Problems with 2005 Subaru Outback SUSPENSION

Excessive rear tire wear, bridgestone potenza re92, 225/55/17 installed on 2005 subaru outback. normal tire wear through 19k miles. rear tires completly worn out after 2k road trip with moderate vehicle loading. no signs of mis-alignment or over/under inflation. front tires remain serviceable. *nm

I have an 2005 outback xt. this car is dangerous on packed snow. i am a very experienced winter driver and have never had a vehicle handle this "loosely" on snow. above approx 40mph the back end wants to snap around even on flat, straight roads without the being on the accelerator or brake. after the first incident in 06, i was told by the mechanic it was due to uneven tire wear and an alignment issue. so after only 15k miles, i replaced the tires and had the car aligned. years later, i am now convinced that the "ghostwalking" issue caused these other issues and was not the result of them. i have since replaced the shocks/struts and use studded snow tires in the winter. this has helped, but the problem seems to come back erratically. it always occurs at highway speeds and now is sometimes even felt on wet freeways. i personally know of three other 05 outback owners in my neighborhood that have all experienced the "ghostwalking" problem at some point. i have previously owned a 92 legacy wagon and a 96 impreza and both were outstanding on snow, even without snow tires. the 05 outback has a serious safety issue that needs to be further examined before someone is seriously injured or killed. *tr

2005 subaru outback will not track straight in slippery conditions at all. the term 'ghost walking' is being used for this and is very accurate. i do not feel secure driving in any snowy conditions in this vehicle. i had a 1995 subaru before this that was rock steady in snow, this car is very unpredictable. tire changes do not solve problem nor does alignment to oem specs. has been on going since i bought the car new. *tr

On an extended road trip (17000 mi), in our new 2005 outback, we went through two sets of tires. the dealership corrected the alignment, which was severely off the first time (after 5000 miles.) but then at about 16000 miles, the second set was severely worn out. we had the alignment redone at the dealership in whitehorse, canada but we did not replace the tires as the warranty was not honored at that dealership. the left rear tire blew out about 400 miles from anchorage. we purchased a used tire at a gas station and limped on to anchorage, where we had purchased the vehicle. the performed an alignment for the second time, this time with a loaded back seat. we have since put about 6000 more miles on the vehicle and it has not shown severe wear since that re-alignment. *jb