I wanted to add my 2 cents on this website because previous complaints on here were very helpful to me. I have a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek. This winter it started performing very very poorly in snowy or icy conditions. Fishtailing all over the place. It was honestly very scary to drive. I have lived in upper midwest for years and driven many types of vehicles in snowy conditions. This was so bad. I took it to Fox Subaru in Marquette, Mi. They told me they thought all it needed was an alignment. I was skeptical because the issue seemed so severe. I thought it had to be an issue with the AWD system. But sure enough they aligned it and the issue went away completely. So.....if you are having this issue, don't dump the car. Get it to a dealer and get an alignment.

It had snowed the previous night. I was merging onto I-70, the roads were damp with patches of packed snow. the cars around me were easily traveling at 60 mph. As soon as my speed reached 40mph the car felt like it was floating left and right. I couldn't control it until my speed dropped to 35mph. No one else on the road was having any problems. I have been driving in Colorado snow for over 30 years. I have never felt this uncomfortable driving in any other car. I see others have had this problem, but not many solutions. If someone found a solution, please post it.I am taking the car into Subaru Monday morning. Hopefully they can figure it out.

We drive back and forth between CT, MA, VT & NH almost every other week. You can read my other post about this, but it is the same issue everyone has.

I finally had an opprtunity to drive on the highway in a snow/slush storm with new (real) snowtires and and 3 60lb bags of "tube" sand in the trunk. I was in the snow & slush covered passing lane, passing rows of cars driving slow in the left lane. Another Crosstrek pulled out behind me and followed me a ways, but I felt bad for them knowing they probably didn't have the snows and 180lbs of sand in the back.

Problem absolutely solved.

Driving on I-90 in Montana after a snow storm (icy roads) and the back end felt like it wanted to fishtail. Very scary as I had my family in the car with me. My wife also drove for a short time and said she didn't feel comfortable driving any more that day. We only felt comfortable going around 30-40 mph while getting passed by other vehicles (comfortably?) going 50-60 mph.

We stopped and checked the tires which had sufficient tread left. We decided to stop in Billings and buy new tires as we weren't sure we would make it home otherwise. The issue continued for the rest of the drive even with the new Michelin tires.

We made it home after a long, slow drive. I was ready to get rid of the car but the local Subaru dealer convinced me to try an alignment after I described the problem. The rear right tire was a little out of alignment. I have not had another chance to test as we avoided driving in icy conditions the rest of the winter. I will be testing this winter however.

I grew up in Iowa driving a rear wheel drive car in the winters and this experience was scarier. If it happens again this winter I will be getting rid of the car.

I've lived in Montana all my 50+ years, so snow and ice driving are a way of life. At the first icy drive home on the interstate this Crosstrek felt like it was drifting all over and that I had very little grip on the road. It felt like it was floating and could go into a spin at any moment. This felt much like back in the days of bias ply tires on my old Jeep CJs and Willy's Jeeps. It just felt like it was going to go into a spin if I attempted to go over 45 mph. It was icy and rough so I thought it might just be my imagination. But, most cars were flying by us without any problem. Was pretty unnerving.

I checked tire air pressure right away. That wasn't it. Went to my tire dealer and he explained that the stock tires were junk, and they are. Spent about $600 on brand new, high quality winter tires. That helped but did not completely eliminate the problem. It was a better but I often still feel like the car is about to break loose and go into a spin if I'm on the highway and there's any slickness to the the road surface.

I've had quite a few 4x4s and suvs and haven't felt that much spooky, loose footing since, as I said, the old short wheelbase jeeps with bias ply tire days. I'd owned an older Subaru Outback and never felt unsafe in that car. I spoke to the dealer about it. They said they'd heard a couple others mention the issue also, but had not heard of anyone having any accidents. I haven't had an accident either but I also am white knuckling the steering wheel and generally not trying to go over 45 to 55 mph if there's any ice at all. Everyone else flies by at 65-70 with no problem.

Its just not right, no matter what Subaru says. I like the car other than that, but I have to take care of my family so this car is going to have to go.

Previous complaints on this website could have been describing our Subaru. In heavy rain, any ice, or snow, we can't drive over 45 mph when everyone else on the road can. And we have the same problem when we went from pavement to concrete: the back end fish tails unless we "coast". We had a nasty spin out on interstate 40 last month and were lucky that there was no other traffic as we bounced from one concrete barrier to another. We took the car to a Subaru dealer who said everything was fine. Right.

Definately felt like we were on ice in snow/slush between 35 and 55mph. It felt like there was more torque or rpm in the rear than in the front pushing the back. This happened several different times over several weeks and storms driving from NH through VT & MA. As I had 40k on the OE tires and plenty of winter left, I bought new tires (not the OE, I was warned off those).

I just took the car to the dealer today to get the complaint officially looked at and registered and after was told "this is what AWD feels like in light vehicles", which may be true but it's certainly not what AWD feels like in our Durango. Anyway the new tires feel better and I put two 60lb bags of sand in the back. Will report back here if it feels better in next snow storm.

We're experiencing the same symptoms as others here. Wife's car handles fine on dry roads and even in deep snow at slow speeds. The problem is when there's ice or snow packed roads at higher speeds. I don't drive it much but we took it on a Colorado highway when it was 19 F after a snow. The road just appeared wet as they prepped it with some kind of chemicals prior to the snow. Anytime I went over 45 MPH it felt like the car was fish tailing ever so slightly (i.e. left and right). Everyone was passing us. It was the first time in my 40+ years of driving that I was afraid.

When we got back I made an appointment to have the tires (stock Yokohama's with 26K on them) inspected. Discount Tire said they still had good tread left but they contacted Yokohama who gave us a $38/tire credit for new ones. After installing these tires it seemed like the problem was gone but then we took another highway road trip with me driving. Once again after a snow storm but not much on the road. Things were going fine until I started going over concrete bridges. Every time we went from black top to concrete over these bridges the fish tailing would come back and then go away after leaving the bridge (70 MPH). Three of us in the car felt this and it didn't appear as any other vehicle's next to us had any problems. Oh, and this was even if I coasted over them! I need to get it into a dealer and see what they say.

Update from Mar 3, 2015: We took our car to Groove Subaru in Denver and they said the rear alignment was slightly off (didn't get the before and after readings) but they returned it to spec and believed it should take care of the problem. It just so happened it was icy after that and I loaded up the back end with about 300 lbs, simulating passengers in the back seat, which we had both times we experienced the ghostwalking. Went 70 mph on a very slick highway and the problem was gone! Very relieved and thank you Groove Subaru!

Exactly same problem in snow/slush/ice as the guy from Ishpeming. I've had my Crosstrek for two years and have had serious issues with it handling freeze/thaw and icy conditions on roads.

In Minnesota where we use salt, this is all winter, until it sublimes/melts and there's dry pavement. We had snow/freezing rain last night and I couldn't go over 45mph. A mid-1990s Volvo passed me, as well as a Ford Taurus, other 2-wheel drive cars, and every 1/2 ton truck. Under these conditions, the car won't grip the road and if I don't let off the accelerator on bridges I'd be in the ditch or worse.

Furthermore, it fishtails at the slightest acceleration. I didn't drive it much the first winter, and thought my wife was overreacting to how poorly it handled. Last winter I drove it more but thought maybe the worst winter in 30 yrs may have had something to do with the poor handling. I thought I'd try making it through one more winter but after last night I'm convinced it's simply too hazardous. This car gets great mpg for an AWD car, but I need something that I can trust will get my family where they're going safely. This is my second Subaru, which I plan on trading in for a 2015 F-150 ASAP.

I BOUGHT THIS CAR APRIL 17, 2013. ON EXCELLENT ROADS DRIVING 100 MILES TO WORK, THERE WAS SLIGHT STEERING PROBLEMS REQUIRING GOOD CONTROL ON THE WHEEL. ON APRIL 19TH, I WAS EXCITED TO DRIVE IT HOME. IT HAD BEEN SLUSHY SNOWING AND FREEZING. I WANTED TO SEE HOW IT HANDLED. MY SON HAS A SUBARU IMPREZA WHICH IS EXCELLENT IN ALL CONDITIONS. MY 2007 CHEVY COBALT WITH FRONT WHEEL DRIVE AND POOR WHEELS WAS NOT GOOD IN WINTER CONDITIONS.

THE NEW CROSSTREK HANDLED TERRIBLE. I HAD TO CLENCH THE WHEEL FOR 100 MILES. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO KEEP IT ON THE ROAD IN SLUSH, SNOW, ICE OR INTERMITTENT SLUSH WATER. OLDER TWO WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES WERE PASSING ME AND HANDLING THE CONDITIONS BETTER THAN ME. I WILL BE STARTING A NEW JOB IN A FEW DAYS. I BOUGHT THE CAR FOR SAFETY IN WINTER CONDITIONS WHICH IS NECESSARY FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES WITH MY JOB. I AM SO APPALLED, THAT I WOULD FEEL SAFER IN MY OLD COBALT. WHATEVER SUBARU HAS DONE RIGHT WITH THE IMPREZA, THEY HAVE DONE WRONG WITH THE CROSSTREK. THE NEW 'GEARLESS' TRANSMISSION, ELECTRONIC STEERING AND ALL WHEEL DRIVE DO NOT SEEM TO INTERFACE CORRECTLY. (NOTE: I AM NOT A MECHANIC - THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE WHEN DRIVING IT)

THE DEALER WAS NICE ENOUGH, BUT SAID THEY HAVE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH NEW SUBAURUS AND MAYBE IT WAS JUST THE ALIGNMENT. IF A MINOR ALIGNMENT COULD CAUSE THIS, THEN THERE MUST BE A FAR MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE. I WILL SEE HOW THE DEALER TRIES TO RESOLVE IT. I SUSPECT IT WILL NOT BE CORRECTED. I HOPE SUBARU IS MONITORING THIS. THE DEALER GAVE ME A NEW OUTBACK AS A LOANER. IT HANDLED EXCELLENT IN ALL CONDITIONS I COULD FIND - WITH ONLY LIGHT ONE HAND STEERING CONTROL. I PROBABLY AM STUCK WITH A LEMON.

SUBARUS INTENTIONS WITH THIS VEHICLE FOR A HIGHER CLEARANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE SMALL VEHICLE WAS GREAT - BUT THERE IS A TERRIBLE PROBLEM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS VEHICLE.