Question about wheel alignment on new Subarus

[edrach]

This concerns the new 2008 Outback. An acquaintence recently bought one and brought it back to the dealership because the car drifted to the right. He was told this was "normal" and designed in as a "safety" feature; i.e. If you fall asleep you'll go off the road to the right rather than into on-coming traffic. I think that's total BS but wonder whether anyone else has heard a similar reason.

[cobcob]

It's been my understanding for a lot of years that there should be a little drift to the right for just that reason... I've been wrong once today though...

[mtsmiths]

This concerns the new 2008 Outback. An acquaintence recently bought one and brought it back to the dealership because the car drifted to the right. He was told this was "normal" and designed in as a "safety" feature; i.e. If you fall asleep you'll go off the road to the right rather than into on-coming traffic. I think that's total BS but wonder whether anyone else has heard a similar reason.

 

Someone needs a cosmic dope slap. Maybe the shop was having an "I bet you a beer I can blow off a customer with a more booo-gus story than you can' day.

 

Your friend should be right back in the dealership and make the shop writer repeat that story in front of the owner's face. OH, and call SOA.

[nipper]

Thats total BS. A car is unsafe if it doesnt track straight. That drift to the right isnt valid on divided highways, and one way streets (or generally anytime).

If this shop is licensed by the state, i would drop the licensing authority a letter too, as well as subaru and the shops owner.

 

nipper

[edrach]

A followup reply I got from a person who has serviced Subarus for many years: "Subarus tend to be more "crown sensitive" than other makes." That is, even though the alignment is spot on, if you're on the right side of the road crown, the car will drift to that side. However, that being said, the reply my friend received was not valid and the reason for the drift to the right should be investigated and this was just a "smart rump roast" answer to avoid the time, cost or expense of seeing whether it was alignment, faulty tire pressure, a bad tire on one side....none of which would bring income to the dealership considering the warranty issues on a new car.

[Manarius]

I've noticed that my SVX - that has been aligned recently, does tend to drift a certain direction depending on where I am on the road. It'll track straight on flat new road, but on older road, it'll track slightly off depending on where I am on the road.

[tcspeer]

I have heard the story also that their should be a little drift to the right but very little.

I also have found out that just a little drift right or left can sometime be changed to the other direction by switching the sides with the front tires.

[GeneralDisorder]

This concerns the new 2008 Outback. An acquaintence recently bought one and brought it back to the dealership because the car drifted to the right. He was told this was "normal" and designed in as a "safety" feature; i.e. If you fall asleep you'll go off the road to the right rather than into on-coming traffic. I think that's total BS but wonder whether anyone else has heard a similar reason.

 

That's what I've always heard as well. Sounds right to me. I would rather drift out than towards oncomming traffic.

 

GD

[edrach]

That's what I've always heard as well. Sounds right to me. I would rather drift out than towards oncomming traffic.

 

GD

See my comment on "crown sensitive." If you're to the right of the crown, you drift right. If to the left, you drift left. If the road is perfectly flat and the wheels are properly aligned you should go straight. That is perfectly normal. However, my friend actually needs to steer left slightly to avoid drifting right and that's not correct.

[GeneralDisorder]

See my comment on "crown sensitive." If you're to the right of the crown, you drift right. If to the left, you drift left. If the road is perfectly flat and the wheels are properly aligned you should go straight. That is perfectly normal. However, my friend actually needs to steer left slightly to avoid drifting right and that's not correct.

 

Most modern roads don't have near as much of a crown. Alignment has had to change to keep up with road construction techniques. Modern graded roads and low pressure tires have led factory alignments to change from around 3 degrees positive camber on front wheels to around 1 degree in the 80's and 90's and even less in more modern vehicles.

 

His may be excessive, and the dealer dismissed him as being a paranoid new owner. You shouldn't have to actively stear it left - it shouldn't require concious movement to correct. But a slight drift to the right is prefered from a safety standpoint - just as consumer cars will always understeer rather than oversteer or zero-steer.

 

GD

[bulwnkl]

edrach, I agree with your crown sensitive comment. And, a little cross-caster would cause the drift your friend/acquaintance is experiencing.

 

At the same time, a bad tire will do that. When we took our '02 Legacy GT Limited home brand new from the dealer, it pulled to one side. It wasn't really bad, but enough that we had to steer the car to keep it on the road. Returning to the dealer, they checked alignment, rotated tires, and fiddled around. They said that the issue seemed to follow one tire and so they rotated it to the rear and the issue was fixed. A couple or few weeks later, my wife had a tire blow driving down the highway. It was the tire which had caused the pulling. We went to the Bridgestone dealer and they were surprised but when I explained what the dealer had said and done, they replaced the tire at no charge under warranty citing an internal belt separation.

[uniberp]

That's what I've always heard as well. Sounds right to me. I would rather drift out than towards oncomming traffic.

 

GD

OK this is all crazy. It the car drifts, the tires will wear unevenly, causing even more difficult handling and possibly mechanical problems.

 

That isn't safe. Cars should track straight.

 

Also, if a car drifts slightly at 50mph, it's going to veer right into the ditch in 3 seconds at 100 mph.

 

I used to wonder if I should compensate in the suspension for uneven weighting (driver only), but found that IS NOT a factor in suspension setup.

[nipper]

This has come up a lot on other subaru sites. New subarus being out of alignment. I suspect its a dealership issue (poor prep) as a 4 wheel alignment takes time, and time is money.

 

 

nipper

[OB99W]

This has come up a lot on other subaru sites. New subarus being out of alignment. I suspect its a dealership issue (poor prep) as a 4 wheel alignment takes time, and time is money.

Gee, Subarus with "initial build" problems, and dealers who won't address them -- what a surprise!

[Virrdog]

Most modern roads don't have near as much of a crown.

[pet peeve] Blanket... Statement... [/pet peeve]

I work with designing roadways and the typical sections change everywhere you go. Some haven't changed for decades. I see code books that are older than me all the time, but I wouldn't exactly call those towns "modern".

 

But yeah, cars should track straight, but never left. On an even surface.