[Soca]

Anyone else notice their Ascent beijg a bit difficult to keep straight on the highway?

It’s almost like the steering is twitchy. Found myself correcting the steering quite a bit to stay in the lane. When I take my hands off the wheel for a second it tracks straight,

I’ve owned sports cars before, (S2000 And IS-F) and while direct and quick steering they always tracked straight on the freeway with minimal corrections

 

[Subiesailor]

This is typical of the 40psi shipping tire pressure. I bet your dealer never reset the tires to the correct psi.

 

[SSgt93]

The steering is far too sensitive for the highway. Steering should tighten up at higher speeds and be quicker at lower speeds. It would be nice if Subaru adjusted this.

 

[xydadx3]

I might have the opposite problem. When on a straight stretch of highway a few times I’ve had the warning to place my hands back on the steering wheel appear with its associated HUD lights. I have to actually give it a little extra input sometimes to prevent that.
If it wasn’t for that warning I’m sure I’d be tempted to just let LKA do the work for me.

 

[xydadx3]

This is typical of the 40psi shipping tire pressure. I bet your dealer never reset the tires to the correct psi.

Might be a good call there. When I purchased mine in the summer, tires were 36#. Now they’re sitting cold around 33# since the weather has cooled. My steering has always felt normal and under control to me.

 

[SSSCHON]

My tires are at 40/41. Just got back from a 800 mile road trip. Had no issues with steering.

 

[Janner]

When I first got the Ascent, I missed the lecture on Lane Keep Assist. I had a '15 Limited Outback and knew about the lane departure but it didn't have LKA. So I kept driving the Ascent and feeling like the steering was all over the place. It finally took some reading here to understand that there was an additional factor I was ignoring. I had Lane Keep Assist turned on and it kept trying to steer for me. I know I tend to hug the driver's side line a little more - especially with a bigger car. Easier for me to judge distance on the driver's side. But once I figured out that it was the technology and not the actual steering that was causing my problems, it was better. I've had the car almost 6000 miles now and the steering is becoming more "normal" for me - both with and without LKA.

 

[imalittle1]

My tires are at 40/41. Just got back from a 800 mile road trip. Had no issues with steering.

Do you have aftermarket tires on your Ascent? If not, they shouldn't be at 40/41. That is WAY too high. The cold PSI should be around 33/34.

 

[bverant]

This is typical of the 40psi shipping tire pressure. I bet your dealer never reset the tires to the correct psi.

I know my dealer never checked the tire pressure. When I picked mine up, I made sure to bring a tire pressure gauge and checked all of them. They all above 42 PSI with one at 46 PSI; I adjust as far as I could without going too low due to the tire temperature. I noted the pinball-like steering behavior on the drive home, but it wasn't too bad. The next morning, I brought the pressure down to 33 PSI. Tire pressure definitely improved things. However, I came from driving a 1/2 ton pickup truck to the Ascent and so I was used to sub-par steering response. I just have to pay a bit more attention in the new car as opposed to my truck because it is more responsive.

 

[PlethoraGreen]

Anyone else notice their Ascent beijg a bit difficult to keep straight on the highway?

It’s almost like the steering is twitchy. Found myself correcting the steering quite a bit to stay in the lane. When I take my hands off the wheel for a second it tracks straight,

I’ve owned sports cars before, (S2000 And IS-F) and while direct and quick steering they always tracked straight on the freeway with minimal corrections

This has been my one and only complaint so far. It's my wife's daily driver, but when we travel with kids on the weekends I do the highway driving. Tire pressure is fine, it really seems to be a very sensitive and touchy wheel. Small corrections are hard to make and I feel like I have to white knuckle drive the entire way to keep it in the middle of the lane. Very hard to be "smooth." I'd like for it to soften up a bit on highway speeds. Around town it feels fine.

My grandparents had a 99 Lincoln Continental that had adjustable steering. That thing was a dream to drive on the highway. Very effortless.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

The steering is far too sensitive for the highway. Steering should tighten up at higher speeds and be quicker at lower speeds. It would be nice if Subaru adjusted this.

It is and it already does. I can ride a lane line at 80mph with ease with one hand now. But, going from a tighter steering with partial assist (as most cars are) does take some getting used to. It took me a little bit to get used to, especially coming from my 2010 Outback that was near manual steering.

 

[Karpediem]

When I first got the Ascent, I missed the lecture on Lane Keep Assist. I had a '15 Limited Outback and knew about the lane departure but it didn't have LKA. So I kept driving the Ascent and feeling like the steering was all over the place. It finally took some reading here to understand that there was an additional factor I was ignoring. I had Lane Keep Assist turned on and it kept trying to steer for me. I know I tend to hug the driver's side line a little more - especially with a bigger car. Easier for me to judge distance on the driver's side. But once I figured out that it was the technology and not the actual steering that was causing my problems, it was better. I've had the car almost 6000 miles now and the steering is becoming more "normal" for me - both with and without LKA.

^This. Everyone that is complaining about this needs to turn LKA off and see if you still have an issue. I believe this is also why some people get motion sickness in the Ascent. There is no warning noise when LKA kicks in and it does it well before the lane departure warning beeps.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

And the bad news...

^This. Everyone that is complaining about this needs to turn LKA off and see if you still have an issue. I believe this is also why some people get motion sickness in the Ascent. There is no warning noise when LKA kicks in and it does it well before the lane departure warning beeps.

And, I hate to say this because some people will respond poorly to it, but, if the "problem" goes away when you turn off LKA, then I'd suggest turning it back on and realizing you're not yet aware and used to the width of the car. I can easily and repeatedly hang on the edge of a lane line. LKA doesn't prevent that. If it's turning on, you're heading towards a lane departure, planning on swerving at the last moment or inches from crossing the lane markings.

It's the same thing with lane departure warnings that some have complained about. I can literally touch the very edge of the lane marking with the tires without it complaining - if it's going off, you're in someone else's lane.

FYI: I realized all of the above was true because it happened to me - but I used the front camera to see where I was in the lane... and the answer I found was that I was hanging into someone else's.

So, now, I've made a point of playing the "let's not annoy LDW" game, and also used the cameras to see how I was doing. I'll be posting a video soon with simultaneous inside and outside views so everyone can see just how close they can get using either system (LKA: nearly touching, LDW: sidewalls and mirror virtually hanging over the line).

 

[Scott Dunlap]

Same steering issue when I picked up my Forester

I experienced the same thing when I picked up my Forester last year. I turned off LKA and it was fine. I now use LKA all the time. You just have to know what to expect. I've got a new Ascent coming in and will know better this time.

 

[Kevin Williams]

Lka

Yes, I think a lot of the issues with "twitchy steering" at speed are due to LKA. I noticed the wheel felt odd when going above 65. The LKA kicks in earlier with slight "pushes" to keep you in the lane, even without the warning going off. You'll see the little white car turn green when it does this, so a quick glance at the dash will tell you that YOU got too close and the car is helping you.



The feeling at first is unnerving, but then you get used to it and I can tell now without even looking at the dash what happened. Usually it is play the "Not annoy LKA game" but sometimes I still catch it.


That said, no problems keeping the car straight and my PSI is still at 40ish.

 

[leky411]

I think LKA on or off, the steering on the Ascent is very soft/light whatever the word you want to use is. I get into my wife's sedan and the steering feels heavy at first, but much more comfortable at highway speeds. I could be wrong, but the Ascent doesn't adjust its steering response based on speed. I think that would be a nice feature to have it stiffen the steering response at highway speeds. BMW used to have it on their cars as an option and it made driving a highway speeds a dream.

 

[SSSCHON]

My tires are at 40/41. Just got back from a 800 mile road trip. Had no issues with steering.

Do you have aftermarket tires on your Ascent? If not, they shouldn't be at 40/41. That is WAY too high. The cold PSI should be around 33/34.

I do not. Thanks for letting me know!!!?

 

[SSSCHON]

I want to recall my earlier post?. When I picked up my Ascent the salesman turned off LKA. When I went on vacation forgot that he turned it off. I was wondering why I wasn't feeling anything in the steering. When I got back and read the manual for LKA I turned it on. Local driving don't feel much as it's kind of hard to go over 40 in residential areas. But this evening I was on an Interstate and BOY I see what you guys are saying. I felt it was constantly pulling me. I do drive to the right more but didn't realize how much?. Also not sure if psi is affecting it. Need to let some air out.

 

[norway]

I think LKA on or off, the steering on the Ascent is very soft/light whatever the word you want to use is. I get into my wife's sedan and the steering feels heavy at first, but much more comfortable at highway speeds. I could be wrong, but the Ascent doesn't adjust its steering response based on speed. I think that would be a nice feature to have it stiffen the steering response at highway speeds. BMW used to have it on their cars as an option and it made driving a highway speeds a dream.

I thought I read in a couple places that steering is adjusted by speed on the Ascent. I haven't concentrated on it yet to discern a difference though.

 

[bmac]

The steering on my Ascent is excellent. One finger is all that is needed.

The Lane Keep Assist is very subtle and may be interpreted as wandering rather than correction for a driver that is not used to it. For those folks having issues be sure the LKA is turned off.

The LKA is almost unnoticeable compared to my 2017 Honda Pilot. When it is activated in the Pilot you can't miss it. It is quite a bit different feel than the Ascent.