NHTSA Complaint #10434294 — 2006 SUBARU FORESTER

I PURCHASED MY 2006 SUBARU FORESTER BRAND NEW FROM THE SUBARU DEALER IN CATONSVILLE, MD; RUSSELL SUBARU. THERE WERE NO MILES ON THE VEHICLE WHEN I BOUGHT IT. BOTH REAR BEARINGS WORE OUT ON MY CAR AT ALMOST THE SAME EXACT TIME. EVERY MECHANIC WITH WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN SAYS THIS IS COMMON ON THESE VEHICLES. MY BEARINGS WORE OUT AT ABOUT 70K MILES. THE SUBARU DEALER CHARGED ME APPROXIMATELY $800 TO REPLACE ONE OF THEM. THE OTHER COST ABOUT $600 AT AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MECHANICS WON'T REPLACE THE BEARINGS BECAUSE THEY CAN'T WARRANTY THE WORK SO YOU END UP REPLACING THE HUB ASSEMBLY. THAT IS WHY IT COST SO MUCH. WHEN IT WEARS OUT IT FIRST STARTS TO SQUEAL AND MAKE A NOISE THAT GETS PROGRESSIVELY LOUDER AS YOU ACCELERATE TO MODERATE SPEED. MY CAR NOW HAS 140K MILES AND MY WHEEL BEARINGS HAVE BEGUN MAKING NOISE AGAIN. AT A COST OF ($600 - $800) X 2, THIS CLEARLY SEEMS LIKE A POOR DESIGN DEFECT. I HAVE OWNED MANY CARS OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY FOR THE SAME PART IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. THE PART WORE OUT ALMOST PRECISELY AFTER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED. EVERY PERSON I KNOW WITH A SUBARU FORESTER HAS THE SAME COMPLAINT. THERE ARE NUMEROUS FORUMS ON THE WEB FROM OWNERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. SUBARU SHOULD PAY THE COST FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS AND LABOR TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM, WHICH IS NOT TYPICAL OF WHAT A BUYER WOULD EXPECT WITH ROUTINE MAINTENANCE FOR A NEARLY $30K VEHICLE. ASIDE FROM THE PREMATURE WEAR OF THE REAR WHEEL/HUB ASSEMBLY, I HAVE BASICALLY BEEN PLEASED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF MY SUBARU. *TR