Subaru pulling when braking

[inbrooklyn]

I just got a 2001 Subaru Outback wagon and when appling the brakes on a
rutted road (paved roads with tire tracks worn in) it pulls dramatically
to one side or the other. It doesn't appear to happen on a flat road and
it doesn't pull with a preference to left or right. Is this a problem or
just a function of all wheel drive. I have driven the same roads for years
in a similar 2 wheel drive car and not had this experience.

 

[Sparky Polastri]

I just got a 2001 Subaru Outback wagon and when appling the brakes on a
rutted road (paved roads with tire tracks worn in) it pulls dramatically
to one side or the other. It doesn't appear to happen on a flat road and
it doesn't pull with a preference to left or right. Is this a problem or
just a function of all wheel drive. I have driven the same roads for years
in a similar 2 wheel drive car and not had this experience.

Mine does that too ('01 Outback). Any slope (even dry, paved smooth but
sloped road) causes a pull one direction or another.

As far as I can determine, it's a function of the physics of the steering
system. Near as I can describe it, is like the difference between riding a
small motorcycle (with the wheel fork almost vertical) and a "chopper" (with
the wheel way out front and the fork at more like 45 degrees)... the forces
on the handlebars are different. They can be felt in the steering system.

You may want to check for tire balance and proper inflation...but mine has
done that more or less since I bought it (used about 8 months).