Sliding on Ice on Slow Turns

I am a new Subaru owner. This past summer I purchased a 2010 Legacy sedan. I live where there is a lot of snow and ice on the roads many months of the year and wanted the advantage of a 4 wheel drive and heard great things about the Subaru's traction and the general quality of the cars. So far I am very satisfied and impressed with most of what I have experienced, but I am concerned about how the car acts on ice when slowly turning, like into a parking space. I have driven on ice my entire driving life of around 38 years. I have driven rear wheel drives, front wheel drives, and 4 wheel drives. I own at least one of each right now. I am an extremely conservative driver even when I know I probably have better traction than most for the conditions I'm driving in. I want me, my family, my vehicle, and everyone else on the road to return home safely. So far I haven't see problems with pulling out from a stop or accelarating on ice, or with stability turning on ice at ice driving speeds, but a few times now, both my wife and I have felt out of control when just creeping into a parking space on ice, as the car didn't want to turn. I am running the tires that came on the car with about 35K miles on them. They are regular all season tires. I talked to the dealer and other Subaru owners when I bought the car about the need for snow tires and/or studs and was told I would not need them, and in fact studs were not advisable. The tires seem great on snow and ice in general, just not in this specific situation. I have run aggressive snow tires and many times studs on most of my cars, even my four wheel drives. I've read in a few forums people commenting that a regular front wheel drive is much better than a Subaru all wheel drive on ice. I would love to hear other people's experience and advice. I'm hoping there is just something obvious I'm missing here, and that my total Subaru experience will be great.

hmmm all season tires (which all season are rated for light snow) and you're having problems on ice

get snow tires

awd does not mean its better, plus the awd system is not whats touching the ground, it just sends power to the wheels. your tires are the only thing keeping you on the road and not in a ditch

Originally Posted by underground000

hmmm all season tires (which all season are rated for light snow) and you're having problems on ice

get snow tires

awd does not mean its better, plus the awd system is not whats touching the ground, it just sends power to the wheels. your tires are the only thing keeping you on the road and not in a ditch

. The oem all season tires are crap. You need good tires.

Do you have Bridgestone Turanzas on your car? If so, they do stuff like that on ice. There are 100 threads here that say that.

Get some better tires.

good god man put a paragraph or two in there!

OEM's are crap. if you live where you have alot of snow get some snow tires!

Give him credit. He figured it out quick. Turdanzas are the lowest rated standard all seasons on tire rack. The 400-02 are rock bottom....lol

What happens, exactly? You vaguely mention feeling "out of control" but haven't described why. It's not going to understeer at 3 mph if it would have been fine at 30 mph.

Agreed that it's probably a tire upgrade concern.

From the description, tires are not gripping. The AWD creates the illusion the tires are better than they are. Hence moving out on snow and ice. As stated, stopping has zero to do with AWD.

I have performance winters on my newest car. They do grip better than all seasons .... But the payoff is assured stopping and cornering.

Consider a set of Michelin Defenders. Put a set on friends Camry. They are incredible all season tires and have performed very well in the rain. No opportunity yet for snow. I've had the mvx4 on my Outback, and I would assess these to be the next generation of them.

If you are a safe and conservative driver, get these and have peace of mind.

Also, Merry Christmas to all!

Why is this in Subaru News and Rumors?

If you can use studded tires you should do it. Awd isn't a substitute for it.

The steering problems on ice in parking situations is also contributed to by the center diff visco coupling and it's just a sign that the awd works. Just be patient and accept it as one of the side effects that awd adds.

I appreciate everyone's replies and advice. I was wondering about these tires, so it makes sense that nobody likes them. They also seem to have a rough ride. Maybe a better tire would give it a better ride also. What does everyone recommend for the best brand and model tire for this car? Best all season? Best all terrain? Best with studs? I would prefer to stay away from studded tires considering the times that the weather breaks and the roads could be bare for considerable lengths of time. Does it help to have the traction or stability control off or on in specific conditions like I mentioned? I think we can get accustomed to the "sliding" behavior on ice on creeping turns, and learn how to compensate for safety. Just to know that it is expected and understand why is helpful. Someone asked what I meant by "out of control". What I mean is that when pulling into parking spots on ice, just barely creeping, the front slides forward instead of turning the direction I am attempting to turn. It has been interesting that when it has happened, I've taken the car to an ice covered parking lot and attempted to reproduce the problem and get the feel of it, but it seems to turn great. Maybe the difference is that I am moving a little faster in the parking lot. Again, thanks for everyone's advice and information. I hope everyone is having a great Christmas Day.

Never experienced the front sliding when trying to turn/park.

Are you braking when turning? If so then that is why

A great all season tire has to be the Continental DWS but a winter tire is better

Merry Christmas and don't drive too fast, awd or not

Last night was our first time in the snow in our Legacy. Holy Cow, I've read the complaints about the OEM tires but I didn't think it could really be that bad- well it was.
I learned my lesson early in life about tires and since then I've only had Michelin.
I'll be replacing the OEMs with Michelin Primacy MXV4's

Originally Posted by lee07

Never experienced the front sliding when trying to turn/park.

Are you braking when turning? If so then that is why

A great all season tire has to be the Continental DWS but a winter tire is better

Merry Christmas and don't drive too fast, awd or not

This is why your sliding. Do all your braking before you turn.
Also 100% agree that the factory tires are complete crap. Swing some Michelin MXM4.

The guys are right. I was going to get dedicated winters/rims, but don't know how long I'll keep the Subaru. I bought Michelin Primacy MXV4's after having trouble finding Conti DWS. They ride nice and are fantastic in snow compared to the Turdanzas. I've got factory 16" rims and would have gone with the MXM4's, but it's a size issue.

The Michelin Defender's looked good too and see to be rated a little better for snow and wet. I drive a lot of highway business miles and wanted quiet with a good ride.