2017 Legacy is very unstable at highway speeds

[JRu17]

If I could afford one haha. Then again if I could I might be looking at Audi RS3

[ncted]

I did my first weekend road trip in my 18 Legacy. I put about 750 miles on it, mostly I-95 in South Carolina. I have no complaints about steering or stability. I don't feel the on-center numbness that a lot of people and reviewers mention. The smallest deviation from center results in a slight change in direction. I didn't notice any cross-wind issues either, although I wouldn't have been that surprised to feel a little, given how tall the car is. This smacks of quality control issues to me.

[ammcinnis]

This smacks of quality control issues to me.

Possibly. But driver sensitivity has to be part of it, too. Some drivers report the steering on-center as being vague and slow, while others report it as being overly sensitive and twitchy ... much like the widely varying reports of seat comfort. Some report the steering effort as too heavy, while others complain that it's too light. Subaru must be doing something right.

Edited July 2, 2018 by ammcinnis

[ncted]

Possibly. But driver sensitivity has to be part of it, too. Some drivers report the steering on-center as being vague and slow, while others report it as being overly sensitive and twitchy ... much like the widely varying reports of seat comfort. Some report the steering effort as too heavy, while others complain that it's too light. Subaru must be doing something right.

 

If my previous car hadn't been a BRZ, which has the most direct steering this side of a Porsche, I'd agree. It is definitely slow compared to that, with none of the feedback the BRZ has, but it isn't dead on-center in my car. Nor would I call it twitchy or heavy. I would call it normal for a mid-size sedan. Very similar to Camrys and Accords I've driven recently.

[gathermewool]

Ok, so I have driven on the Conti ExtremeContacts with a better alignment (0 toe and as much negative camber as possible, ~ -0.7 degrees) for a bit now and the steering feel is much improved. The immediate change was an increase in on-center twitchiness. Now, after a couple of months, I’ve either gotten used to it or the tires have adjusted to the new alignment and their wear pattern has lessened the twitchiness.

 

Overall, the 15 Legacy handles well at lower speeds, but does not inspire confidence on the highway, driving 70+. I haven’t noticed any tramlining, pulling or lack of communication of road conditions, but steering on-center appears to be unrefined, with constant corrections needed to stay in the lane for anything other than perfect road surfaces. To be fair, our 14 FXT has a similar problem, made worse than the Legacy during high winds, for obvious reasons.

 

This is coming from the OEM alignment and tires with ~36k miles.

 

I also have the 20mm RSB (which has no affect on steering; just an FYI).

[JRu17]

The rsb doesnt affect the steering, just tightens up some body roll

[JRu17]

It's no sports car but I dont hate the handling on regular roads, but once you hit highway speeds 50+ the car just doesnt feel like it's going to stay on the intended course without too many corrections and doesnt communicate anything, it's just numb and sketchy

[halwith]

i got a whiteline RSB a few months ago off craigslist and installed it. it 100% solved the instability issues i had with my 2011. my only regret was waiting so long to get one. the steering feels tighter because of less body roll and it doesn't wander or sway while cruising nearly as much as it used to.

[BobbyR]

I've waited until I've got some miles on our 2018 before commenting on this thread. With over 1000Km on the clock now, over half of it highway driving, I can say for sure that there's no issue with steering, stability or handling at highway speeds, at least not on our vehicle. It tracks true and steering is fine with no wander or twitchiness. In fact, the car handles pretty well over all, better than I expected it to. It's not a BMW but I wasn't expecting it to be. The Lane Keep Assist can sometimes feel a bit like tram lining if you aren't careful to stay in the centre of the lane and you aren't used to it. I've turned it off to be sure this is what I'm feeling so I know that's what it is. I like this feature as it really does work very well. Don't know what to say about your comments on the brakes. They feel fine to me. They certainly stop the car when needed.

 

There may have been minor changes in the 2018 to address some of the complaints about previous years models. If so, they seem to have done the job.

Edited July 4, 2018 by BobbyR

[ncted]

I've waited until I've got some miles on our 2018 before commenting on this thread. With over 1000Km on the clock now, over half of it highway driving, I can say for sure that there's no issue with steering, stability or handling at highway speeds, at least not on our vehicle. It tracks true and steering is fine with no wander or twitchiness. In fact, the car handles pretty well over all, better than I expected it to. It's not a BMW but I wasn't expecting it to be. The Lane Keep Assist can sometimes feel a bit like tram lining if you aren't careful to stay the centre of the lane and you aren't used to it. I've turned it off to be sure this is what I'm feeling so I know that's what it is. I like this feature as it really does work very well. Don't know what to say about your comments on the brakes. They feel fine to me. They certainly stop the car when needed.

 

There may have been minor changes in the 2018 to address some of the complaints about previous years models. If so, they seem to have done the job.

 

The 2018 was a mild refresh. They did a number of tweaks. According to Car and Driver, they "Subaru has retuned the suspension with dampers that Subaru claims diminish both ride harshness and body roll. The automaker also says it dialed in more linear power steering and improved brake feel." Perhaps the criticisms of the 2017 are justified.

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/2018-subaru-legacy-photos-and-info-news

[BobbyR]

Sounds like they they were. That metallic red paint looks awesome. Wish that was an available colour...

[Ronin3.6R]

I have a 2017. Car handles great at 20 and 80 and everywhere in between. Brakes seem to work great as well although I don't do a lot of emergency stop tests. I have not done a long road trip but have done 30 mile interstate stretches- no issues. perhaps variance from car to car or more likely between drivers?

[Yoda_One]

Very pleased with mine, it is an exceptional Cruiser.

 

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul![emoji2]

[raywuzhur]

something must be wrong with your car ive done 130 on the 15 and it crawls right along

[BobbyR]

130? Really?

[securityguy]

something must be wrong with your car ive done 130 on the 15 and it crawls right along

 

well...well...well...I've done 131 on the 16...top that:eek:

[aki334]

Are good year asurence tires directional? Just noticed that one side has different orientation. That could be causing problems. Please all check your tires on the side wall there is ring all around the tire with small triangles. Maybe it does't mean anything but just please check. To be consistent look on top of the tire and see if the lower triangle is facing forward.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

something must be wrong with your car ive done 130 on the 15 and it crawls right along

 

the speedo is off by about 8 mph at that speed (ie it is overstating your speed)

 

at 70 it is off by 2, 80 it is off by 3 (verify with GPS if you like, I have).

[SSpeed]

the speedo is off by about 8 mph at that speed (ie it is overstating your speed)

 

at 70 it is off by 2, 80 it is off by 3 (verify with GPS if you like, I have).

 

Weird, I just did that exact thing on a 600 mile trip yesterday. With the cruise set at 84mph the GPS speedo on my phone fluctuated between 84 and 83mph.

[Brisvegas]

the speedo is off by about 8 mph at that speed (ie it is overstating your speed)

 

at 70 it is off by 2, 80 it is off by 3 (verify with GPS if you like, I have).

 

Mine is similar to yours, except mine UNDERSTATES the speed.

 

Mine is exact speed (compared with GPS) up until approx 95 kph, then it's understated by 2, then at 100kph it's understated by 3, then at 110kph it's understated by 4. The car is booked into the dealer this week to try and remedy the understating under warranty. I am ok with overstating the speed, because that is the norm with newer cars ... but understating is an annoyance that can lead to traffic tickets.

 

I'd be grateful if someone smarter than me on the forum could explain why speedo disparity only start at a certain speed, and why do the differences increase incrementally as the vehicle speed increases.

[midas]

I'd be grateful if someone smarter than me on the forum could explain why speedo disparity only start at a certain speed, and why do the differences increase incrementally as the vehicle speed increases.

 

I don't really have an explanation, but I'm curious. Can you try setting your system to MPH instead of KPH and see if the discrepancy is still there.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

car speedo relies on a sensor that counts rotations of the output shaft. By law in most countries, they cannot over state your speed.

 

With my old 2002 CL type S, GPS showed a top speed of 148mph, the speedo was reading 155, the car's computer indicated 147 which is where it is governed.

 

The speedo in every car is mass produced and none outside of law enforcement are calibrated so there will be some small variance between all of them.

 

basic speedo needle is a stepper motor that is controlled by a digital unit. one other thing that can mess with your speed is tire size

 

GPS speed will vary as you go up and down inclines as basic GPS receivers do not account for elevation.

 

the reason the error increases as you go faster has to do with the speed being a larger number. think of it this way

 

if you have a 2.5% of error at 0 it is 0. at 10 is it 10.25. at 20 it is 20.5 etc.. and at 100 it would be 102.5

Edited July 10, 2018 by YeuEmMaiMai

[Brisvegas]

car speedo relies on a sensor that counts rotations of the output shaft. By law in most countries, they cannot over state your speed.

 

The speedo in every car is mass produced and none outside of law enforcement are calibrated so there will be some small variance between all of them.

 

the reason the error increases as you go faster has to do with the speed being a larger number. think of it this way

 

if you have a 2.5% of error at 0 it is 0. at 10 is it 10.25. at 20 it is 20.5 etc.. and at 100 it would be 102.5

 

Thanks for the reply. In your first sentence above you say "By law in most countries, they cannot over state your speed. Unless I am misreading what you are saying, my understanding is that in law most countries state that speedos can overstate actual speeds but not UNDERSTATE. I believe that here in Australia we follow the Euoropean standard of allowing a maximum speedo tolerance of 4% plus 2 kms ABOVE the actual vehicle speed, but speedos cannot show UNDER the vehicles actual speed.

 

Thanks also for your explanation on the error increase expressed as a percentage ..... but I still am unsure why my speedo starts to be "innacurate" only at 90 kms and not at any speed from 0 to 90. Going by what you are saying, shouldn't the error incrementally increase from zero??

[ehsnils]

Thanks for the reply. In your first sentence above you say "By law in most countries, they cannot over state your speed. Unless I am misreading what you are saying, my understanding is that in law most countries state that speedos can overstate actual speeds but not UNDERSTATE. I believe that here in Australia we follow the Euoropean standard of allowing a maximum speedo tolerance of 4% plus 2 kms ABOVE the actual vehicle speed, but speedos cannot show UNDER the vehicles actual speed.

 

Thanks also for your explanation on the error increase expressed as a percentage ..... but I still am unsure why my speedo starts to be "innacurate" only at 90 kms and not at any speed from 0 to 90. Going by what you are saying, shouldn't the error incrementally increase from zero??

 

 

I agree here - showing a bit too high speed is what's normal and makes people drive slower than they think they are. Speed measured by GPS is usually a lot more accurate since it don't have to take varying wheel sizes and wear into account.

[midas]

Thanks for the reply. In your first sentence above you say "By law in most countries, they cannot over state your speed. Unless I am misreading what you are saying, my understanding is that in law most countries state that speedos can overstate actual speeds but not UNDERSTATE.

 

I'm not the guy that posted that and I know nothing about the laws here or anywhere else. But...

 

We as drivers look at this as if my speedo says I'm doing 50 and I'm really doing 60 (understated), that's bad. I could get a ticket.

 

However, when looking at laws, they think differently. If you're speedo says' you're doing 60 and you're really doing 50 (overstating), that means that your odometer is also overstating. And that means that instead of your warranty being 36,000 miles your warranty is now only 30,000 real miles. Or, if it's a 36,000 mile lease, you get cheated out of 6,000 miles. To a lawmaker, that's bad.