.?????
No idea what u are talking about we don't get any bad weather like that in Australia

 

I think I know what you mean - this winter I would get a feeling of sliding then the "oh sh*t" buzz of the car correcting the traction. I didn't feel too wobbly, but it didn't grip the road as I was expecting. It did gain traction quickly, though, it was just the momentary unease that I had to get used to. The Impreza hugs the road better; the height of the XV really changes the feel, IMO. No expert here, but i'm sure someone else here is


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That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. I was starting to think I was crazy.
Thanks for the reply. My husband calls it an "unofficial safety system" that makes me drive under 80 km/h. All I know is it scares the crap out of my carpoolers too!

 

Is this your first vehicle with stability control and traction control?

 

No - I traded in my Impreza for the XV and it had both traction and stability control.

 

I think the height has something to do with it. I will say it is much less stable than any other Subaru I have ever owned. I will also say it could be the lightest one too which could be some of my issues too.

 

When I hit a big ice patch a couple of weeks ago I nearly spun as well. The car isn't as sure footed on ice as I'd hoped. It handled perfectly on snow though.
This is on the stock Geolandars.

 

I absolutely love the way it handles in snow, and slush and rain.
Ice is ice... guess I should just slow down. Although, after the dealership adjusted the alignment, it seemed to be okay again.
Maintenance this weekend, so I'll tell them again - although I'm hoping winter is finally over!

 

Get the alignment checked. My guess is you have a rear toe issue - specifically, toe out. That will make the car naturally want to rotate. I don't find the steering overly sensitive at all, with either the Altimax Arctic snow tires or the OEM's.

 

Interesting, I wouldn't have thought this can cause symptoms as described by Tracder. I'll try to remember this, just in case. Thanks eskimo!

 

I had a similar YAW Issue with my XV on icy highways, (wlthough I had ran over a dead coyote or wolf or something on HWY63) however it was much improved after taking it to city Subaru for a wheel alignment (didn't tell them about running over the animal so it was free) I do notice however that because of how light and high up it is I do notice the wind a lot still, and a very slight pull sometimes on really icy roads... I should have asked for a printout from the alignment computer when I had it in, but was in a hurry and didn't think about it

 

Yeah there's a little twitch here and there but overall I've found this car to be the best winter conditions car I've ever had. This is the third Subie in our driveway and it is better than the first two by a fair bit. My 97 OB was great, better than our 06, but this car is better. I think the slightly stiffer suspension, higher CG and lighter overall weight are what makes it a little twitchy but it's certainly not something I'm worried about. The tires are just slightly better than marginal though so they will be swapped out for dedicated winter rubber next year.

I think eskimo is right, too much toe out on your car. Remember, with the AWD if one (or more) wheels is pulling in a slightly different direction than the others it will cause tramlining which is frustrating at best and challenging to the point of dangerous on uneven surfaces at worst.

 

Put in a dash cam so the techs can see the road ice and the instability the cam is reflecting to help make an assessment.

 

Well summer is finally here... Kind of. And I've noticed I get pushed all over the road in wind. I guess it's an adjustment I need to make to my driving style. My Impreza was so low to the ground, it could hide behind ditches and never feel a lick of wind. I'm going to give it the rest of the summer, an alignment and another "first drive" in icy conditions next winter. If I'm still uncomfortable, I will think about trading it in... For another Subie of course. My service guy said Subaru is still messing around with the alignment and toe out issues, so hopefully they can figure it out before the snow flies again.

 

Please do not take this the wrong way, but I think we Aussies have better XVs. Our red and black mud on dirt roads are ten times slippery than sleet and no problem. Scooby knows that too. Happy XV-ing.

 

switch off the traction control when in heavy snow or bad ice conditions - I have done this ever since traction control has been on Subaru's and always did this on my old WRX for the same reason. I find it far more predictable and it does not affect the ABS braking. Actually, I think it might say this in the manual somewhere too. I'll check later.

I also use Snow-rated tyres which helps considerably. They have extra-thin vanes that help when driving on ice. I swap between summer and winter tyres during the year

 

Well I took it back and left it at the dealership after service manager said he was having same issue aand was trading his in. Now I have a 2014 Forester sitting in my driveway (6 speed - yay!). Drove it tthrough some pretty high-wind areas and it is way more stable on the road.
They is an influx of used XVs sitting on dealership lots here now.

 

Any further development on this? I have experienced the same issue a few times... it's kinda scary. Last time it happened, I had 3 people in the car with me and they all felt it. My alignment is good (was checked under 5000km ago) and tire pressure is good. Was a little wet with slight snow coverage. Felt very "floaty" with a side to side tail sway. No VDC noise or lights. Have over 26,000km on the car now, and this has only happened like 3 times... but it's scary as hell when it does because no counter steering corrects it, only slowing down. Did it for about 1.5 km, I had to do 80kph on a 100kph posted highway in a freaken SUBARU!!! Not a happy camper!!

 

30.000km here now, and have not encountered this at all. Car feels just as stable as my old Forester or Baja, and I still go 120km/h on the highway, even with some snow.

 

Remember the XV handles great in the snow rain, etc.. Do to it all wheel drive system, traction control, boxer engine and low center of gravity.... But ICE IS ICE.... Does not matter .... If it on the road it make the road slippery... Regardless of what your driving. You will get better traction and control... But once a sheet of ice is on the ground there is no significant difference..... Except for a little better grip ... BE CAREFUL and not over confident......


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Im so glad to read your post. I'm having same problems with mine. Keep thinking I'm the only one. The dealership treats me like I'm imagining things but this car scares me and my husband to death. It is so unpredictable in snow and slush. I'm not sure what to do. It fish tails all over road and I'm a very experienced driver. My husbands two door fiat does better in snow. It does good in fresh falling snow but when I'm driving up the highway it's all over the place.

 

Mandy and all, I just want to say that this is a "real' problem. It is not due to inexperience with awd or driving in general. I believe the cause is a combination of things but starts with the alignment. Do not get your alignment done at the dealership .. they are not experts. Go to a trusted alignment/wheel shop where you can see the alignment being done and get a print out of the readings before and after. My story is that I had a slight pulling to the right and mild wandering at highway speeds. On dry it is a minor nuisance and I regularly go 140km+ without problem. But in snow/slush it is a different story. It IS scary and the backend wanted to spin to the right for me. So after 3 trips to my dealer in which they said that the alignment was within spec I decided to go to an independent shop that was highly recommended. They found that my front wheels were slightly off but the main problem was my right rear which was off by .40 which would definitely contribute to it trying to spin out in snow/slush.

The reason why I say that alignment is only part of the problem is that I believe there are other factors that contribute to this problem when the alignment is off. First, it's a light car for it's height. So wind at highway speeds can definitely toss it around. Second, tire pressure is important in this equation. I have been playing around with my tire pressure and contrary to common sense I find that increasing the tire pressure to 36 psi front and 34 psi rear appears to help a bit- so play around with your tire pressure. Third and final, I believe the oem tires are suspect in terms of quality control .. this is why some have resolved their "pulling to the right" issue by simply rotating their tires. Also this issue diminishes as you have more even wear on your tires - which makes sense.

Sorry, for my ramble but I've been experiencing since I bought my car new in July and I know others are experiencing this "real" issue so I hope my words are helpful.

And by the way my personal issue has been largely resolved after the proper alignment and tire pressure changes I have made. It definitely is not perfect but at least now it is NOT dangerous on snow/slush at highway speeds.

Cheers,
James

 

Do a search under "subaru wandering" and it becomes apparent that this issue exists with other subaru models. Some call it "ghostwalking", evidently.

Here's an interesting post pertaining to older Outbacks:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/30747-2005-2009-ghostwalking-abnormal-winter-handling-fixes.html

 

Do a search under "subaru wandering" and it becomes apparent that this issue exists with other subaru models. Some call it "ghostwalking", evidently.

Here's an interesting post pertaining to older Outbacks:

2005-2009 Ghostwalking/abnormal winter handling fixes - Subaru Outback - Subaru Outback Forums

Totally makes sense. What I felt was that rear sway this forum discusses. It mentions the fact that 200lbs+ of cargo in the back changes geometry of the suspension and may cause this issue. As I said in an earlier post, the worst I ever felt it was when I had 3 guys in the car with me and all our winter hiking gear.

 

I just wanted to come back to this thread and confirm that my issue is confidently fixed with my last alignment. We have had heavy snow as of late and at highway speeds my XV is now super stable .. no pulling, pushing, wandering or floating. My tire pressure is at 36 front, 34 rear which works for me. I'm a happy camper now. I loved my XV to begin with but now I feel that I've fallen in love again .. lol.

If you have resolved your issues let us all know your resolution, be it alignment, tire rotation, etc so others can benefit.

If you still having issues - there is hope - don't give up.

 

I just wanted to come back to this thread and confirm that my issue is confidently fixed with my last alignment. We have had heavy snow as of late and at highway speeds my XV is now super stable .. no pulling, pushing, wandering or floating. My tire pressure is at 36 front, 34 rear which works for me. I'm a happy camper now. I loved my XV to begin with but now I feel that I've fallen in love again .. lol.

If you have resolved your issues let us all know your resolution, be it alignment, tire rotation, etc so others can benefit.



If you still having issues - there is hope - don't give up.

Glad Your XV is cured. Not that I'm having issues with my 2014 5MT but could you, if possible, post your alignment sheet. I'm curious to see the pre/post specs.
Thanks.

 

My wife and I used to love this car but......While driving my relatively new 2013 CrossTrek 11,000 miles from Wisconsin to Detroit to attend the Winter Hockey Classic had repeated problems with ghostwalking. (This is my 4th Subaru and my 36th winter driving season so not an inexperience problem.) It was snowing but the roads were clear of thick snow but had a thin greasy sheen. It was difficult to keep a straight line and the rear end felt like it wanted to spin out (the old rear wheel drive feel) especially if the wind blew. Most cars were passing me old new big small. As a Subaru driver I am used to passing others on winter roads and did not like feeling like the little old man everyone was steerign around. Thinking the problem was the factory installed tires, we bought new snow tires for $925 at Belle Tire the morning of the return home. Similar weather (snowy blowing greasy roads). The car handled slightly better. But each time we got up to speeds over 40 mph the car would try to turn abruptly whenever we went under or over an overpass on a straightaway....Very nerve racking. Ended up bailing out in a hotel in Toledo until the next morning when the roads were mostly bare and dry. I am very familiar and like the feeling of the AWD kicking in to enhance the traction and control of the car. In this situation it feels like the AWD is kicking in and trying to turn the car anytime there is a slight slick spot. Did check to see if the car would try to drift left or right on a dry flat straightaway (goes straight). I am hoping the problem is related to a rear end alignment issue but disconcerted by my car which feels dangerous when I most need it to be reliable. Will trade it in and look to a non Subaru AWD if the dealer can't fix it.

3 weeks later...update on my Cross Trek handling problems on slick roads described above. The dealer did and alignment according to Subaru specs: no help....experienced similar problems driving to and from Minneapolis with mildly wintery conditions. The dealer service dept said they had similar complaints from other drivers that are currently not fixable. They think it is a design issue related to the care height, weight and length of the body on an Impreza chassis combined with the 60/40 drive ratio. Spoke to the WI state Lemon law consultant who thought it was also a design issue that Subaru will be reluctant to acknowlage publically but likely would address with a redesign. Our dealer agree to take it back in trade in for $22K and gave us a reasonable deal on and Outback which thankfully drives like we expect. (Miss the Crosstrek gas mileage though.)

Interestingly there was another identical Crosstrek 13K miles on the used car lot. It has been 2 weeks and our car was never posted on their website. Perhaps they shipped to down south for drivers who don't need to worry about slippery winter driving as often.

 

I live in Wisconsin and am having the same exact floating/ wandering/ snapback reactions you described. It seems the only for sure cure for everyone with this issue has been to get rid of it. I'm hoping to still find a cure but two separate alignment checks and two separate locations assure me that everything is how it is supposed to be. Frustrating to know in conditions my Audi A4 or Chevy Cobalt can drive 65-70mph my Crosstrek can only do 35-40mph and feel safe.

 

Here's are my before and after alignment reports:

Before:

After:

 

Thanks Jamesxv
I had suspected that TOE OUT might be the case. Looks like you had quite a bit of it. Glad your XV is cured.

 

I read the numbers as rear toe in before, and zero rear toe after.
This is consistent with Subaru's updated alignment specs that for some cured ghost walking on Outbacks.
Counter-intuitive in the extreme.
Wonder if Imprezas are the same.

Subaru - weird, and built to stay that way.

 

Hello and welcome aboard
May the force be with you.