'14 Outlander Sport/RVR suspension/steering issue?
 

I just want to be told that I'm not crazy and just blowing this out of proportion but I'm having an issue that I cant figure out whether it is just the nature of the car or there is an actual problem.

It seems that that vehicle responds to every single imperfection in the road. Going at a high rate of speed makes it not as noticeable but as soon as I'm going city speeds any bump, hole, crack, piece of snow, dirt, mud, anything at all, there is a response felt through the steering wheel where the wheel will turn or almost jerk in that direction if the imperfection us large enough. I've driven so many other cars without this happening. And I can't tell if it just started happening or if I've never noticed it previously and am just paranoid.

The best example is if I'm turning into a parking lot with a curb that isn't ramped up or slopped and I have to drive over it on an angle, once the first wheel makes contact with the curb, the wheel will jerk in that direction. Its as if there is no dampening at all. I have to hold it pretry tight not to jerk or go extremely slow. Or another good example is if I'm driving down a dirt or gravel road at city speed the steering wheel will just shudder /move right and left. I can definitely feel a dead zone In the steering that allows for this shuddering. I don't know what to do... :(

This is my first brand new car and I want to love it but this is driving me nuts.

might want to get the alignment checked.

I've got an alignment twice since I first noticed the "issue"

hmmm, maybe have a tire shop take a look at the tires. perhaps there is a defect in one of them that makes the vehicle unstable.

Hmmm...does sound like a tire problem...I have a 15 Outlander ES AWC..I bought it 2 months ago. I have winter Tires and Steel Rims, just Nexen SUV tires..nothing special. The Outlander handles just fine on any road. I will have to see when I get the all seasons on in the Spring if the factory tires are crap. BTW what type of tires and rims are you running?

do you have the before and after specs for the alignment? i noticed mine does this as well, but only on the passenger side with has -2.6 camber.

I have a problem with our Outlander, the drivers side rear shock absorber has failed. This results in a rolling side to side effect and instability on rough roads, where the rear of the car hops all over the place.
Check the front strut, suspension and steering links to make sure everything is secure. Tyres won't make a big difference at the low speeds of turning onto a kerb.

I have the same problem. The ride is really rough and all those tiny ups and downs on the road can be felt in the front section of the car. I am not sure if my struts are bad coz the car has done only 35,000 miles. Also when one side of a road has a slope, the car tends to steer away to that direction and the steering feels like its out of control. Does anyone have any idea on what all I ll have to fix?

Here are my two cents on this topic: Those, who shared their experience in this thread all mentioned extreme harshness on uneven pavements. Mitsubishi USA dropped the 16" wheels from the OS right after the first (2011, was available only on ES) model year and if I am correct all OS and Outlander vehicles have delivered with stock 18" wheels ever since. If you leave in a state, where the roads are smooth (e.g. AZ. NV) you will be fine with the side profile of 55% aspect ratio. However, if you live in a state, where potholes are common, the ride will be very uncomposed. Here in Canada, we have potholes everywhere and the lower trim OS and Outlander vehicles are available (since their introduction) with 16" tires (with 70% aspect ratio for side profile). With those the ride is much better although many people find the larger wheels more appealing. The lower side profile wheels with ordinary driving conditions have very limited (if any) handling benefits but add greater risks to ruin the wheels, the tires, or even shorten the lifetime of the suspension components on not ideal road conditions. Additionally, the 16" tires are less expensive than their 18" counterparts. In terms of suspension geometry, the 215/70/16 tire/wheel combination is identical with the 225/55/18 combination on the OEM wheels with 46 mm offset. Someone can go a bit wider 225/65/16 or 235/65/16 with minimal change in geometry and still keeping the OEM 6.5" wide 16" wheels. The ride will be much better. For years in the European and Australian markets the ASX was spipped with 17" wheels, only recently yielded to ship them with 18s. When I purchased my car in late 2012 I tested both trims equipped with 16" and the 18" wheels and opted for the smaller, 16" version with higher side profile tires. I did not regret my choice. Do not forget the tires are part of the suspension. Even if you drive aggressively, your low side profile tires will only improve lateral stability but your vertical stability will suffer in imperfect roads (your tire will bounce and leave the road more often). Race tracks are very smooth and there you may use low profile tires to improve handling but on regular (bad roads) I am convinced that low profile tires are worse. The solution for those, who want better ride is change the wheels and tires (for example for separate winter set). Used OEM wheels can be had for cheap (in Canada ~$40-60 each on Kijiji or at KennyUPull) and they are just as good as new ones.