dealer on my 16 Legacy. They did it at no charge even though the car was out of warranty. The new spring completely fixed the low speed rattle. It changed the steering feel substantially, making it heavier and slightly vague on center. It doesn't return to center as readily after small deflections. Either that has improved or I have gotten more used to it because I'm OK with the car now. Initially I thought I was going to have to get rid of it because I didn't like the feel.

I have a 2016 2.5 Premium with just 31K on it. We have had the mystery rattle going over sharp, small bumps. That began about 9 months ago, and I only recently had time to take it in. A local independent shop thought it was the left front suspension strut, but I noticed it only happened going straight ahead, thus suspected the rack. This thread alerted me to the TSB, and the dealer agreed and installed the new tension spring which completely fixed the rattle. BUT, buyer beware, the new tension spring makes the steering stiff on center, so that it feels numb and does not return readily to center from small deflections. Thus you must watch the road like a hawk. Also, if you use the lane departure monitor, it will set up an amplifying oscillation -- drift right and it will correct left AND THEN STICK with a left deflection so the car careens across the lane to the left, then corrects sharply to the right when it crosses the left lane paint, then the RIGHT correction sticks because the wheel doesn't center, and you'd better intervene or you're headed off the road at a sharp angle. I brought it back and the tech asserts this is just a feature of the revised spring, and that it may ease up a bit with wear. I might have preferred the rattle. It's really not an acceptable tradeoff and I may trade out of the car. UPDATE: After a week or so, the stiffness in the steering resolved and it is now fine. I'm happy with the fix now. Feedback to Subaru: they could have just told me this would happen and that it would improve within a few days. It was quite a dramatic change, but also resolved pretty quickly.

I like the simulated shifts -- it gives you clear audio signal regarding how the car is accelerating, without having to monitor the speedometer. I have read that the simulated shifting actually very slightly degrades performance versus a normal CVT constant-RPM behavior, but in my opinion, makes the car more drivable. I'm not a fan of the constant-engine-speed acceleration I get around town at moderate throttle settings, and I have REALLY disliked it in rentals I have had such as Nissans, where getting onto the freeway involves a constant high drone from the engine. It's like driving a manual transmission car with a blown clutch. My 2016 Legacy is in the shop, and I have a 2018 Outback rental, which seems to go into the simulating shifting mode more easily, but that may be because the extra weight of the Outback requires more throttle to get under way. Overall, I find the performance of the Legacy seems heavy and sluggish off the line and around town, but responsive to the point of being almost fun on the open road.