hkshooter Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 I understand what you are saying but this is his DD with only a couple thousand miles on the clock. If the car drives perfectly straight down the road then all of a sudden veers into the next lane, there is a problem. I have driven plenty of electronic steering assisted vehicles (maybe only 6 were Subarus) but none did what he is explaining. Agreed. My answer offered nothing in the way of an explanation for the OP's problems, it was simply a response to your question. Which I understand was in response to my question about what balance was actually being discussed. Either way, tire or suspension balance problems won't cause what the OP is experiencing, there's some other underlying problem of which we are not yet aware. In my view it has to be a recalled steering column that slipped through the cracks but that's pure speculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcoaster Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I'm having the exact same problem the OP is having. The dealer said it couldn't find anything wrong. I think I'll make a call to SOA. The NHSTA website has several complaints from owners about the same thing. I drove a 2016 Forester as a loaner one time which has EPAS and the steering felt normal, no drifting or darting back and forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I haven't heard anything about it aside from this site but most independent shops don't see brand new cars on a regular basis. I'm willing to bet the steering system module or whatever they use needs to be reflashed or is defective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 The steering column recall they say is related to it being machined wrong. It only affects Legacy/Outback made from 2/29/16 - 5/6/16. It does not say it causes erratic steering but it may not turn in the direction you desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones37 Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 I'm having the exact same problem the OP is having. The dealer said it couldn't find anything wrong. I think I'll make a call to SOA. The NHSTA website has several complaints from owners about the same thing. I drove a 2016 Forester as a loaner one time which has EPAS and the steering felt normal, no drifting or darting back and forth. If you learn anything from a contact with SOA, please share. We read reports of owners who say their vehicles track straight down the highway at speed, so it must be possible. I just know my own vehicle doesn't, and it's not because I'm not accustomed to the sensitive electronic steering. Following some suggestions made to me on another thread, I'm going to increase my tire pressures to 36, have the dealer check the wheel balances (they already checked the alignment), and then take the car back out onto the highway to see if there's any difference. Will also turn off Lane Departure Warning, as suggested by another poster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 If you learn anything from a contact with SOA, please share. We read reports of owners who say their vehicles track straight down the highway at speed, so it must be possible. I just know my own vehicle doesn't, and it's not because I'm not accustomed to the sensitive electronic steering. Following some suggestions made to me on another thread, I'm going to increase my tire pressures to 36, have the dealer check the wheel balances (they already checked the alignment), and then take the car back out onto the highway to see if there's any difference. Will also turn off Lane Departure Warning, as suggested by another poster. FYI, changing the tire PSI before going to the dealer and having the dealer check it, they just might say you have the PSI wrong and say that's the end of it. To save yourself some hassle and time, set the PSI to the placard numbers, so the dealer can't give some excuse for the what you're experiencing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 overinflating tires will make the car handle in a negative manner as you are effectively lessening the contact patch. this will make the car very "squirrelly" when you are driving at speed. As for the OP, put the car on a lift and check your tread wear across the entire face of the tires and get back to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 I think you'd have to overinflate your tires more than what we're recommending at +3-5psi before you lessen the contact patch and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 36 PSI is kind of high especially when they get up to operating temp every 10F or so = 1PSI difference so if you have your car at 32psi at 60 F when t hey get to 90F your PSI could be as high as 35... imagine if you started at 36, you'd be over 40 once the internal air temp got over 100F... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones37 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones37 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 overinflating tires will make the car handle in a negative manner as you are effectively lessening the contact patch. this will make the car very "squirrelly" when you are driving at speed. As for the OP, put the car on a lift and check your tread wear across the entire face of the tires and get back to us. Someone seemed to suggest that because the tires are new (now 1700 miles), the deep tread depth was causing/contributing to the squirreliness. They suggested that as the tires wear and the tread depth decreases, the problem might/should improve. Some have had success by increasing tire pressure, but I appreciate I might be causing problems by increasing to 36, e.g., and then making a long highway run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcoaster Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 That's the thing. I'm already at 8000 miles and the car's still doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 My dad used to have a 4runner limited with 20" wheels and odd sized tires. On the highway that car was scary to drive, especially in the rain. I suspect that soft tire sidewall might have contributed to the squirrel feeling in his car. Bumping up the tire pressure can help reduxe the sidewall flexing. Its unfortunate to hear your car is still doing it at 8k, that does reduce the chances of it being what I said earlier, tread depth. Though I still stand behind those comments that deep tread depth, and certain tread pattern can contribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 There's an obvious problem that other people with the same car are not experiencing. Something is wrong...take it to the dealer and demand it gets fixed. If not, tell them you want a new car because you refuse to drive that death trap on the highway. If they still hold back, say you are contacting SOA and your lawyer. Are you going to continue to talk about it until you run into a concrete barrier? 8k miles is plenty of time to get acclimated to electronic steering and new tires. You have a serious problem and need to get it into the dealers hands tomorrow. Not only is it a liability to you but also the other hundreds of cars you pass daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbx22 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 My first post on this forum and it had to be on this thread. Anyway, my car is doing the same thing at highway speeds. It will randomly veer either direction even though the steering wheel is dead straight. I just took it to the dealership today and they simply said they couldn't reproduce it and that it may be due to the alignment. So they aligned the toe on all 4 corners back into spec. They were not that out of order. So frustrating. It takes the enjoyment out of driving this car. I love every bit about it but the steering response. I will either have to put up with it or just trade it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Go for a ride with them and allow them to drive the car. How often does it seem to happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbx22 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 They took it for a 5 mi ride. Oddly, it seems to happen only when I go home from work 5PM. In the mornings to work, it seems to drive well. I think I'm going crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Do you drive in different lanes in the am vs pm? I'm no pavement expert, but after doing some googling I think the term I'm looking for is "rutting". Highway rutting, which I mostly see in the right and center lanes, can absolutely cause squirrely steering in my opinion. I think some tire tread patterns are more susceptible than others to squirrely steering from rutted pavement too. When I say rutting, I basically mean uneven pavement, where the pavement has sunk down in the areas where cars normally travel. http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/dotdaz/definition.aspx?termID=432 http://www.pavementinteractive.org/article/rutting/ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/262880860_fig1_Rutting-phenomenon-occurrence-in-asphalt-pavement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones37 Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 My first post on this forum and it had to be on this thread. Anyway, my car is doing the same thing at highway speeds. It will randomly veer either direction even though the steering wheel is dead straight. I just took it to the dealership today and they simply said they couldn't reproduce it and that it may be due to the alignment. So they aligned the toe on all 4 corners back into spec. They were not that out of order. So frustrating. It takes the enjoyment out of driving this car. I love every bit about it but the steering response. I will either have to put up with it or just trade it in. My service mgr. called me yesterday to ask if I'm still having this problem, well-described by you. I told him I haven't had the chance to take the car back on the highway since the dealer made minor corrections to the alignment. I'm also going to add a couple pounds of pressure to the tires, at the recommendation of some others on this site. When I test drive again, I'll have my wife sit in the back seat with a movie camera showing both the steering wheel and the road. If the car veers, the camera will hopefully capture that. We all dread being told that the mechanic cannot recreate the problem, and the video may help them believe me. The service mgr. also told me that if I'm still having this problem, bring the car back and he said there are "a couple things they could do to maybe help." Perhaps change the alignment a little out of spec? Anyway, keep me posted if you find a solution. Thx. for weighing in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pduncan1963 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I had the same problem on my 2015. I installed the 19mm sway bar, the problem went away. For me, the fix was that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda_One Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I believe it is how the tires hit the road. Laughing at Oneself and with Other is good for the Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanG_Legacy Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I had these kind of driving situations when my car has been parked on uneven planes, ie... left side of car is higher or lower than right... I'd park my car at work in a spot kind of like that and I do most of the time feel the random wandering. Then for a couple of days I was forced to park somewhere else, where the vehicle was for the most part even on both sides and driving home on those days... was pretty smooth. I had a suspicion that it might be these stock tires, maybe they are super soft and takes a while to work well. The SSD strutbar did take away a ton of random wandering also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbx22 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Hmm interesting. I may be trying this then. I want to try to keep this car so this will be my next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grahn Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Haven't had this problem Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones37 Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 I had the same problem on my 2015. I installed the 19mm sway bar, the problem went away. For me, the fix was that simple. Is the recommended SSD strutbar the same thing as your 19mm swaybar? Is this something the dealer should install? Approx. cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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