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Forester wheel bearing nightmare

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Doug Johnson

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Nov 20, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/20/00
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My Forester is now on its third wheel bearing and I'm hoping that going
public will (a) motivate Subaru to resolve my complaints and (b) warn other
current or potential Forester owners of problems with the warranty, service
and reliability and (c) encourage other Subaru owners to post successful
remedies for similar problems.

Here's a short history

(1) a new wheel bearing installed by Natick Subaru in Massachusetts on
October 17th failed on November 3rd after only 826 miles in 17 days.
(2) AMD Subaru in New Hampshire charged me $280.61 for parts and labor to
replace the second failed wheel bearing. They said that Natick Subaru had
improperly installed the wheel bearing and that I should get a refund from
them. Natick Subaru insists that the installation was done correctly and
that AMD Subaru should have done the work under warranty and not charged me.
(3) the second failed wheel bearing stranded me and my wife in New Hampshire
causing us to miss half of a weekend visit with her father who had flown in
from Cleveland.
(4) I had to take off a day from work to drive back up to AMD Subaru in New
Hampshire to retrieve my car.
(5) when stranded in N.H., I incurred additional expenses for lodging and
for car rental.
(6) I have called Natick Subaru service six times and was told "I'm working
on it. Call you right back" and never received a return call.
(7) the original wheel bearing failed after only 48,422 miles, causing
additional inconvenience and time off from work.

I ran google.com and deja.com searches for "Subaru wheel bearing" and got
lots of hits.


tt...@my-deja.com

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Nov 20, 2000, 10:30:14 PM11/20/00
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That is indeed discouraging... I gather the same bearing has gone out
three times. Out of curosity, which location is it? It is a bit strange
the same one should keep failing, I would suspect the other components
around it are causing it undue strain somehow - bad alignment? Loose
tie rods?...

Tim

In article <qobS5.18844$751.5...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net>,


Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Gerald Stephens

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Nov 21, 2000, 7:10:59 PM11/21/00
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I have had the rear right wheel bearing replaced 3 times on my 99 Impreza. The
last time they also replaced the axle. First replacement occured aroung 35,00
km (21,00miles), it lasted only a couple thousand kms, next one lasted about
5,000km. Seems that they go when I go on a long trip. Since I am still within
the bumper to bumper warranty, they have been replaced at subaru's expense. I
don't know what we happen once the bumper to bumper is off, perhaps I should
Subaru to investigate......

Craig

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Nov 22, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/22/00
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I've had to replace both my left and right rear wheel bearings within the
1st 10,000 miles of the vehicle ('99 Forester).


"Gerald Stephens" <gerald....@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:3A1B1055...@sympatico.ca...

Smith

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Nov 22, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/22/00
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Hi Doug,

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate problem. I've read about this on
Edmunds.com within the last few months, so I'll pass on what I recall.
The SoA rep that frequents the forum said the subsequent bearing
failures (dealer-replaced bearings, not the first failure of the
factory-installed bearings) with which she is familiar were caused by
improper dealer installation. I don't recall what was said about the
factory-installed bearings (could be either assembly error or supplier
defect). Both types of failures are frustrating but the subsequent
failures are apparently preventable.

She said SoA takes these failures seriously. She asked anyone who's
dissatisfied to call the SoA Customer Service number 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-
800-782-2783). All defects and dealer experiences are tracked, but
only if you report the problem to that number. (I don't think the web-
based reporting system is fully integrated with the 800 tracking
system; perhaps this is why she suggested the call.)

Some URLs that might help you or someone else:

Subaru Customer Care:
http://www.subaru.com/frame_main.htm?
page=/contact/content.html&start=contact

Ultimate Subaru Message Board (much maintenance and mechanical
knowledge), select New Generation of Subarus:
http://pub1.ezboard.com/bultimatesubarumessageboards.html

Edmunds: http://www.edmunds.com , select Town Hall, Owner's Clubs; use
your browser and search for the "Subaru Crew" topics. WDB, myself, and
other alt.autos.subaru posters are regulars on Edmunds. John Davies
was too but he defected; I refuse to read his posts here because of
that ;) (j/k John is quite knowledgeable and helpful though regulars
here already know that)

> I ran google.com and deja.com searches for "Subaru wheel bearing" and
got
> lots of hits.

Did any mention the root cause of the first or subsequent failures?

To leave on a upbeat note, be thankful you're not driving this:
http://www.adcritic.com/content/spoof-dodge-88-dodge-aries-k-car.html

BOOYA!

..Mike Smith . 00 GT wagon . Silver Spring MD USA

In article <qobS5.18844$751.5...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net>,

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