Halleluya! subaru is finally recalling the wheel bearings

10th Warrior · 09-06-2001, 06:02 PM

well, i took my MY00 RS in for rear wheel bearing #5 this morning (18k miles, BTW). this afternoon they told me that subaru was going to replace both rear spindles, so they gave me a loaner outback. hey, i'll put up with a slushbox equiped wagon anyday if it means the wheel bearings will last more than 6k miles.

thank you SOA!

iBlueVirus · 09-06-2001, 06:05 PM

is this just for MY00? Or does it includ MY01?

crash · 09-06-2001, 06:07 PM

wow, I know you've been dealing w/ this for a long time.

I hope this fixes the problem once-and-for-all.

-Nate

omahasubaru · 09-06-2001, 06:23 PM

What MY is this recall for? I want to know if I can be expecting new wheel bearings or not.

Thanks,

Jon

garface · 09-06-2001, 06:38 PM

Is this a recall for everyone? Are we getting a letter or something?

STiShawn · 09-06-2001, 06:40 PM

nEW STUFF IS ALWAYS GOOD....

Fish · 09-06-2001, 06:40 PM

anyone have a listing for the recall?

Necromancer · 09-06-2001, 06:52 PM

Errr ... this doesn't mean there's any kind of official recall going on... they are just doing warranty work. So now dealers across the country are going to have i-Clubbers coming in asking for replacement bearings when there's nothing "wrong"...

iBlueVirus · 09-06-2001, 06:52 PM

only two recent ones that I can find...

http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/a/01/legacy.htm
http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/a/01/00v391393.htm

check:
http://www.safetyalerts.com/rcls/cat...s-t.htm#subaru

10th Warrior · 09-07-2001, 01:29 AM

i would imagine that since it is a none critical part (i.e. saftey wise and it fails gradually), subaru will not recall working units. however, if you have a bearing that fails, they will now replace both spindles underwarrenty whereas before they would only replace the offending bearing. for those of you who have had bearing problems, i'm sure you'll appreciate this. as far as MYs go, i would imagine that it would be any of the old body style, though i am not sure. check with your dealer to see if it applies to you. the service director did use the word "recall" however. whether this was a misnomer on his part, i can't say. what i do know for sure, is before they would only put another POS bearing in. i even asked if they would do the tapered roller bearing out of the back of the legacy and WRX, but they said they couldn't under warrenty. now they're replacing both spindles. a big change in policy, whatever you want to call it. perhaps one of the SOA people who peruse the board could give some more detailed insight.

Outback_Mike · 09-07-2001, 05:35 AM

So what happens if you're out of warranty? I have 60,000+ miles and I'm on my second wheelbearing faliure on my 98 Outback Sport. Am I still screeeeewed? If I bring my car in for the 60,000 mile service, think they will offer to replace them if I don't say anything and they drive it around and hear the noise?

I just talked to my local dealer last week, and they weren't interested in even LOOKING at it for free.

--Mike
http://www.raindrop.com/subaru/wheelbearings.html

Retsyn · 09-07-2001, 09:44 AM

My wife's '98 Forester just got it's second set put on >

(

Ginseng · 09-07-2001, 10:32 AM

Retsyn,

Seriously? What symptoms did you have to indicate bad wheel bearings? I have a 98 Forester S with 80K miles and no apparent problems yet.

RacerinLSL · 09-07-2001, 11:46 AM

Jeff,
I dropped my car off last night at Fusz and saw yours. I left you a little note on the windshield, though I doubt it will still be there.

Chad

10th Warrior · 09-07-2001, 12:11 PM

ohhhh, i miss my car. the wagon just isn't as much fun (and me with nothing to haul). my attempts to master the manu-matic go poorly. this process is not aided by hitting the brakes when i try to use the imaginary clutch.

as far as the dealer replacing the spindles out of warrenty, i don't know. i'd say bypass the dealer and speack with the regional rep.

Martin Ritchie · 09-07-2001, 02:19 PM

For those of us affected by the recall (my wife's 95 Legacy has to have coil springs replaced) we can take solace in looking at the amount of recalls listed at safetyalerts.com for other vehicles compared to Subaru. (Check out Chrysler, or Ford).

Foxbat · 09-07-2001, 11:07 PM

My '97 OBS's right rear wheel bearing recently went bad and just got replaced today by my dealer under warranty. My car is 48k miles and almost 5 years. It only got power train warranty left and I thouhgt wheel bearing was not covered in power train warranty.

Foxbat

LEORPH · 09-08-2001, 01:18 AM

Have your dealer use Legacy wheel bearing instead of the Impreza ones. They are a perfect fit and your problems will go away.

ImprezaMan · 09-08-2001, 04:12 PM

My wheels make a really annoying squeaking sound. I know it's not the brakes, could this be the wheels bearings?

Joelk · 11-16-2001, 12:55 AM

will the Legacy rear bearings fit any Impreza? Or only Imprezas with rear disc brakes?

I have a 99 Impreza L with rear drums, I'm going to be replacing the rear bearings soon, and if they will fit, I might as well put the Legacy bearings in.

Thanks

skeletor25rs · 11-16-2001, 01:55 AM

My dealership told me that wheel bearings are not covered under the powertrian warranty on MY00 but they are covered on MY01. I don't understand why but I was pissed. If there is a recall, I'm demanding a refund

Greg Sharpe · 11-16-2001, 04:22 AM

I'm on bearing #5 as well, three on the left rear, and two on the right rear.

Warning: One of my wheel bearings BLEW OUT just one week after it was replaced! The feeling from inside the car was just like a tire blowing out, scary, unexpected, and super fast! I lost control of the car, involutarily changing lanes....had both hands on the wheel too!

The dealership that took the warranty claim covered it under SOAs parts warranty of 12mo/12Kmi. They even installed a Legacy bearing which they say is tapered and doesn't fail like th replacement Impreza bearings. Now I'm waiting for the other Impreza bearing in my car to go bad, hopefully within 12mo/12Kmi of its installation.

Good luck all!

p.s.- My car has 43,000mi on it, even so SOA was super helpfull!

Marc Sawaya · 11-16-2001, 10:43 AM

Hopefully the spindles will do it. My right rear failed after 24k miles, and they replaced it with another Impreza one. If I had known I would have told them to replace it with a Legacy bearing, but it doesn't really matter now.

RageHardIntoTheBendies · 11-16-2001, 05:02 PM

Just had #3, they said they had changed some parts to fix it but nothing out of the ordinary on the Invoice shrug The legacy uses the sealed units right?

p-car · 11-16-2001, 10:45 PM

are you sure it's a recall?

all I can find is the WXW80 O2 sensor recall

09-06-2001, 06:02 PM	#1
10th Warrior Scooby Specialist Member#: 2230 Join Date: Aug 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Toronto these days Vehicle: 2000 2.5RS Silverthorn, PGT #671	Halleluya! subaru is finally recalling the wheel bearings well, i took my MY00 RS in for rear wheel bearing #5 this morning (18k miles, BTW). this afternoon they told me that subaru was going to replace both rear spindles, so they gave me a loaner outback. hey, i'll put up with a slushbox equiped wagon anyday if it means the wheel bearings will last more than 6k miles. thank you SOA!

09-06-2001, 06:23 PM	#4
omahasubaru Scooby Guru Member#: 1594 Join Date: Jun 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Gretna, NE	?????????? What MY is this recall for? I want to know if I can be expecting new wheel bearings or not. Thanks, Jon

09-07-2001, 09:44 AM	#12
Retsyn Scooby Newbie Member#: 1910 Join Date: Jul 2000 Chapter/Region: NESIC Vehicle: 2010 Prius Gray	My wife's '98 Forester just got it's second set put on >(

09-08-2001, 01:18 AM	#18
LEORPH Scooby Newbie Member#: 1926 Join Date: Jul 2000 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: RI Vehicle: 2002 WRX Wagon Midnight Black	Wheel Bearing Have your dealer use Legacy wheel bearing instead of the Impreza ones. They are a perfect fit and your problems will go away.

11-16-2001, 04:22 AM	#22
Greg Sharpe Scooby Specialist Member#: 741 Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: 'ol Jersey Bastard Vehicle: 95 GF8 uber-wagon '04 ZX-6R	THANK GOODNESS I'm on bearing #5 as well, three on the left rear, and two on the right rear. Warning: One of my wheel bearings BLEW OUT just one week after it was replaced! The feeling from inside the car was just like a tire blowing out, scary, unexpected, and super fast! I lost control of the car, involutarily changing lanes....had both hands on the wheel too! The dealership that took the warranty claim covered it under SOAs parts warranty of 12mo/12Kmi. They even installed a Legacy bearing which they say is tapered and doesn't fail like th replacement Impreza bearings. Now I'm waiting for the other Impreza bearing in my car to go bad, hopefully within 12mo/12Kmi of its installation. Good luck all! p.s.- My car has 43,000mi on it, even so SOA was super helpfull!

09-06-2001, 06:05 PM	#2
iBlueVirus Scooby Specialist Member#: 4679 Join Date: Mar 2001 Chapter/Region: BAIC Location: detailaddict.com	is this just for MY00? Or does it includ MY01?

09-06-2001, 06:07 PM	#3
crash Scooby Specialist Member#: 1440 Join Date: May 2000 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Keeps Bumpers Fresher, Longer! Vehicle: 05 LGT Wgn; 04 FXT BDSM -- Birmingham, AL	wow, I know you've been dealing w/ this for a long time. I hope this fixes the problem once-and-for-all. -Nate

09-06-2001, 06:38 PM	#5
garface Scooby Guru Member#: 1581 Join Date: Jun 2000 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: yonkers, ny Vehicle: MY00 RS/STi7 MY01 RS Both Silverthorne	Is this a recall for everyone? Are we getting a letter or something?

09-06-2001, 06:40 PM	#6
STiShawn Scooby Specialist Member#: 2348 Join Date: Sep 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: St.Louis Vehicle: 2006 WRX TR Steel Grey Metallic	nEW STUFF IS ALWAYS GOOD....

09-06-2001, 06:40 PM	#7
Fish RIP Sirkbac Member#: 869 Join Date: Feb 2000 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Nashua NH Vehicle: 1987 GPZ-750 TURBO 90' MX-5/02' Protoge 5	anyone have a listing for the recall?

09-06-2001, 06:52 PM	#8
Necromancer Scooby Specialist Member#: 477 Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Vancouver Vehicle: GC4 -> GGA -> GM6 Yeah, that's about right.	Errr ... this doesn't mean there's any kind of official recall going on... they are just doing warranty work. So now dealers across the country are going to have i-Clubbers coming in asking for replacement bearings when there's nothing "wrong"...

09-07-2001, 01:29 AM	#10
10th Warrior Scooby Specialist Member#: 2230 Join Date: Aug 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Toronto these days Vehicle: 2000 2.5RS Silverthorn, PGT #671	i would imagine that since it is a none critical part (i.e. saftey wise and it fails gradually), subaru will not recall working units. however, if you have a bearing that fails, they will now replace both spindles underwarrenty whereas before they would only replace the offending bearing. for those of you who have had bearing problems, i'm sure you'll appreciate this. as far as MYs go, i would imagine that it would be any of the old body style, though i am not sure. check with your dealer to see if it applies to you. the service director did use the word "recall" however. whether this was a misnomer on his part, i can't say. what i do know for sure, is before they would only put another POS bearing in. i even asked if they would do the tapered roller bearing out of the back of the legacy and WRX, but they said they couldn't under warrenty. now they're replacing both spindles. a big change in policy, whatever you want to call it. perhaps one of the SOA people who peruse the board could give some more detailed insight.

09-07-2001, 05:35 AM	#11
Outback_Mike Scooby Newbie Member#: 1080 Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: SF Bay, CA. Vehicle: 98 Outback Sport Black	So what happens if you're out of warranty? I have 60,000+ miles and I'm on my second wheelbearing faliure on my 98 Outback Sport. Am I still screeeeewed? If I bring my car in for the 60,000 mile service, think they will offer to replace them if I don't say anything and they drive it around and hear the noise? I just talked to my local dealer last week, and they weren't interested in even LOOKING at it for free. --Mike http://www.raindrop.com/subaru/wheelbearings.html

09-07-2001, 10:32 AM	#13
Ginseng Scooby Specialist Member#: 3800 Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: DE Vehicle: 2002 WRB WRX Sedan Forester S	Retsyn, Seriously? What symptoms did you have to indicate bad wheel bearings? I have a 98 Forester S with 80K miles and no apparent problems yet.

09-07-2001, 11:46 AM	#14
RacerinLSL Scooby Specialist Member#: 1174 Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: St. Louie Vehicle: 2003 Nissan 350Z Silver	Jeff, I dropped my car off last night at Fusz and saw yours. I left you a little note on the windshield, though I doubt it will still be there. Chad

09-07-2001, 12:11 PM	#15
10th Warrior Scooby Specialist Member#: 2230 Join Date: Aug 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Toronto these days Vehicle: 2000 2.5RS Silverthorn, PGT #671	ohhhh, i miss my car. the wagon just isn't as much fun (and me with nothing to haul). my attempts to master the manu-matic go poorly. this process is not aided by hitting the brakes when i try to use the imaginary clutch. as far as the dealer replacing the spindles out of warrenty, i don't know. i'd say bypass the dealer and speack with the regional rep.

09-07-2001, 02:19 PM	#16
Martin Ritchie Scooby Specialist Member#: 6771 Join Date: May 2001 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Sylvania, OH, USA Vehicle: 2002 WRX WagonSilver 04 WRX Sedan Red	For those of us affected by the recall (my wife's 95 Legacy has to have coil springs replaced) we can take solace in looking at the amount of recalls listed at safetyalerts.com for other vehicles compared to Subaru. (Check out Chrysler, or Ford).

09-07-2001, 11:07 PM	#17
Foxbat Scooby Specialist Member#: 654 Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Fairfax, VA Vehicle: 2003 WRX, Silver '08 Tribeca, Brown	My '97 OBS's right rear wheel bearing recently went bad and just got replaced today by my dealer under warranty. My car is 48k miles and almost 5 years. It only got power train warranty left and I thouhgt wheel bearing was not covered in power train warranty. Foxbat

09-08-2001, 04:12 PM	#19
ImprezaMan Scooby Newbie Member#: 4733 Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Toronto, Ontario Canada Vehicle: 2000 2.5RS Coupe BRP	My wheels make a really annoying squeaking sound. I know it's not the brakes, could this be the wheels bearings?

11-16-2001, 12:55 AM	#20
Joelk Scooby Newbie Member#: 7790 Join Date: Jun 2001 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Minneapolis Vehicle: 2000 OBS Silver	will the Legacy rear bearings fit any Impreza? Or only Imprezas with rear disc brakes? I have a 99 Impreza L with rear drums, I'm going to be replacing the rear bearings soon, and if they will fit, I might as well put the Legacy bearings in. Thanks

11-16-2001, 01:55 AM	#21
skeletor25rs Scooby Guru Member#: 1844 Join Date: Jul 2000 Chapter/Region: TXIC Location: Edna, TX Vehicle: '08s Rubicon & GMC Rescue Grn & Stealth Gray	My dealership told me that wheel bearings are not covered under the powertrian warranty on MY00 but they are covered on MY01. I don't understand why but I was pissed. If there is a recall, I'm demanding a refund

11-16-2001, 10:43 AM	#23
Marc Sawaya Scooby Specialist Member#: 3539 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Deming, NM Vehicle: MY00 BRP GM6 5MT Out There Somewhere	Hopefully the spindles will do it. My right rear failed after 24k miles, and they replaced it with another Impreza one. If I had known I would have told them to replace it with a Legacy bearing, but it doesn't really matter now.

11-16-2001, 05:02 PM	#24
RageHardIntoTheBendies Scooby Specialist Member#: 1532 Join Date: May 2000 Location: Wnnipeg, MB, Canada Vehicle: 1999 RS, Silverthorn www.zucru.com	Just had #3, they said they had changed some parts to fix it but nothing out of the ordinary on the Invoice shrug The legacy uses the sealed units right?

11-16-2001, 10:45 PM	#25
p-car Scooby Newbie Member#: 5534 Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: OC Vehicle: 2000 Cliffdiver RS	are you sure it's a recall? all I can find is the WXW80 O2 sensor recall

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