Forester Wheel Bearing

[BRH]

I had my 2001 Forester's oil changed this morning at a service station
recommended by a friend - my first visit there. In addition to the oil
change, I had them check my brakes because they have been intermittently
squeaking. During the course of their work (the brakes were fine) they
discovered that the left rear wheel bearing was making noise, and is
leaking. They recommended replacing it and gave me an estimate of $333
to have it done. I didn't go for it today, and thought that I might ask
a few questions about it here first:

1. What kind of noise should I be hearing/what should I be feeling with
a bad wheel bearing? I can't hear/feel anything other than the normal
(or I assume to be normal) hum of my tires.
2. How urgent is this repair, if this is legitimate? Is there any
simple way for me to verify that what they're saying is accurate?
3. Is $333 a reasonable price for this? (I live in Richmond, VA).
4. I think that there was a general discussion here awhile ago about
Forester and Impreza wheel bearings. Is there something I should be
aware of before OK'ing this repair (ie - factory recalls, etc)?
5. How unusual is it for a wheel bearing to wear out, and should I
expect this to occur on the other 3 wheels soon, as well?

The car has just over 50,000 miles on it, and has had no other major
repairs so far.

Any thoughts/advice on this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Greg Smith]

I had my 2001 Forester's oil changed this morning at a service station
recommended by a friend - my first visit there. In addition to the oil
change, I had them check my brakes because they have been intermittently
squeaking. During the course of their work (the brakes were fine) they
discovered that the left rear wheel bearing was making noise, and is
leaking. They recommended replacing it and gave me an estimate of $333
to have it done. I didn't go for it today, and thought that I might ask
a few questions about it here first:

1. What kind of noise should I be hearing/what should I be feeling with
a bad wheel bearing? I can't hear/feel anything other than the normal
(or I assume to be normal) hum of my tires.
2. How urgent is this repair, if this is legitimate? Is there any
simple way for me to verify that what they're saying is accurate?
3. Is $333 a reasonable price for this? (I live in Richmond, VA).
4. I think that there was a general discussion here awhile ago about
Forester and Impreza wheel bearings. Is there something I should be
aware of before OK'ing this repair (ie - factory recalls, etc)?
5. How unusual is it for a wheel bearing to wear out, and should I
expect this to occur on the other 3 wheels soon, as well?

The car has just over 50,000 miles on it, and has had no other major
repairs so far.

Any thoughts/advice on this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

The sound is a roaring sound at high speed that turns into a horrible
metal grinding sound at lower speed.

Take it to your dealer. Not sure if they'll replace it under warranty
(my warranty period is a distant memory) but they should because most
Foresters have this problem. A service station might not have the
correct type of bearing and besides, that price seems more than a bit
high.

Subaru made a mid-year engineering change and they now use a different
bearing. My rr bearing went out twice in 40,000 miles, then I got the
new design bearing and no sign of trouble at 95,000 miles.

My problems were limited to the right rear bearing.

 

[bhoenig]

The sound is a roaring sound at high speed that turns into a horrible
metal grinding sound at lower speed.

Take it to your dealer. Not sure if they'll replace it under warranty
(my warranty period is a distant memory) but they should because most
Foresters have this problem. A service station might not have the
correct type of bearing and besides, that price seems more than a bit
high.

Subaru made a mid-year engineering change and they now use a different
bearing. My rr bearing went out twice in 40,000 miles, then I got the
new design bearing and no sign of trouble at 95,000 miles.

My problems were limited to the right rear bearing.

THANK YOU!!! I contacted my dealer, and he will be replacing it under
warranty -- even though I have over 50K miles on the car. No argument
at all. In fact, he volunteered that info before I could even ask him.
Amazing!