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Subaru Legacy/Outback Wheel bearing failure

149 messages,  Last post on Jun 02, 2012 at 12:08 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Outback, Auto Repair, Car Warranties, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 14 of 16

#123 of 149 Subaru disappointment by mike1957

Apr 11, 2011 (11:25 am)

I am with the others disappointed with their Subarus, and no, I do not feel I have high or unreasonable standards for the car. To begin with Subaru owners pay good money for their cars. The money spent is not in the high end category but it is certainly well above the economy level. The Subaru reputation is of a reliable, durable car, and they seem to always rate high in vehicle reviews. Me, I have not had that experience. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area so we do not have extreme weather. My commute was brutal, but my wife's is 17 miles with little traffic. We are on our third Subaru. Our first was a 2000 Outback with a manual transmission. With this car the clutch went out at 61,000 miles, the computer failed at 72,000 miles, the timing belt needed replacing at 74,000 miles. We now have a 2006 Outback with an automatic transmission and a 2006 Forester with a manual transmission. The Outback had a fuel injection problem at 32,000 miles, the transmission had a major problem at 42,000 miles, and now BOTH wheel bearings had to be replaced at 66,000. The Forester had its speed gear replaced at 17,000 miles, the catalytic converter was replaced at 33,000 miles, the timing chain went out at 52,000 miles, the oil seals went out at 86,000 miles. We have not spent over $100 for each repair because we have had extended warranties, or the repair was covered by the manufacturer's warranty but according to the invoices the repairs ranged from $650 to $1800 in cost. Each repair took a minimum two and a half days to complete, leaving us minus a car. I have been very religious with changing the oil and meeting maintenance requirements. Major servicing was always done by the local dealership. I have had other cars, Fords, Saturns, a Mazda, all "econo models" and have not had this type of reliability. The other reality is the Subaru gas mileage is not something to write home about. I hate to say it, but our next car will not be a Subaru

#124 of 149 Re: 2008 outback wheel bearing [potsy536] by thesubaruguru

May 12, 2011 (9:15 am)

Replying to: potsy536 (Mar 29, 2011 4:15 am)
Increased "groaning" is either scalloped tires (try cross-rotation to even out over time; if too late, or tires are directional, you'll have to toss 2 or the set), or an emergent bad wheel bearing, probably one of the rears.
 
Water pumps on the modern SOHC 2.5i are gold. So I would NOT trust your local shop. T-belts last well beyond the 105k service interval too unless the tensioner goes. In its 6th year I'd be sure that the plat plugs are new, as well air filter, ps belt, atf (do not ignore!), and other simple stuff. Check right inner DOJ boot if you start to smell it, and be VERY careful to keep coolant reservoir full (check monthly) as you probably have a small (normal?) #4 cyl coolant leak at the gasket.
 
Cheers.
Ern
TheSubaruGuru/Boston

#125 of 149 Re: 2006 Outback Rear Wheel Bearing Failure [greg_ct] by kyhorselover

Jul 19, 2011 (10:01 am)

Replying to: greg_ct (Nov 14, 2010 5:30 pm)
I have a 2007 OB. In the last two weeks it has required two new axels, a brake job (3rd one it has had), and now they tell me it needs wheel bearings in the back ($1400) and a new clutch ($600). The dealer told me I should trade it in but not at their dealership!?!! It has 93,000 miles. I guess the sell before 100,000 is a good one.
When I bought mine I was looking for a used one and all I could find were ones with 120,000 miles. Now I know the folks fixed them one more time and then got rid of them. That's my plan.

#126 of 149 Re: 2006 Outback Rear Wheel Bearing Failure [kyhorselover] by ateixeira

Jul 19, 2011 (10:09 am)

Replying to: kyhorselover (Jul 19, 2011 10:01 am)
$1400 for new wheel bearings? Do they come with new wheels and tires? That's insanely high.

#127 of 149 Re: 2008 outback wheel bearing [emuntz] by dlanning

Aug 15, 2011 (4:02 pm)

Replying to: emuntz (Mar 16, 2011 5:10 pm)
the new wheel berrings need to be de greased and repacked with high temp disc break gresse like (crc) or stay-lube part # sl3161 this is what i use on my subarus and i only repack the berrings every 90,000 to 120,000 miles since i have used this grease i have had no wheel bearing falure at all so try it , i do belive you will find out the factory bearings come with packing like grease but its not designed for usage it only ment for it to sit on shelfs so it wount rust , i have been using this grease for 12 years on all 4 of my subarus including my 2 outbacks 07,10 it works great ,

#128 of 149 1999 Subaru Outback rear bearing failure by rufus21

Aug 22, 2011 (4:02 pm)

At 227,000 miles my left front bearing needs replacing, my mechanic said. It started out as a scraping sound like brakes needed to be replaced or like something was being dragged under the car. It got louder when I turned left. Don't have the money to replace it until 10 days from now. The mechanic said that could be dangerous and to only drive it on the back roads and not on the freeway.
The mechanic said cost $250. Lived in San Fransisco Bay area for the first 2 years. Then moved to Foothills (country) of Sierra Mountains. It has been great in snow. I have had very good luck with it. Just regular maintenance, oil and brake change etc. The original odometer went out at around 100,000 miles, just before we drove throughout Mexico.
 2 years ago, had white light "check engine" come on and so failed smog test. Had that repaired,the catalytic converter.This year had the head gaskets replaced and the alternator.
  Even though things are starting to wear out now, I don't think that is too bad for having almost 230,000 miles on it. It is just starting now to give me trouble.

#129 of 149 Re: 1999 Subaru Outback rear bearing failure [rufus21] by xwesx

Aug 22, 2011 (5:00 pm)

Replying to: rufus21 (Aug 22, 2011 4:02 pm)
That sounds pretty good!
 
The nice thing about wheel bearing failures is that they warn you ahead of time. The bad part is that when they finally fail, your car isn't going anywhere.... I've had it both ways.

#131 of 149 Re: 2008 outback wheel bearing [dlanning] by longo2

Oct 09, 2011 (9:36 am)

Replying to: dlanning (Aug 15, 2011 4:02 pm)
Been lurking on this forum for a few days and thought I would note your last post as one of the best pieces of advice a Subi owner could get on the constant wheel bearing issues a lot seem to be having.
 
It's like a few posters who have had "gas smell" in their cars that no one can find out why....until one poster pointed out a difficult to find weak clamp on a gas line that simply tightening up, will fix the problem.
 
I've been serioulsy thinking of getting a used Subi for a winter vehicle, but keep finding outraged Subi owners posting that they will NEVER buy another one. Of course as on any forum there are the usuall Fanboys, who would buy again even if it had 3 wheels and a garbage can for a seat.
 
Posts like yours make me more confident that good Subi mechanics and long term owners have sorted out what seem like fatal defects and suggest simple but effective fixes.
 
Now if there was a simple fix to my horrible Honda Odyssey a/t tranny issues!

#132 of 149 Re: 2008 outback wheel bearing [longo2] by thesubaruguru

Oct 13, 2011 (7:08 pm)

Replying to: longo2 (Oct 09, 2011 9:36 am)
Sorry! I've heard about those horrible Odyssey trannies too....
 
dlanning may have forgotten that the 2005+ Subies use sealed bearing hub assemblies that are permanently lubricated upon manufacture. There isn't even a way to "repack" them! However it's a good idea to lube mating surfaces carefully so that no excess torque is applied when mounting a new one in order to prevent crushing it.
 
These assemblies are otherwise extremely easy to mount, total time being 30-40 min per corner. Fair cost is then $60-120 for the bearing hub ass'y and $50-80 for labor. Thus at less than $200 per corner it's difficult to countenance complaints of expensive repair requirements.
 
But the rear struts in the modern Subies are "soft" too. But again, nice KYB GR2 replacements wholesale for only $59 and take 30-45min to install. Annoying, but hardly exorbitant.
 
The real problem lies in the plethora of overcharging rampant in the industry right now, wherein I'm seeing estimates 2-4x the above!
 
It serves one to remember that AWD vehicles, having TWO driven axles, are apt to have twice as many wheel bearing issues as simpler FWD or RWD cousins.
 
Nonetheless I'm getting sick of having to replace so many RWBs this year on 2005-2008 OBs I service....

Messages Page 14 of 16

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