My wife somehow inflated the two left tires to 50psi on our 01 Outback and drove about 230 miles at highway speeds. I promptly adjusted pressures once I drove it. Besides the temporary tire safety and handling issues, does driving such a distance do long-term damage to the AWD? I remember reading that tire pressure/size is very important.

Is the vehicle behaving unusually?

230 miles is probably not enough to cause a serious problem.

I would not worry about that, my 1997 Subaru wagon has 294,000 miles on it and lots of them is with the two right wheels off of the pavement delivering mail, a few extra lbs. of pressure surely cant be as bad as that. I think the A.W.D. system can handle more than we think.

I'm guessing it is an automatic.

 

You are lucky that she did this to just one side of the car, and not on one axle. The end result (assuming that the other side was at proper pressure) is that the front and rear differentials would have been working a bit, but the center clutch pack (or VC) would not have been. The center is the more sensitive part.

 

You could change out your differential oil. There would have been some heat. Probably not enough to damage parts, but keep an eye on seals and watch for leaks. The oil might have been heat damaged though. Cheap insurance to change it out.

 

Commuter

Subaru's recommendation of 30PSI is too low. At 40PSI, you get better fuel economy and more road feedback. Not that everyone wants road feedback, but Subarus seem to have it.

Subaru's recommendation of 30PSI is too low. At 40PSI, you get better fuel economy and more road feedback. Not that everyone wants road feedback, but Subarus seem to have it.

 

I do like to run my tires 10-15% over the 'door' number. But in all 4.

 

I think commuter's advice is good.