Subaru Crosstrek and XV Forums banner

Wheel bearings replacement. When?

Applies to All Model Years 
30K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  Yuckub 
#1 ·
At how many km you guys started having problems with the wheel bearings? and what were your driving conditions?

We had the driver' side front going at 45,000 km during a roadtrip.
It wasnt even a gradual thing, one minute it was driving all fine and dandy and a minute later it was throwing an extremely loud horrible squealing that was ending when stopping the car with an equally loud but perfectly tuned ring (oddly the ring was actually pleasant to the ears) and couldnt be driven at all... I heard noise from bearings ready to go in the past but nothing compared to this.
At the dealership where they took care of the issue they told us that with the new bearings there is that problem, the whole assembly is faster to replace but they aren't sealed as well as the old stuff and get dirty, in cars driven for very long stretches they heat up and wear faster than normal. They said that in that same month they had other cars from out of province being brought in for the same reason.
Everything was fixed under warranty but we still lost two days (dealership was closed by the time CAA brought us there)...
BTW, our local stealership serviced the car 3 weeks before our roadtrip...
 
#2 · (Edited)
I've learned this the hard way too. I have a 2013 Crosstrek with 86,000KM and had the rear wheel bearings fail on me. Turns out this is a pretty common thing with Crosstreks. If I were you, I would also keep an eye on your CV Axles as those crap out pretty early too (you can test that by turning your wheel all the way to the left/right and then going in cicrcles. If you hear clicking, that's bad).

I drive like an old man so I never abuse the car and it's mostly highway mileage.
 
#4 ·
117,000 miles on the odometer....no wheel bearings yet...though I am hearing a new whirring sound from the back...gonna have the dealer check it out.

Theoretically, all is covered on my lifetime powertrain warrantee offered free at purchase of my '15 Crosstrek. We shall see.....
 
#6 ·
I just had the same problem with my XV Subaru charged me $250 to diagnose the rear wheel bearings have failed 72,000km's.
I described the quiet motor bike noise but it took them 3.5 hours to find the problem then quoted $960 to fix.
This seems like a common problem with XV's, I have only driven on Suburban & Highway roads.
Trying to get cheaper quotes from an honest mechanic rather than a dealer.
 
#7 ·
2013 Crosstrek, third bearing replacement this morning. Cost ~700$ cdn (not at the dealer) and since it was my third one, I didn't need a diagnostic from anyone, noise is pretty familiar now. My car has 140K km mostly driven in town and highway and never abused. Apparently I'm not the only one. While at the garage, a young lady needed to change two bearings at the back on her Impreza 2012, and my mechanic has told me that he has been changing a lot of bearings on Subaru and Hyundai in the last few years. Just a note, most of the time, you cannot just change the bearing because it's completely seized up. The all assembly needs to be changed. After my dead AC (~700$) at 100K, my oil issue that comes and goes, my two recalls (spring valves and some brake related signal - for free) my Subaru XV 2013 has been my worst car ever in terms of repairs. Subaru should spend less money on marketing and more on quality.
 
#13 ·
Fifth repair for wheel bearing today. I can't afford this recurring every 6 to 8 months. I know the sound well now. I do mostly highway driving. Bought this used as a kid hit my 13 year old great Impreza only at 122K. Insurance is a nightmare too. So yeah, never buy a car even if you had good experiences while concussed.
 
#15 ·
I'm about to take on doing my own wheel bearing on my own. I checked the youtube on this and found a few videos and these people had some serious words to share while doing the job. I then consulted a mechanic friend of mine and he said he has done a bunch of these repairs and shouldn't be bad for me. He was thinking the people who have problems with the repairs live in snowy climates so things rust up. I have found the replacement hub costs between $50-130. I ended up going to Moog brand which is on the higher end of things only because I have used that brand on other vehicles I own. I plan on keeping this one and I don't think all bearings are created equally. I don't think I'm going to do the job this weekend but maybe next weekend. Here's to hoping the job goes smooth and relatively curse word free.
 
#16 ·
I have a 2014 XV Crosstrek, 62k miles. Bought used at 47k. Around 55k miles my first rear bearing went, while I deliberated having it repaired at the dealership, some technician thought I was under warranty and made the repair without my consent. Ended up not having to pay which was fantastic as they are about $600 a pop.
At 62k miles the same sound came back on the same bearing. I was told that both rear bearings need replacing for $1100. I told them to only repair the one that’s making the noise because I suspect they’re just trying to get 2 out of me. Same bearing in less than a year…if this happens again I’m going to have to start car shopping.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top