Maia

The vibration is much the same at all speeds so I don't think there is a balancing issue and I would have expected the dealer (Dorset Sports Cars) to check this when I complained. Because Subaru UK have been quite dismissive and unhelpful I have a suspicion that the latest Foresters are of inferior build quality to the old models and they won't admit it.

The dealer told me that a Forester of similar age and mileage to my car was showing the same behavior but I haven't driven it myself.

Thanks for the replies. I believe the Subaru dealer has checked the tyres and balancing and there is no steering/handling problem so it seems unlikely that these are contributing to the constant vibration when driving. I have been told by Subaru UK that the power steering is now electric motor driven as opposed to the old hydraulic pump type so maybe the motor is causing vibration the steering column? I worry that in order to save weight and reduce fuel costs it may be that some vibration damping material has been omitted from the new models, in which case I won't see an improvement with time.

I purchased an April 2016 registered XE Premium Lineartronic Forester (mileage less than 150) from a Subaru dealer on the 1st September. The first time I drove the car for more than a few minutes I noticed that vibration in the steering wheel was causing an uncomfortable pins and needles sensation in my hands. I contacted the Subaru dealer and the technician who came to test the car confirmed that there was an unexpectedly high level of vibration in the steering wheel, although no problem with steering. The garage swapped the tyres around but couldn't resolve the problem. I was informed that a Forester of similar age and mileage to my car was showing the same issue. The response from Subaru UK was to monitor whilst covering additional miles and review the situation at 5000 miles as the new tyres needed to 'bed in'. I have never encountered this problem with previous new cars and having only covered less than 400 miles so far I am not looking forward to driving the next 4600 miles in the hope that there will be an improvement. Has anybody else encountered this problem with the recent Forester models and please can anyone offer a more helpful suggestion than that provided by Subaru UK?