general problems of the 2005 Subaru Outback

There should be a recall for front suspension on this vehicle if not the entire suspension. Mine has been garage kept since day 1, is in showroom condition, not driven in salt on roads during snow, therefore no reason for the suspension to be in this condition. In 2019 at 74,000 miles I had to have the entire front end suspension all components replaced at a cost of over $2,500 usd the suspension was also causing what others refer to as "drifting" under any road driving conditions on dry or wet pavement at any speed above 30mph and would and still does after having the entire suspension replaced, drift, unstable, and when the original suspension was replaced even after being flawlessly maintained the suspension components from the factory were severely worn and including rubber gaskets, sway bars, etc and appeared to have a rust or corroded appearance in spite of the vehicle never being driven in weather during snow when most areas would place salt on roads which is a primary cause of rust or corrosion. The factory suspension also caused significant wear to any tires this causing any tires to wear uneven and require replacement within less than 15kmi. After suspension was replaced in 2019 tires were replaced as well. Vehicle driven 15kmi since 2019 and replacement, in 2021 the suspension again was drifting, causing severe uneven tire wear, and at highway speeds 60mph& above causes a severe drift and vibration which could cause a dangerous situation for the average driver and at highway speeds u have to literally hold the vehicle on the road with a moderate force or it will I'm fact drift and cause incident. I believe the manufacturer should recognise this issue and repair or replace all the components of suspension at no cost to consumer as I am not the only one affected by this. I have receipts I can provide upon request showing the suspension was replaced. Please do not show my personal information or very specific details about my vehicle online.

Driving in light snow or mixture of slushy snow the vehicle rear drifts left and right at speeds of 20 mph. Dangerous if the speed is exceeded. Car pass me all the time because they have not problems with the road at high speeds. I understand this is called ghost walking. The first time this happened I spun out.

While driving on slippery surfaces like ice and snow, the vehicle will begin swaying left and right uncontrollably. The sensation, also known as "ghost walking" could easily cause an accident if the driver can not control the swaying, and spinning out. Conditions of problem: driving during winter conditions, on snowy roads and highways. The vehicle is fine under dry/normal conditions. I believe the issue stems from the awd system.

Was driving on the highway on June 21, 2017 with a dishwasher in the trunk. It was raining and there was traffic, so my speed was about 40 mph. As I was driving, the car abruptly swerved from right to left, and I almost hit another car. This was my scariest driving experience .

Rear suspension issues cause uncontrollable steering from the rear end on snow and ice. Car refuses to drive in a straight line on snow/ice even with snow tires and proper alignment.

I was pulling into a parking space and put on the brake. Vehicle didn't respond to braking and kept going, over the,curb, across the median and hit 5 parked cars before it stopped.

My 2005 nearly killed me recently driving on straight highways that were a bit icy. Despite 4 studded tires, it would barely stay on the road above 35 mph even going totally straight. Cars of all other types were flying past at 60-75 mph, no problem. But my car would end up going sideways and inadvertently switching lanes and or almost going off the road at speeds starting at about 35-40mph. We had three adults in the car and the car filled with luggage, so it was fully loaded. I've read that this "ghost walking" phenomenon happens to 2005 to 2009 Subaru Outbacks that were produced in the USA. It mainly happens when the car is fully loaded, which due to a rear suspension flaw, causes toe-in on the rear suspension and then the rear end becomes totally unstable. I had to drive at 35 mph on highways back with my hazard lights on the avoid being rear ended by all the traffic going at normal highway speeds. Based on what I experienced, they're death traps that should be recalled. . Read more...

My 2005 Outback is very unsafe to drive under certain conditions. After extensive research online, I have discovered people use the term "ghost walking" to describe the issue. After driving over a bump or slick spot on the road, the driver momentarily loses control of the vehicle. The back end sways side to side and the car can jump several feet to the left or right. I have noticed this problem several times but it was drastically worse today. Driving on a straight, dry stretch of interstate, I drove over an icy patch under a bridge. My vehicle jumped to the left several feet and into the other lane. Had there been a car next to me, there most likely would have been an accident. I was traveling at approximately 40 mph as I had already experienced several incidents driving over large bumps. The issue seems to be worse when there is cargo in the back and on icy or bumpy roads. This seems to be a problem with numerous Outbacks model year 2005 through 2009. This is extremely unsafe behavior and it needs to be addressed. I do not intend to drive my vehicle much longer and I would hesitate to buy another Outback for fear of a similar issue.

Car was purchased in September 2014. This was my first time driving this car in wet, snowy driving conditions. I had 5 passengers and twice we had the rear end of the car kind of break loose. It felt like it was swinging to the side. It scared me and the passengers in the car. I have not noticed it while driving alone. I originally suspected under inflated or poor tires, but when I checked the following day they were not bad. I went to a Subaru website looking for tire recommendations and there are over 1,000 postings regarding "ghostwalking" on 2005-2009 Subaru Outbacks. I had never heard of this before but it appears to describe my conditions.

Vehicle ghostwalking while driving 40-45mph in a straight section of road. Multiple other verified issues from 2005-2009 Outback vehicles exhibit the same symptoms. Almost lost control of vehicle and cannot safely travel above 45mph without losing control. Subaru has not officially acknowledged this problem or provided a solution.

First experienced what is now being called ghostwalking. Rear of the vehicle wants to break loose at any speed above 25 mph. Car has since been aligned and 4 new high end snow tires installed and is no better.

While driving on straight, flat and level ice-covered northern indiana road at 35 mph, my 2005 Subaru Outback xt ltd fishtailed (rear over-steer) repeatedly. This felt as if the rear of the vehicle was being quickly pushed from side to side. (this is often referred to as "ghostwalking" and is unmistakable once experienced. ) there were two average weight adults in the front seats and one young adult (135 lbs) in the rear passenger seat. The vehicle received a four-wheel alignment two years ago and does not exhibit any alignment-related issues on dry pavement. I. E. , doesn't pull to left or right, nor wear tires unevenly. The vehicle is equipped in winter with bridgestone blizzak ws60 215/55 r17 tires with approx. 75% of their tread remaining. (these tires show no signs of abnormal wear or other defects. ) I am a driver with 37 years of driving experience and believe this is a very serious safety issue with this vehicle. I've never experienced this degree of unpredictable instability in any vehicle that I've driven on ice. This vehicle gives the operator the impression that it is very sure-footed in any other condition, leading the operator to approach all road conditions with a level of confidence that can (and does) result in nearly out-of-control situations when the vehicle is driven on ice.

This vehicle is dangerous on icy roads. On a recent trip when encountering ice, the rear end would fishtail uncontrollably until speed was reduced below 30 mph. This happened while maintaining speed in a straight line. All other cars were still doing speed limit (60) without problems and we were a hazard fishtailing at 30. A truck jackknifed trying to avoid us. Please do something about these cars before someone is killed. The condition is called ghost walking and is widely reported here and on other websites. These are dangerous cars.

Purchased 2005 Outback in April 2012 with approximately 190000 miles. Car felt very unstable when going over any uneven road surface. Replaced rear struts with no improvement. Tried different tires with no noticeable change. Decided it must be an odd but normal condition for the vehicle. Today, 9/18/12, drove car in light rain along a 2-lane road at approximately 50-55 mph and car was very unstable in the rear. The rear "steered" left/right and felt very unstable. There was a sense the vehicle was going to abruptly cross into the other lane. I have over 40 years of driving experience and realize this is not normal vehicle performance. I live in a central NY and purchased this vehicle for the safety of all wheel drive after owning a 1995 Subaru impreza and a 1997 Subaru Outback. Given the situation I had today, I am afraid of what will happen in ice/snow conditions common in NY. I began to research the issue online in an attempt to correct my situation before winter arrives. I found many online concerns regarding this issue. While I have not yet approached Subaru directly, I get an overwhelming sense from online comments that Subaru will not be very helpful. I am making this safety complaint in hopes that multiple complaints combined will expose what I feel is a very serious/dangerous handling issue with a 2005 Subaru Outback.

Had the car for about a year now. Driven it thru some snow and have experienced what is know as the "ghost walking issue". The rear end tends to wander back and forth while driving on slushy snow and on ice. Also does this when one rear wheel goes in a pot hole especially when driving on an off ramp. Car has been aligned at the dealer and has new tires as well. These things were done to fix the issue but it did not. Car is all stock. Car is dangerous to drive in the above conditions. This car was bought for our daughter to drive back and forth to college and now we don't dare let her drive it. There have been many complaints about this issue on Subaru sites like Subaru. Org that I am surprised nothing has been done. We are getting rid of car as soon as we can because of this main reason.

This was one of the first snows of the winter and I was driving my 2005 Subaru Outback down detroit freeways to metro airport to pickup my son. I had my wife in the front seat and my youngest son in the rear seat. As the snow began to fall I felt the car lurch back and forth as if I were driving through icy or snowy ruts. I am an experienced driver (50 years old) and had never experienced anything like this except during an ice storm, etc. I thought the road must have had "black ice" under the snow as my car was almost uncontrollable. I slowed down to about 30mph and, to my surprise, saw two wheel drive pickup trucks, etc. Passing me at 10 - 20mph faster than I was going. . . Everyone was passing our car as I when I tried to match their speed it seemed that I was going to lose control with the rear end having a mind of its own shifting back and forth. In the months that followed, I searched the internet and found the threads calling this phenomenon "ghostwalking". I hope that NHTSA does something about this as I do not want anyone to get hurt or killed thinking that this car is a great snow car (from a ground clearance and awd standpoint) and finding out the hard way that it is not. It would appear that it is worse when the suspension is loaded down with more passengers, as it was in this instance, than when it is just the driver and no cargo in the hatch area.

I have owned and driven this Subaru since July 06 and have driven it through 5 northern illinois winters. Today was our first snowfall this season and for the first time I have noticed that the car exhibts very "un-nerving" handling quailites in very light snow road conditions. Something has changed to make me feel like I will loose control of the vehicle. The car feels like it wants to fishtail out of control at any speed over 30 mph. Strange "wandering" best decribes it. It feels like I'm driving in deep ruts of heavy road snow that wants to pull the car into the ruts but the road is barely covered. On two lane roads it feels like the car could easily cross the center line because of this odd steering feedback I feel on slick snow covered road conditons. I don't feel it in rain condtions. It has "never" felt like this before. The rear struts were replace last summer with oem struts. The car has never had an alignment but has always tracked down the road very straight. Tire wear is even and tires have been rotated multiple times. Tires are bridgestone turanza serenity with 66k and been through 3 winters before with no handling issue. Once I noticed on this site that many Outback owners are experiencing the same symptom, I knew I needed to get this posted in case of an accident. I'm now at least on record with my "handling concern complaint" and Subaru of America can't say my concern was never addressed with the NHTSA. A car should never display the kind of handling issues that makes it feel unsafe to drive in light winter conditions. P. S. I took my son's Honda crv with 198 k for a test drive in the same conditions today,on the same roads and found its handling very predictable. What is going on with these Outbacks ?.

Our Subaru started what is described as "ghost walking". Mild but noticeably last winter, severe and constant this winter (2013). On icy or snow packed roads, the vehicle's rear end moves or sways back and forth. Speed from 25 mph up to 45 mph. Can't go faster due to terrain and roads anyway.

Car is not safe on packed snow or icy roads. All road feel is gone and it feels as if the car could spin out of control at any moment. Most other cars seem to pass without issue. For a awd car this is unacceptable. You must slow down to 40 and below to have any hopes of keeping the car in a straight line. I have put nokia snow tires on the and car drives perfect in fresh snow but still cannot drive in slippery conditions. I have not noticed this on wet pavement. Subaru feels like an alignment will correct the problem. Going in for one in a week. If it does not fix the issue I will sell the car. I found many owners with the same issue on Subaruoutback. Org.

I have experienced what is referred to as "ghostwalking" in my 2005 Subaru Outback. While driving in winter conditions such as slush, snow and ice mix, and black ice the car fishtails in the rear wheels making it impossible to safely drive this car. However driving on hardpack snow and hardpack powder the car handles fine. The car fishtails much worse when even a little weight is loaded in the rear. I do have dedicated snow tires, with studs. I am a very experienced driver in winter conditions, I do not drive too fast in poor road conditions. This is a serious problem that apparently many people have experienced. I have multiple friends who drive older Subaru's who have never experienced such an encounter with their cars. Bottom line this car is not safe to drive on winter roads, I have literally feared for my life on several occasions. Please do something about this.

I reside in the sierra nevada mountains in California and experience snowy/icy driving conditions regularly thoughout the winter. The Outback was purchased for its performance in these conditions and is equipped with blizzak studless snow tires. On several occasions, in both CA and CO, while driving on packed snow at approximately 40 mph, the rear end began to fishtale out of control. This situation continued to worsen until the speed was reduced to below 30 mph. I have spoken to the dealer and of course, "they have never heard of such an event" and did not have any idea as to what may have caused this condition nor how to correct. There are too many reports of this identical out of control condition for it to be coincidental, Subaru needs to address this issue before someone is seriously injured or killed.

2005 Subaru Outback sedan driven on icy/snowy road conditions experiences extreme slippage in the rear of the car. Have experienced this on at least two other occasions with this vehicle in similar conditions. Awd does not appear to be keeping the rear of the car on the road or in line. Vehicle fishtails or ghostwalks on the road surface in these conditions. Each time this was experienced was while driving on highway at speeds between 30 and 70 mph in icy/snowy conditions. I have a 1996 Subaru legacy sedan as well that does not exhibit this type of unnerving wandering on the road when driven in exact same conditions. This wandering makes vehicle feel extremely unstable and the back of the car feels as though it wants to spin around or off the road.

Car is very unstable on snowy road surfaces and fishtails from side to side. Other vehicles on the road do not experience this problem. This incident has occurred many times during winter driving conditions. We have new snow tires and four wheel alignment yet the problem persists. Car instability is very dangerous and we are concerned for our safety. We have contacted the Subaru dealer and Subaru directly yet no one seems to know what the problem is.

While driving north on 91 to vermont this car handled great in snow, . On the other hand the return trips the roads were plowed packed snow it was like the rear end was on ice skates(or ghost walking} whatever you call it when it happens it will scare the [xxx]out of you. The first couple times it happened, I had every excuse why it wasn't the car, I thought the stock tires were shot, so I bought 4 brand new dunlop snow tires. I hoped problem would be solved, car handled even better in snow same on packed snow/ice. Thought maybe the thule box was catching wind, removed thule box. Problem did not get better. I began searching for similar issues online and came across many suggestions that stock suspension sucked, which I kinda new, so I replaced suspension with supposedley the best available kyb hoped that after that investment problem would be solved, I was wrong again. After deeper investigation online I learned of ghostwalking. If I had bought a chevy cavalier or Ford taurus or any other piece of crap that you wouldn't expect to handle said conditions it's one thing but for a car that either endores or is endorsed by the us ski team, ski patrol this car is not safe. About two months ago I was driving up a straight away it had rained earlier. I was driving about 55 I the limit is 45 and the rear end slipped out and the car began ghostwalking. I don't feel safe driving my daughter in this car that I hoped to one day give her. I owned a 95 Outback and had none of the above problems had reg tires. Since finally figuring that I'm not crazy and other people are having this problem that can't be fixed,I want to trade it in but worry that whoever buys it might crash and die, icant very well go trade in this car and tell them this handles great, best car I ever owned just don't drive it on packed snow you no the reason you want a Subaru in the first place. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

2005 ob sw mt. Car is very unstable in slush or snow. Car weaves from side to side resulting in driving very slowly to minimize instability.

I am a very experienced driver in snowy and icy conditions. My Outback 2005 2. 5i started wiggling out of control (especially felt the back end wiggle left to right) on a straight road with approx 1/2 inch ice and packed snow causing me to slow down from approximately 40 mph to 20 mph . Other 2 wd vehicules passed us at much higher speeds with no apparent problem to keep straight. Our car had 2 adults and 2 small children in it with skiing gear. Changed our winter tires immediately after. The problem occurred again on a few other similar occasions, for which I went to the dealer to get aligned, tire changed again. Went to dealer in 2010 after this occurred again on the highway with only slush and water. I had to slow from 55 mph to 30 mph to keep car in control. Remember this is on the highway!! went to dealer again to re-align the car which according to them was not aligned. The problem re-occurred again this winter. I am now fed up, this is a dangerous car and I am turning it in to buy a new car. I can't understand why Subaru is not recalling to fix the rear suspension.

Excessive rear tire wear, bridgestone potenza re92, 225/55/17 installed on 2005 Subaru Outback. Normal tire wear through 19k miles. Rear tires completly worn out after 2k road trip with moderate vehicle loading. No signs of mis-alignment or over/under inflation. Front tires remain serviceable.

I have an 2005 Outback xt. This car is dangerous on packed snow. I am a very experienced winter driver and have never had a vehicle handle this "loosely" on snow. Above approx 40mph the back end wants to snap around even on flat, straight roads without the being on the accelerator or brake. After the first incident in 06, I was told by the mechanic it was due to uneven tire wear and an alignment issue. So after only 15k miles, I replaced the tires and had the car aligned. Years later, I am now convinced that the "ghostwalking" issue caused these other issues and was not the result of them. I have since replaced the shocks/struts and use studded snow tires in the winter. This has helped, but the problem seems to come back erratically. It always occurs at highway speeds and now is sometimes even felt on wet freeways. I personally know of three other 05 Outback owners in my neighborhood that have all experienced the "ghostwalking" problem at some point. I have previously owned a 92 legacy wagon and a 96 impreza and both were outstanding on snow, even without snow tires. The 05 Outback has a serious safety issue that needs to be further examined before someone is seriously injured or killed.

2005 Subaru Outback will not track straight in slippery conditions at all. The term ghost walking is being used for this and is very accurate. I do not feel secure driving in any snowy conditions in this vehicle. I had a 1995 Subaru before this that was rock steady in snow, this car is very unpredictable. Tire changes do not solve problem nor does alignment to oem specs. Has been on going since I bought the car new.