2019 Outback 6 cylinder.

[Steam plant eng]

At about 25,000 miles my Outback developed a thumping problem between 20 and 40 mph.It seems like it is coming from a tire, but which one ,or more than one is hard to tell. Checked alignment and balanced tires. Original Bridgestones are still on the car. Dealer first thought it was the RF wheel bearing. No change. Then he did the LF wheel bearing. No change. After about 6 trips to the dealer he took 4 wheels off of a new Subaru on his lot. He said that the noise went away and the ride was smooth. Then he put my tires back on. Same noise.
He said that I needed new tires. OK, but my original tires were only half worn out at that time. Tires are not cheap any more, so I am waiting until they are worn out. Has anyone else had this problem. The tires do not show any visible signs of a problem. The car does not vibrate or shimmy. I am reluctant to put another set of Bridgestone tires on this car. Ideas?

 

[bmart]

Bridgestones suck. What kind of driving do you do? I've been using these for years on all of my Subarus and they are magnificent.

BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS | Ultra-High Performance Tires for Cars, SUVs & Trucks

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Also...your dealer sucks. Rank amateur diagnostic skills.

 

[Steam plant eng]

Type of driving: About 50/50 highway and local. The 6 cyl is great for highways. Lots of torque. If I didn’t tell you, you would think I had a conventional AT, not the rubber band. My only complaint is the thump- thump from something, probably the tires.

 

[bmart]

For many years now, Subarus seem to love Continentals. It is probably worth looking up some reviews on Tirerack.com.

Any off road? Snow/ice/cold temps? Summer only climate?

 

[Glenn Smith]

My Outback 3.6R has been wearing Bridgestones, purchased at Costco for over a year. I completed a 7,000 mile road trip to the SW. Destinations included Pike's Peak (topped out at 14,000+ feet) Cinnamon Pass (12,640 feet), Ophir Pass (11,789 feet), Garden of the Gods (Utah) Canyonlands (offroad access to Needles hiking trail, Engineer Pass ( 12,800 feet. Got to within 500' of summit. Had to turn back - rain at summit)

People on trails were amazed that the Subby made it that far. Tires were inflated to 32psi. No "airing down". No cuts, no flats and on asphalt the tires are the smoothest ride in any car I have owned. Smooth ride at 85mph.

I own a 2010 Mercedes E-350. It has Continental ContiProContacts. Fine tires. Purchased at Dealer.

Addressing your problem: Dealer has confirmed you have a tire problem. But, you don't know which tire. Seems like they just wanted you to "move on down the road". Talk to your friends. What tire shop do they recommend? Go there. Sounds like you might have a defective cord. You could also isolate the tire by using your spare to isolate the defective tire.

My thoughts are NOT presented to defend one brand or another. Today's tires are pretty good. But nothing is perfect. My uncles and my dad used to debate car mfgrs: Chevy, Ford or Chrysler. They all lasted about 100,000 miles and then were ready to retire to junkyard. Most of the cars had three new sets of tires over their limited life.

Periodically Consumer Reports does articles on tires. They are a good unbiased resource.

The original mfgr's tires on my Subby were Bridgestones. They gave 70K of good service. Don't go for the lowest cost tire made by any mfgr. You will get what you deserve (oops! meant to say "what you pay for").