Why to tilt steering wheel anymore?

I have a '92 Legacy wagon with a tilt steering wheel. I also have the tilt column. The tilt column gets sets pretty much to a permanent position (since I'm the only driver) mostly because it is a pain to grope underneath and having to forcibly cinch up the friction mechanism at different heights. The tilt steering wheel is handy to let me enter the vehicle easily. I'm not fat but I find having the steering wheel out of the way of my legs makes it much easier to enter (lot less banging of my thighs and knees).

My aunt bought a recent Outback (new but that was a little over a year ago; don't remember the year model) and it didn't have a tilt steering wheel. No one that I know of with a Subaru bothers to disengage the tilt column on leaving the vehicle to then have to adjust and engage it again after entry because it isn't in a convenient location and not that easy to use. But flipping up the tilt steering wheel on exit (which also makes exiting easier) is pretty easy with the flip of a lever. Without the tilt steering wheel, my aunt (and I) find it more difficult to enter the vehicle (her more so than I because she is fat, but I've seen talk folks having more difficulty, too).

Why no tilt steering wheel anymore? I went looking on Subaru's site to check out the latest Legacy and Outback models and a tilt steering wheel is not mentioned (and a tilt *column* is NOT the same as a tilting steering wheel). I know car salesman that have complained that they lose sales (any brand) when a tilt steering wheel is not available. Did they remove the tilt steering wheel after adding a driver-side air bag in the steering wheel (i.e., the tilt of a tiltable steering wheel would screw up the angle the bag hits the driver)?

Normally I would recommend the Subaru to family. My mother is looking a "new" used car but needs something low to the ground, like the Legacy, and a stationwagon, like the Legacy, but is also fat so the lack of a tilt steering wheel will make entry and exit more difficult. With emphysema and leg problems she doesn't need to be expending more effort than necessary to get into and out of a car (hence the need for low door sill height and easy entry/exit). I believe the Outback has a higher door sill height than the Legacy, but a tilt steering wheel would make it a lot easier. Any idea which was the last model year that provided a tilt steering wheel in the Legacy wagon?

Reply to
Vanguard
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Subject should have been: "Why *no* tilt steering wheel anymore?" Even when reviewing a post before submitting it, the eyes tend to see what the user expects to see.

Reply to
Vanguard

I hear you with regards to the tilt I had that on my explorer and really liked that feature for getting in and out. I find with my Legacy the tilt column never moves once I set it, also it is hard to get it back to the exact location as it doesn't have the notches to hold the steering wheel in a particular place. That's the main reason I don't use it when getting in and out, also the column isn't spring loaded so that it will go to the up position once released. With that being said, I still like the way the steering column is set up, just wish it had an telescoping.

Reply to
MD

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