general problems of the 2012 Subaru Outback

Subframe is rusted out and causing control arm wobble which I cannot control the steering correctly.

Steering wheel locked-up while attempting to turn left in an intersection. The light turned green and my wife pulled forward about 10 to 15 feet and began turning the wheel for a left turn. However, the wheel would not budge to the left. She screamed out (to me) that the car would not turn left and we found ourselves perilously in the center of the intersection with cars blowing their horns. She did move the wheel to the right and we sort of circled in the intersection. Following this the car did resume normal steering and the problem did not repeat since. The next day (Monday) the car went to the garage where Subaru said they looked it over completely but could not find a cause or the problem. Despite my concerns they insisted all is well and to return if this occurs again.

Wanders, very difficult to hold straight line at highway speeds. Dangerous, very touchy stering.

Stiff/tight steering without much feel, and lane wandering, and trouble keeping the car centered in the lane due to bad center feel.

While driving the car on a major highway the car was out of control. We had only 2 inches of snow during the day, the hwy. Was mostly clear except for some packed snow because of cold temps. But it was mostly clear. We could not keep the car going straight, it was constantly swerving. We could not go more than 45 mph. All the other traffic was going at normal speed. Nobody was swerving or spinning out. We were definitely a safety hazard on the hwy because everybody had to slam on the brakes behind us and then go around. We had to exit at the next off ramp. Even when coasting down hill the car was swerving out of control. I have never operated a vehicle like this before, we are very lucky that nobody rear-ended us or that we put the car in a ditch. This is a very severe problem. Also I mentioned this to 3 separate employees at the dealership, 2 are managers and 1 is a service tech and all 3 said they never heard of "ghostwalking". What a pile of crap!.

I was driving on a interstate highway when the rear of the car started to wander from right to left, it acted like it was floating on the highway. I took the next exit to check for a tire losing air pressure or loose lug nuts. They were fine. I slowed down to 50 -55 mph for the rest of the trip. Every bridge and overpass I slowed down to 50 mph and yet the rear of the vehicle would jump side ways. The highway was wet from a recent snowfall, apparently there was some ice on the road. Other cars/trucks were going at 65 mph+. . I have never felt that "floating" in my 45 years of driving thru snow and ice.

This 2012 vehicle presented issues from the first day of ownership. After 4 repair attempts I worked out a replacement with Subaru of north America by sharing the depreciation loss out of desperation. We replace it with a 2013 Outback identical to the 2012 except for color. . The problem with the steering in the 2012 and the 2013 is that both the vehicle wander all over the road. You need to keep all your attention on keeping it following the road causing extreme fatigue. It is described by me as heavy, does not return to center and in even slight turns the car suddenly pulls in the direction you are traveling which is startling like hitting black ice. Taking your eyes to even the side mirrors for lane changes offers the vehicle to invite itself into oncoming traffic. This replacement 2013 I now have started presenting these symptoms after about the first 500 miles. There is a thread on the matter on the Subaruoutback. Org forum with over 450 replies on the matter. . Read more...