There are 5 stored owner reports matching the steering leading-label group for the 2008 Subaru Outback in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 5 of 5 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)WHILE DRIVING ON SLIGHTLY SLICK ROADS IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN THE REAR WHEELS WOULD LOSE TRACTION AND START TO FISH TAIL. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT THE GAS APPLIED, WITH OR WITHOUT THE TRACTION CONTROL ENGAGED. THE CAR FELT AS IF IT WAS SLIDING SIDE TO SIDE IN THE BACK. THE TIRES ARE IN GOOD CONDITION AND THE VEHICLE IS WELL MAINTAINED. OTHER VEHICLES WERE TRAVELING WITHOUT ISSUE. THIS HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS GHOST WALKING IN ON LINE BLOGS. THIS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND DANGEROUS. *TR
MY VEHICLE IS "GHOST WALKING" AS DEFINED IN THIS THREAD: HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/66-PROBLEMS-MAINTENANCE/16527-ALL-GHOSTWALKING-OUBACK-OWNERS-PRINT.HTML THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE SLIDES FROM SIDED TO SIDE AT A CERTAIN FREQUENCY ABOVE 35 MPH IN SNOW CONDITIONS. THIS PROBLEM GETS WORSE AS MORE WEIGHT IS ADDED TO THE VEHICLE. *TR
I BOUGHT MY 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK NEW. I HAVE DRIVEN IT IN ALMOST EVERY ROAD AND WEATHER CONDITION POSSIBLE. IT IS DRIVEN 90% OF THE TIME WITH JUST ME OR ME AND MY WIFE IN THE CAR. JUST A FEW DAYS AGO I WAS DRIVING WITH A FULL LOAD OF LUGGAGE, AND 3 ADULT PASSENGERS IN THE CAR. ROAD CONDITIONS BECAME ICY ON THE INTERSTATE. THERE WAS A FAIRLY RAPID ONSET OF THE CAR KIND OF JERKING SIDE TO SIDE ALMOST LIKE THE BACK END OF THE CAR WAS BEING BLOWN FROM SIDE TO SIDE EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NOT MUCH WIND. I WAS DRIVING VERY SLOWLY AT ABOUT 40-45 MPH WHILE OTHER CARS AND SEMI TRUCKS WERE PASSING ME. I HAD NOT EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE AND I THOUGHT AT ANY MINUTE WE WOULD END UP IN THE DITCH. IT HAPPENED WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM ME SUCH AS GIVING IT GAS OR BRAKING AND WHILE GOING STRAIGHT. THE CAR HAS NEW TIRES WITH LESS THAN 5000 MILES ON THEM. I JUST HAD THE 45000 MILE SERVICE COMPLETED BY THE DEALERSHIP. THE CAR IS A 2.5I WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I DID RESEARCH AS SOON AS I ARRIVED HOME AND FOUND THIS ISSUE WELL DESCRIBED IN A SUBARU OUTBACK FORUM. IT WAS DESCRIBED AS "GHOSTWALKING". *TR
2008 SUBARU OUTBACK WITH 11,000 MILES HAS HAD A PERSISTENT PROBLEM PULLING TO THE RIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. REPEATED ATTEMPTS AT ALIGNING THE VEHICLE HAVE NOT CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. RECENTLY THE FACTORY REP HAS ADVISED THE DEALER TO ADJUST THE CAMBER UNTIL THE VEHICLE WILL TRACK STRAIGHT. THIS HAS ONLY MADE THE PULLING TO THE RIGHT WORSE AND MADE THE VEHICLE UNSAFE TO DRIVE. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH AND GREATER, THE VEHICLE WOULD TEND TO PULL TO THE RIGHT. THE CONTACT DID NOT NOTICE ANY DIFFERENCES IN THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR AN ALIGNMENT, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 21,000. UPDATED 07/29/08 *BF UPDATED 08/05/08. *JB
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.