Thanks…I am learning the nuances of the computer!
So, the update. Service techs drove the car and could not reproduce the issue. But, they said it might be the “feeling you get when using cruise control and getting too close to the car in front.” I doubt that as I do not use cruise control. And when I asked them to check out the brakes because I heard a grinding noise, I was told that the brakes were fine. However, when the service manager drove the vehicle, he noticed that the rotors needed replacing and with new ones since the old ones were too warped. ( Somehow coming from another part of the country, I assumed that all shops checked out the rotors when asked to check the brakes. All my former mechanics did.)
The complaint people at corporate will contact me today.
And, it is time to find a new shop.
When and if the problem is solved, I’ll post the outcome!
Thanks for all your help.
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Seems a reasonable assumption. But with the ways of the world these days, good idea if you want rotors checked by a shop doing a “brake check” , to get that in writing. Rotors at the minimum should be checked for both thickness and run-out (warping). Not generally a time-consuming job. Simply removing the wheel and some measurements is usually all that is necessary. Often can get a pretty good idea of the thickness of pad material remaining too in that same configuration. Some of the advantages of disc brakes.
Here’s a possibly helpful tidbit: My friend has a Corolla of similar vintage and complained to dealership soon after the purchase about the car misbehaving, seeming to have a mind of its own. Turned out it was the forward collision avoidance system was activating. I don’t think cruise control was involved.
Did anyone point out to your friend that he has a habit of tailgating the car in front of him?
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In my case, it was the Sevice manager who was tailgating. Not us. I may pudh the car hard, but tailgating is not one of my faults.
Owner advocate is speaking with the service manager today. Her main suggestion was to bring in the vehicle whenever it acted up for us. Then, I might have more leverage rather than waiting for a scheduled maintenance. Oh well…
Found this when doing research - my outback 2019 (50k miles and all 4 tires have enough tread depth) have similar problem. First noticed couple of months ago when driving on a circular ramp merging onto another highway, car slipped a bit as if I drove on black ice, steering wheel rattled, felt like ABS kicked in. It was a warm rainy day so I thought maybe driving at 35mph on a 20mph ramp is not nice. For the context I didn’t turn on cruise control and there’s no car in front of me when this happened.
The following weeks I start to notice what OP mentioned, car seem to slip when I make turns. I live next to a busy road, when merging into the traffic car seems slip as if I didn’t bring steering wheel back fast enough. It doesn’t always happen, but when it happens it can be wet or dry road, fast or slow, turning left or right. No rattling sound when driving over bumps, steering wheel do not rattle, etc. I kinda understand OP’s frustration, when you have something that you know it is there, hard to describe and doesn’t always happen. My son felt the same, and we compared with our other outback and can tell the difference - not much but def. there.
Hope OP has found the issue and have it fixed. For my car I will start with tire rotation and see if it is a fix, if not maybe have my dealer check the tie rod, etc.
Go to nhtsa.com , check for a recall.
Of course, 5+ year old tires with 50K on them could be the issue. Tires do age. Is the tread depth the same all across all four tires? Any abnormal wear?
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I am glad that you are safe. Finally, got rid of the vehicle. I was tired of them telling me it was all my imagination and that it was safe to drive. Esp., as I drive lots of interstates and tend to push the vehicle.
Please let me know if you have any sucess.
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Good answer. But, this was not my problem. Let me know if anybody else has something similar. There cannot be only two of us!