NHTSA Complaint #10253102 — 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK 2.5 SPECIAL EDITION. WHILE DRIVING ON I-35 NEAR CLOQUET, MN, THE CAR EXHIBITED DANGEROUSLY UNSTABLE HANDLING THAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED BY OTHER SUBARU OUTBACK OWNERS. THE ROAD CONDITIONS WERE ICY AND EVEN WITH GREATLY REDUCED SPEED THE CAR WOULD SLIDE/DRIFT SIDEWAYS ON STRAIGHTAWAYS. THIS WAS VERY UNNERVING AS I COULD DO NOTHING SAVE REDUCING MY SPEED TO A CRAWL TO AVOID THIS DRIFTING EFFECT. AT THIS POINT I WAS BEING PASSED BY ALL OTHER TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY (SEMIS, FWD AND RWD CARS, ETC.), WHICH DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE THE HANDLING ISSUES I WAS HAVING. THE CAR IS NEW (3700 MILES) AND I HAD JUST TAKEN TO A SHOP THAT MORNING FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT OK. I BELIEVE THE OUTBACK HAS A DANGEROUS HANDLING ISSUE THAT APPEARS TO MANIFEST PRIMARILY WHEN FULLY LOADED (I HAD 2 PASSENGERS AND GEAR) AND ON SMOOTH AND SLIPPERY ROADS. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE THIS CAR IN SNOWY CONDITIONS, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE GIVEN I LIVE IN MN AND BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR WINTER DRIVING AND ITS AWD PROPERTIES. I HAVE NEVER HAD A CAR HANDLE SO POORLY IN MY 16 YEARS OF WINTER DRIVING. *TR