12th Nov 2002, 15:44

1999 Subaru Forester.

I just found out that we need to replace the same rear wheel bearing for the second time in a year. The Forester has almost 60,000 miles.

20th Dec 2002, 16:41

We bought our used 1999 Forester 6 months ago. This coming Friday we're replacing our second wheel bearing!

9th Mar 2003, 16:33

My wife and I bought our 98 Forester 2 years ago, and have just been told that we need to replace the LEFT rear wheel bearing. The car only has 60,000 miles on it, so this does seem a little odd. We love the car other wise. However from reading some of these comments it makes me feel as though we should get rid of the car all togther. Especially if Subaru is aware of this problem and has not tried to rectify the situation.

So sorry to have to write this, I love the car!!!

31st Mar 2003, 08:12

I have a 2000 Forester. In first two years the check engine light came on five times and the dealer fixed it five times. Fifth try seemed to be the charm.

At 50,000 miles both rear wheel bearings needed to be replaced. At 55,000 the right one went again. Last week at 58,000 the right went AGAIN! Subaru insists there are no bearing problems. Go figure. If the car were not paid for and if I could afford a car payment right now, I would fly back to Toyota. In the mean time, I hope the last repair does the trick.

4th Apr 2003, 18:02

I love my 2002 Subaru Forester. I only have 14,000 miles on the car. I had to replace my rear wheel bearing and hub today. At this point, it was covered under my warranty. After reading the other comments, I am considering a different car. I feel that Subaru should stand behind it's product.

Laura.

19th May 2003, 08:38

Wow. At least we are in good company. We bought our 2000 Forester 8 months ago. It now has 56k miles. We are about to replace our first bearing (Left rear).

21st May 2003, 06:40

Hello, I have a 2002 Subaru Forester with 45,000 all highway miles on it. The left rear bearing and hub assembly needs to be replaced. I saw on the forum that some of you have written to Subaru and they offer to pay for the parts. Does anyone else has any luck in getting them pay for the repair? If so, can you share with me the contact number or address in Subaru.

2nd Jun 2003, 10:34

I have a 1999 Forester with 48,000 miles. I was just informed by the service department that the whine coming from the rear of the car was my right rear wheel bearing. As mentioned in other posts, these have been on-road miles only. I was quoted $500 parts and labor for replacing the single wheel bearing; is this what other people are paying?

Hello Subaru, sure sounds like a defect to me!

4th Jun 2003, 10:47

Here's a weird one: my 98 Forrester (which I got with 80K miles in early Oct.02 after reading many positive reviews) started making intermittent wheel noises about a month ago. Took it to the Subaru Dealership that give it a pre-purchase clean bill of health, and they said all is well. Couldn't hear ANY noise, even after several long rides to trying. OK. Two weeks later the noise is louder than ever--still only once in a while, like every other day for a few minutes at a time. Took it to a very busy local shop that has received extremely high consumer confidence ratings. Told them about the noises and the dealership experience, and suggested in my distinctly non-expert capacity as a driver for over 25 years, that perhaps a wheel rotation was in order, since it had already been 11K of mileage on the brand new tires we got for the vehicle. They did that, apologized for not actually checking the bearings while on the lift (bad communication between person on phone and in the service bay I guess), and sent us on our way. A week later, more noise, which has been growing in volume and duration ever since (now about 4 weeks from last service). So, back squarely on square one, I'm thinking about taking it to a friend's retired father who does repairs like bearings. Maybe he'll actually confirm the problem before one of my wheels flies off! Any other suggestions would be most welcome.

28th Jul 2003, 13:12

1999 Forester

We have 99,000 miles on the car with greats results, except for the rear wheel bearings. Both have been replaced once & the right one twice. Now it's making the "sound" again, but am not sure which one it is, but I suspect the right one again! After having driven other cars for many more miles with never having to replace the rear bearings, it has to be a Forester problem. The first set was covered by our extended warranty & Subaru paid for half the second time for the right one. Now Sabaru says it hasn't heard of a problem, but since they paid half the second time plus the dealer people mutter something about a general problem, Subaru must have it's head in the sand!

16th Feb 2004, 13:30

We have a 2000 Subaru outback sport and we are now on our 3rd set of right rear wheel bearing. This is definitely a manufacturers defect - either of poor quality bearings or bad castings for the hubs. When we are ready to afford another new vehicle we will be moving over to a Toyota because they seem to last much better.

Our first bearing went at about 35000 miles, then again at 75000 miles, now again at 81000 miles. This is not acceptable. I will shop elsewhere.

Steve d

00 Subaru Outback Sport.

11th May 2004, 22:11

I own a 1999 Forester. We drive it almost entirely around town and on the freeways. We have recently replaced both rear bearings two months ago and are now faced with replacing both front bearings. I just recently paid off my car and it has left us stunned and disappointed to have almost $4000 in repairs after diligent maintenance on our part. We loved this car and are extremely saddened that Subaru has not supported their customers in this case. We will not purchase another Subaru and will look instead to Toyota for our next car.

12th Aug 2004, 14:02

We have a 1999 forester that we purchased with three miles on it. At 48,000 miles, we had to replace a rear wheel bearing. Now at 74,000 miles, we have to replace another one. I've spoken with SOA and they're not admitting there's an issue with the bearings.

I was really thinking about getting a WRX next year, but if this is how Subaru is going to handle obvious problems, I will be considering other manufacturers.

14th Oct 2004, 12:51

We have a 1999 Subaru Forrester which we have loved for the most part. It only has 60,000 miles on it and needs wheel bearings replaced which is a very expensive process. We are looking at new cars and sadly because of this issue there will not be another Subaru in our home. We have NEVER had this problem with any car we have ever driven. We have also had a strange smell in the car since we purchased it. The dealer replaced the head gasket a long time ago yet the smell continues. No one can determine what the smell is. It smells like antifreeze yet isn't. When driving a new one the other day, I noticed a similar smell. Anyone had anything like this in their car?