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.
2005 Subaru Outback suspension complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 56, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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.
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.
I have had issues with my power train since purchase of the car. I have done both cv axles twice. The last time the control arms had to be replaced. Ball joints have been twice. The shop I took my car to said they have seen this same issue in 4 other subaru's of the same year. During repair my drive knuckles broke. I have spend thousand on just my power train. Between subaru dealership, burt brother, and premier auto, I want to make an official complaint and ask you to look into these issue. All of these companies have advised me to place this complaint.
While driving the car on a slightly snowy/slippery road with light snow falling, it felt like the rear end of the car was spinning out and I was heading off the road. I had to slow down to about 30 MPH in order to stay in my lane. Everyone else was flying past me. I have since had many occasions where these same conditions caused the same effects with the car. It seems to worsen when I have passengers or any extra weight in the car. When the driving conditions that cause this problem exist, I cannot drive my car, but must rent another vehicle or borrow someone else's car. We have owned other subaru outbacks of 1998 or earlier with no problems in snow. Numerous times I brought this problem up with subaru corporation of america and my dealership and everyone denies there is any problem with the car. I'm totally frustrated!!
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).
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.
I am the third owner so after my problems, I researched to learn the first owner couldn't maintain tire life; subaru replaced all four tires and kept trying realignment for her. The second owner informed me he could not maintain new tire life, never acknowledging to me that the car is all over the road and a hazard to your life. Being the third owner, I never thought when I purchased this 2005 subaru outback that it could be an engineering problem with a company like subaru, not identified or recalled. I have learned the car is unsafe and after research online have learned there could be a serious engineering problem with the raised rear suspension. I have the subaru receipts from former two owners (they were related) and obviously subaru is negligent in not identifying the issue and reporting it. Two different shops have assured me it is not ball joints, or suspension, etc. I spent $750 on the rear end and new alignment at the specialty spring and suspension shop and those tires seem to be wearing evenly. The front tires are cupped on the outside severely in six months. The car is all over the road.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 the federal safety agency 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.
Right and left front control arm bushings split and replaced along with both front control arms.
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.
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 throughout 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.
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 exhibits very "un-nerving" handling qualities 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 describes 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 conditions. I don't feel it in rain conditions. 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 federal safety agency. 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 ?
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 vehicles 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.
Failure of 2 rear wheel bearings and right front wheel bearing.
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.
Driving on icy/snowy roads, the back end sways/"ghost walks" extremely dangerously probably 2-3" each way regardless of braking/turning/straightaway/accelerating. We were driving along with a 2wd vehicle from wi to mt which handled significantly better than the outback (which is supposed to be the top of the line winter car). Had brand new (300 miles) quality all weather tires and an alignment. The car actually appears to be doing this now in dry conditions as well when I encounter bumps at highway speeds. The feeling of safety is severely lacking.
2005 subaru outback exhibits a serious of stability when driving at a steady speed on the highway when there is the slightest degradation of traction. The rear of the vehicle will begin to sway from side to side on flat and straight road surfaces if the roads are wet from rain or even with a light dusting of snow. On december 3 2010 I was driving north on I-75 north of flint michigan, there was occasional light snow flurries that were barely coating the road surface. I was driving at the posted speed limit (70 MPH) when the snow started to lightly coat the road the vehicles rear end started to sway from side to side in a violent manner. I had to slow down to 50 MPH to regain control of the vehicle, all the while I was being passed by 2wd pick ups and 2wd drive vehicles. The vehicle has exhibited the same behaviors on wet road surfaces during and following rain. It's time for subaru to correct this problem. I'm not feeling the love.
2005 subaru outback unstable rear suspension. This car is absolutely terrifying to drive at hwy speeds in adverse weather conditions. The rear end sways and hops and swings uncontrollably. I have stopped driving this car and it will have a new owner. I will not drive such a under engineered piece of japanese iron and have the life scared out of me. There's plenty of cars out there that are safer to drive than this thing. Subaru need to step up to the plate and fix this.
Rear end of the vehicle fishtails when driving straight on an icy road. I have read many similar reports and experienced the issue somewhat, but today driving with a full passenger load was truly terrifying. The rear wheels would sway suddenly and completely without warning, sometimes feeling very close to the point of losing control on the interstate. I have lots of experience with driving various vehicles (including other late model subarus) in icy conditions and can state with absolute certainty that there is a dangerous problem with this car.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 subaru outback awd (na). While driving approximately 35 MPH during snowy weather, the rear of the vehicle began swaying left and right as if it were about to spin. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who realigned the wheels. The failure occurred three times. The vehicle had not been repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000 and the current mileage was approximately 35,000.
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.
90 degree swing of rear end when traveling at only 10 MPH on icy road with excellent snow tires. There may be a rear suspension problem because left rear is over an inch lower than right rear. There is no subaru recall.
Front wheel bearing failure @ 55,000 miles.
We have a 2005 subaru outback that sways in the rear of car under the following conditions 1. Over bumps the rear will swing to the right and dip. When roads are slick it will almost spin the vehicle. If you are in a left hand curve, even at low speed, the condition is exaggerated more than you would expect sort of like it was pushed in addition to the normal inertia you would experience. 2. Rear end traction becomes unstable under icy conditions where it appears that too much power is being distributed to the rear of the driveline then oscillating to each individual rear wheel. In my opinion 100% of the vehicles power concentrated to the rear differential is alternately distributed between the rear wheels and kind of gets stuck in this mode.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2005 Subaru Outback?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history