[dejal]

I'm in the market for a new car. My 98 Accord is starting to burn oil @247K miles. Funny, I always thought the clutch would go first (original clutch).

I want something more robust for winter weather (got stuck 3 times last winter with good snow tires on the car) and the Forester and Outback seem way more capable than Hondas offerings. And Subaru still offers a stick which you can't get in a CRV or Pilot.

I've been reading this web site and the Subaru Outback dot Org Forums (I can't post the link as I don't have enough posts here) and the Outback seems to have a big problem with a steering wheel shimmy that so far SOA hasn't been able to fix. Supposedly there's a TSB fix coming in July.

Reading one of the threads over there, someone said that it's not just the Outback but the Forester has it to.

I've searched, and I can't find anything about the Forester having the same issue.

Does any Forester owner here have the problem that the Outback does?

Granted it's not all Outbacks but it would really suck to buy a brand new car and then spend a lot of time at the dealer for attempts to get the car fixed.

 

[Lovesubaru]

Does any Forester owner here have the problem that the Outback does?

What problem??? (I haven't check news for few days...)

By the way, welcome to the forum...

 

[SubieNoob]

No. It seems to be in the outback/legacy platform. Unfortunately it's reared it's ugly head in new 2011 outbacks that have been freshly delivered

I've been reding that forum too as we were in tthe market for an outback but haven't read where someone verified that it affects the forester. The forester shares the same platform as the imprezza and no one that I am aware of has been talking about on imprezza forums which are quite busier than this forum.

 

[mike5335]

Welcome to the forum!

No shimmy in my 2010 Foz. Haven't been in excess of posted limits (70 mph on a lovely stretch of Interstate 5) but there have been no vibrations other than those caused by California's deteriorating roadways.

 

[JBX]

I notice a slight shimmy around 70 mph on certain smooth road surfaces. Granted, smooth road surfaces are uncommon here in western PA.

 

[crewzer]

No shimmy problem in our '09 Forester. No shimmy reports from a son ('97 Legacy GT), a brother ('06 Legacy Turbo), or his kids ('07 Impreza OBS).

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

[dejal]

I didn't think there was a shimmy. Most likely the poster in the other forum was trying to make him(herself) feel good by saying "It's not just us".

Thanks to the forum admin for moving this thread. I wasn't sure where it really belonged.

I'd be happy with either, but there's no way I'm going to roll the dice on something that may show up AFTER the purchase and can't be fixed.

If the Outback issue was @ 80 MPH plus it wouldn't bother me. I don't spend much time at that speed. Most of my driving is not interstate, but when I do, 70-75 MPH is my personal sweet spot. It would drive me insane.

If the rumored TSB in July doesn't take care of the problem, the Outback will be off my list.

 

[SubieNoob]

Is the TSB just replacing some front end bushings with softer ones? I read at least 1 person said that they had it done and it helped but not solved the problem.

Now, granted not all OB's have this problem but we're not ordering ours and waiting just to have a shaker be delivered.

Made the decision real easy to buy a forester. :woohoo:

 

[Papa_D]

Hopefully the Outback owners won't experience the dreaded Death Wobble that has plagued some other makes.

 

[SubieNoob]

Hopefully the Outback owners won't experience the dreaded Death Wobble that has plagued some other makes.

Well, that's usually due to a lifted suspension. Fortunately I never experienced it in my 05 Wrangler on 33's with a 2" budget boost :shrug: certainly have read about it in jeepforums.com with real/higher lifts.

 

[Papa_D]

Well, that's usually due to a lifted suspension. Fortunately I never experienced it in my 05 Wrangler on 33's with a 2" budget boost :shrug: certainly have read about it in jeepforums.com with real/higher lifts.

That certainly could play a role in many cases although that F250 didn't look to have a high lift and I know that on the Tundra, they were getting horrible bed wobble on stock vehicles, so much so that 20/20 or 60 minutes did a special on it and it happened mainly on certain stretches of interstate, especially concrete and in the end, the Tundras just weren't road tested effectively prior to release.

It's funny, they have all these fancy proving grounds and computer tests but apparently they failed to take it out and drive it enough on real roads to find the problem prior to building a few million of them.

 

[09xtBrandon]

As a VW driver for years i can tell you for the money a forester is a huge buy. I live in "crappy road" PA suburbs, and travel into Philly everyday. Forester exceeded my expectations in all kinds of road types.

 

[MudRunner]

Okay, so here goes.

For the most part... I find Srg to whine a lot. The cars supposedly DO have a shimmy, but I've never driven a 2010. I would go take one for a spin and see. Run'er up to 80 if you have to.

They got in a big fuss about the BP chassis Outbacks (last gen) 'ghostwalking'. I've driven many BP chassis rental (from Hertz) Outbacks with crappy all seasons on the ice (at low to high speeds), and I've never experienced it, nor have I ever experienced it in my own beloved BH with a similar rear suspension design. I think Outback owners know so little about their cars sometimes that all they can do is whine about things that may or may not exist, because otherwise the car is nearly perfect. Not saying that it doesn't exist, but I would try it out for yourself. If they have a demo model with a couple thousand miles, try that out too.


I love both the older gen Foz and my older Outback, both have been awesome cars. Different personalities entirely... the Outback is more of a stable, road hugging road car in the older generations, and the Foz is a lot lighter and more loose feeling, but is more nimble. My Outback is like a stretch between the two.

 

[dejal]

"For the most part... I find Srg to whine a lot. "

Maybe not a lot but to a degree. But when you see posts over there about Lemon Laws on this issue. That's pretty bad.

Problem is, there's people that bought with no shimmy and then it showed up a couple of thousand miles in.

Or you have to drive it for 15 minutes over the speed limit.

People test drove 1 , had the shimmy, test drove another, no shimmy, bought it, shimmy showed up later.

Etc.....

The Honda had warped rotors about a year ago. That was a trip on the interstate slowing down.

Someone over there asked if anyone could upload a video showing the shimmy at speed. So far no one has done so.

The most common issue I've seen on the latest SF on this forum is squeeks with the biggest culprit being those plastic whatevers in the doors.

 

[BAC5.2]

My '09 Outback doesn't have any shimmy at all. Neither did either of the '10's I was given as a loaner.

I think the "ghost walking" issues are from people who are innexperienced in how Subaru's drive. My Outback handles the snow no differently than my Forester or older cars do. It IS longer, and that changes some things, but not to the extent of the "ghost walking" complaints.

 

[MapleScones92]

No shimmies on our 2010 Forester.

We bought our 2010 Forester a few months ago and have had no problems. Handling/steering/breaking are SUPERB! I love driving it.

We also own a 2002 Outback H6 VDC--terrific in snow. I test drove a 2010 Outback, thinking we *might* trade our Outback in. It was spacious, but it lacked a sporty feel that our 2002 has. I felt like I was a little kid driving Grandma's big car. I also was concerned about the 2010 steering problems as reported on the Outback forum. We stopped in at a Subaru dealer on a Sunday just to window shop, and another customer there wanted to buy our 2002 Outback! :icon_surprised: That's when we decided we would keep our 2002 for a lot longer and purchase the Forester instead.

The Forester is nimble and handles very well. No recalls, no steering shimmy. I hope that Subaru is able to fix the Outback problem.

 

[BAC5.2]

Maple, a similar thing happened to me. I was at a VW dealer picking something up for my wifes old car and someone gave me their business card asking me to call him when I was ready to sell the Forester.

 

[MapleScones92]

"braking"--not "breaking"!

Oh boy, just caught that typo. I meant the car brake! :icon_redface: :biggrin:

We also have a Honda Accord about the same year as the OP's Honda. It is very reliable, has low miles, and we intend to keep it, but after going back and forth between driving the two cars, the Forester's handling is much more responsive and precise. I am very impressed with how well the Forester drives. It is so smooth!

My husband is tall/long-legged, and I am small/petite. The driver's seat in the Forester works great for both of us. The new Outback had a bulky plastic console between the driver/passenger seats that was in my husband's way. His right leg kept bumping it. He was surprised to find that the 2010 Forester had more leg room for him.