Suspension & brakes
Worn rear struts and rear-end wander in snow
Soft factory dampers go off early and the rear sags with a load, which changes rear toe and makes the back of the car step out on slippery roads. New rear dampers, stiffer rear springs, or an alignment done with weight in the cargo area are the usual cures.
Frequency basis: The suspension FAQ says the factory dampers are already wearing out at 30,000–60,000 miles, especially on 2005–2006 cars, and the known-issues thread calls the rear struts under-spec'd. 15 of 273 NHTSA narratives describe the rear drifting or fishtailing in snow or slush, which the FAQ attributes to rear toe change under load.
Symptoms
- Floaty, bouncy ride and wallowing over dips; squirrelly feel on the highway
- Rear end wandering or swinging in snow and slush at 20–40 mph, especially loaded
- Uneven rear tyre wear; sagging ride height with cargo
Causes found
- Factory dampers wearing out by 30–60k miles
- Rear toe changing as the soft rear springs compress under load ("ghostwalk")
- Worn rear strut mounts and spring seats
Check in this order
- Bounce test and look for damper leaks; check strut mounts for separation
- Measure rear ride height loaded and unloaded
- Have the alignment checked with the usual load in the back
What fixed it
- KYB Excel-G dampers for 2005–2009 (front 339098/339099, rear 341443) are the common choice at about $210 a set; many owners use the stiffer 2000–2004 rear KYB 341276 with 2005–2009 fronts
- Rallitek rear springs about 18% stiffer, or King springs, to hold the rear up
- Alignment to the 2007-and-later rear toe spec with sandbags in the cargo area
- Replace the rear strut mounts (20370AG00A) and spring seats with the dampers
References on this site
OEM parts
- 20365AG03AShock absorber, rear
- 20370AG00AStrut mount, rear
- 20375AE00ARubber seat, rear strut upper
Factory manual chapters
Sources
Forum threads are owner reports, not factory findings. Counts are from the threads and complaint records read for this page; read the sources before buying parts.
- 1.2005-2009 Outback suspension FAQ
subaruoutback.org · Forum thread · 2010–2026, 1,800 replies; damper part numbers, ghostwalk fix
- 2.Known Issues with 2005 Outback XT Limited???
subaruoutback.org · Forum thread · rear struts under-spec'd
- 3.NHTSA complaints, 2005 Subaru Outback
nhtsa.gov · NHTSA · 15 narratives describe rear drift in snow; 56 complaints filed under suspension
- 4.2005 Subaru Outback suspension repair histories
truedelta.com · Complaint aggregator · struts and wheel bearings lead the owner logs