I have had to replace rear wheel bearing on my 2000 Subaru Forester 3 times right and left rear over the last four years. I see through online reading that this is a common complaint with the Subaru and they have done nothing to fix the problem. Pressure needs to be put on them to remedy the situation.

- Csselberry , FL, USA

10/19/04 right rear wheel bearing replaced on my 2000 Subaru Forester at 56,886 miles (previous maint performed on 3/2/04) at a cost of $324.40. Right rear wheel bearing replaced again on 4/2/07 at 88,569 miles at a cost of $331.86 (previous maint performed on 6/20/06). Replacing the rear wheel bearing 3 times in less than 100,000 miles?

- Bluff City, TN, USA

Left wheel bearing went out May 2004. Paid approx. $1300 to repair it at a Subaru dealership. Right wheel bearing went out Sept 2005. Paid approx $450 to replace it at a Subaru certified repair shop. Now May 2006, left wheel bearing has gone out again, less than 2 years after it was replaced. The Subaru dealer now wants $500-800 to replace it again as they say repairs are only under warranty for 12 mos. I have spent close to $2,000 on repairs for something that is defective and obviously cannot be fixed. It does not make sense to spend another $800 to repair it again when it will only happen again and again. My vehicle has 94K on it. I drive less than 10K per year. This should not be happening. Subaru won't help me. Dealer won't help me.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

: the contact stated mechanical vibration noise at frequency of wheel rotation, persisting after complete wheel change when changing from all-weather to winter tires. Repair shop continued diagnosis. Problem solved upon replacement of wheel bearings in left-rear wheel.

- Orrs Island, ME, USA

2000 Subaru Forester S rear wheel bearings replaced at 19K under warranty then, at 67K, 70K, 80K and it needs replacement now again!

- Miami Beach, FL, USA

Complained to servicing dealer about excessive noise. Report was at 49,622 miles, both rear wheel bearings have failed. This component is not normally inspected or replaced in the ordinary schedule of manufacturer's recommended care. My web research shows quite a few reports of this same failure, indicating inadequate design or faulty components. Average miles to failure seem to be around 50,000. Increasingly, these cases will be showing up given the age and typical mileage of these cars. Anyone who ignores the sound level increase is liable to experience a complete failure on the road with definite safety implications. No one seems to be compiling statistics on this defect, except perhaps Subaru. There are indications that Subaru America is aware of the problem's frequency (a tsb on improved replacement method), but they have not regularly agreed to cover repair costs or alerted owners of the problem's existence. In my case, repair is scheduled six days from now. My complaint call to Subaru America resulted in a promise to look into the matter and call me back with a response on what action the company would take. It is now 2+ days awaiting response. Forester (and perhaps impresa) owners should be alerted to what is a very stealthy flaw. The manufacturer should be supplying good information and advice, as well as supporting their product.

- Kennedyville, MD, USA

Had to have wheel bearings on both sides of the rear replaced at only 44,000 miles on my 2000 Subaru Forester. Upon research have found wheel bearings to be a defective complaint among Subaru Forester and impreza owners. Some owners claiming that wheel bearings must be replaced every 30,000 miles.

- Paia, HI, USA