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2016 Outback Bump-steer

7K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  ronemus 
#1 ·
Before I bother with taking my car in again just to pay $45 to be told that "it seemed to drive normal" and "It's probably your tires" I figure maybe I should ask here, does anyone else experience some nasty bump-steer with their Outback? Mine has done this since day one (for me, bought at 32k miles CPO) and I noticed it the night I got it. It did not get any worse when I changed to all-terrain tires.

Specifically, the back end shifts around when driving over bumps or manhole covers. From paying closer attention to it more recently so I can nail down as many details before I take it back in for this, it's most pronounced from the RR wheel, and pulls the rear and towards the right. Low speeds it's not as prominent, but at higher speed it's very noticeable. It makes the car really unpleasant to drive, especially with how bad the roads are around here.

This issue is really starting to drive me nuts the longer I live with it. Has anyone else had this? Did the dealer do anything about it, and if so, what was done so I may be able to point mine in the right direction?
 
#2 ·
The Outback seems like the rear is sprung very softly and that the rates front to rear aren't matched very well. I noticed a weird float/skipping sensation when going over bumps from day one. I upgraded the rear sway bar and it improved the handling greatly. I have since put on RalliTEK springs and that has tightened up the handling significantly. The are stiffer, so there is a new quick bounce introduced into the handling, but I find it more predictable than the floaty feeling.

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#4 ·
I've never noticed any bump steer in mine. Holds a line very well when hitting potholes.

The only thing I've noticed (which has been consistent with every car I've owned) is the rear dances around when hitting a big bump at highway speeds while nearly doubling the yellow "recommended" speeds around highway interchanges. Only way to fix that is to drive like a normal person.

Have you spent any time looking at the rear suspension components and the sheet metal structure they bolt to? It sounds like something is bent. Previous owner could have hit some road debris and slightly tweaked something.
 
#6 ·
I have not looked under it, I kinda bought this for the purpose of not needing to crawl around underneath it, haha. Mine does it pretty badly at normal speeds, I don't even bother taking interchanges quickly in it, as it just results in tire howl, body roll and sadness.

Sounds normal. I notice it more pronounced going over RR tracks. If you are in a turn while doing it, it’s REAL bad.
Yes, it's far worse when you hit a bump mid-corner at highway speed, but I would definitely not call it normal. Out of the 20-ish cars I've owned, the only other one to do something similar was my rusted-out $200 Toyota, and even that wasn't as bad, and only did it in corners over nasty potholes.

I would 1st, check your alignment, the Gen5 allows for some toe-out in the rear, however, if too much one side or the other, then the car will not track correctly.

I would also recommend .... yep, you guessed it.

https://www.subaruoutback.org/forum...6-subaru-specialty-products-tdck-cke-ssp.html

Particularly the performance rear sway bar bushings.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/173347733959
The alignment was supposedly checked when I first brought it to the dealer for this, and they said everything was fine... no spec sheet provided though, which seemed a bit suspect.
 
#5 ·
#9 ·
Seems odd that a sway bar would solve something that behaves like a toe-out alignment issue. Not saying I don't believe you, just odd to me, and good to know that helped in your situation. I'd rather not have to come out of pocket to add something to correct their poor design, but so it may have to be. Thank you!

Was this just a direct swap with the appropriate bushings from a similar-year STI?

I went over some depressed man hole covers today. Was trying to feel this issue. I don't feel there is a problem with mine. Perhaps this happens when the pavement rises instead of drops?

Try a rising bump in my wife's Chrysler 200 and the rear jerks to one side especially when the bump is only on one side. I find that car dangerous when the roads are coated with ice chunks. That suspension is not designed right! I don't feel it is very safe.
I've noticed it on both depressions (potholes, manhole covers) and rises (crap pavement seams) in mine. I only drove my Outback in the snow once as I got it at the tail end of winter, but I'd imagine if it did what it's doing now on ice and snow, that could really cause some clinching.
 
#8 ·
I went over some depressed man hole covers today. Was trying to feel this issue. I don't feel there is a problem with mine. Perhaps this happens when the pavement rises instead of drops?

Try a rising bump in my wife's Chrysler 200 and the rear jerks to one side especially when the bump is only on one side. I find that car dangerous when the roads are coated with ice chunks. That suspension is not designed right! I don't feel it is very safe.
 
#12 ·
Does road camber (it slopes to the right in most places) affect it?

Have you swapped tires left to right to see if it pulls the other way? This would isolate it to tires (or rule them out).

In general the Outback suspension is mediocre. Mcpherson strut design is generally used to save on space, weight and cost ... that's just how it was designed.

The double-wishbone you see on high-end performance cars like BMW's handle these situations much better even with taller and heavier vehicles, but there are other tradeoffs.
 
#14 ·
Well, it's that time of year around me where the snow and ice that once filled the potholes they expanded has gone, and this is driving me absolutely nuts again, so I wanted to touch back on the subject and see if anyone had some additional insight.

I'm really not too happy with the idea of taking it to the dealer again, just to be told "we didn't notice anything" or "could not be replicated" so I would like to go armed with more information, if I even do so.

I haven't looked much into the upgraded sway bar yet, because as-stated I don't really want to have to go out-of-pocket to fix their design flaws, but feel like I might as well, since I'm considering swapping out my springs and adding a differential cover.
 
#15 ·
Take it to a real alignment shop and tell them what's happening and that your want rear toe in set to near zero. I've done this with a couple of my cars now and its worth it for the rear stability on broken pavement or patches of ice on one side of the lane. I think there's actually a potential for a class action lawsuit for many cars with excessive rear toe and camber specs that makes them unsafe on icy roads.
 
#19 ·
Yup, me too. I upgraded the rear stabilizer bar. It helped, but it's still a problem. Is worst in turns. I'm in my 50's, so have driven well over a million miles over dozens of vehicles, some with steering so quick, you can change lanes just by thinking about turning the wheel (WRX, Austin-Healey Sprite), also plenty of SUVs, Pickups, and a 70's 9-passenger wagon. NONE exhibited this trait of very suddenly tightening the turn upon hitting a bump mid turn at speeds of 40 and up.

Last summer I bought a 2018 OB. Steering has no perceptible slop, tracks fine on the straight. However, in corners with bumps: perfect example is a cloverleaf with uneven pavement seams. When I hit the bump, the car darts to the inside of the turn. By dart, I mean, our track very quickly moves 3 to 6 inches towards the inside of the turn. Of course it also happens in any moderate turn at highway speed. My initial concern was that someone in the next lane could reasonably think I'm going to hit them. Or if it happens on snow and ice, it could land me in the ditch. I figured out, it's partly me. I drive with my left hand on the wheel at 12:30 or 1:00 position (I drove manual transmissions for most of my life). I'm applying a constant force steering input to maintain the turn. When I hit the bump, and the suspension unloads slightly, my constant force results in the wheel turning further. I can pretty much prevent the problem by using two hands, and bracing an elbow on arm rest, or wrist on my thigh, so as to ensure wheel remains stationary. I now have about 20k more miles on it, and tires look fine, so pretty sure it's not alignment. Happens equally in both directions.

I'm at 64,000 with original shocks / struts, so considering an upgrade there. Also a Strut Tower Brace. Already have upgraded rear stablizer.

Would love to hear from someone who's fixed it.
 
#24 ·
I have installed Bilstein B4 struts in front with stock springs and B6 shocks in back with Rallitek non-lowering springs, and really like the results so far. The acid test will come when I run heavily loaded or tow to see how much sag I get. This is part of a package of mods that I've installed over the last 4 years, and now I'm finally totally pleased with the results. I upgraded the sway bars at the beginning of the saga and liked the decreased roll in corners on flat pavement, but not the way vertical bumps on one side produced a pronounced horizontal motion. The Bilsteins greatly improved ride quality, even with the B6s in back, and the vertical to horizontal is no longer noticeable. The full list of mods is:

1) Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 in 245/50-19 tires on Enkei Raijin 19x8 wheels with 45 mm offset (the reduced offset is necessary for clearance with wider tires)
2) Whiteline 24 mm front & 22 mm rear adjustable sway bars, both set on soft, and Whiteline end links in back
3) Non-standard alignment: 0 toe and -0.5 degree camber at all four corners (requires Moog control arms in back and camber bolts in front)
4) Perrin Steering Dampener Lockdown
5) Bilstein B4 struts with stock springs in front and B6 shocks with Rallitek non-lowering springs in back
6) StopTech Sport+ Pads fin ront and Sport pads in the rear greatly reduce fade
7) Philips Vision halogen bulbs for high and low beams, and fog lights, put out brighter, whiter light

The suspension changes don't sacrifice ride quality significantly vs. stock, but nearly all of the understeer is dialed out and cornering limits are increased and roll is almost nonexistent. It's too bad that Subaru doesn't make a performance version available like they did with the Spec B Legacy Wagon; they could OEM this for much less than the $5K that the aftermarket parts cost.

I had originally hoped to drop the ride height, but Bilstein still hasn't come out with Legacy struts and shocks; however, I'm not taking the car to the track so the relatively small performance gain it would produce won't be missed, and there are real-world advantages to the factory ride height.

The only remaining complaint I have is the total lack of feedback through the steering wheel from the electric power steering. With hydraulic power steering I was able to put in a caster kit to increase feedback, but that would have no effect on the electric rack; maybe one day I'll try to hack the electronics.
 
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