2006 Subaru Forester Suspension Problems

Your Forester had a suspension recall performed at a dealer, but less than two months later, your steering wheel started shaking violently while driving at 60 mph and you nearly lost control of the vehicle. When you inspected it, you found the front driver's side lower control arm was cracked. The dealer apparently never actually performed the recall work, so you bought the part and replaced it yourself.

Your passenger side control arm snapped in half while you were driving, causing you to lose control of your vehicle. You discovered both control arms were severely rusted, even though they were treated with rust-proof spray during a recall service in 2012 instead of being replaced. Subaru refused to replace these recalled parts because they had been sprayed, but the spray didn't prevent the accelerated rusting and failure. The fix will require replacing both control arms with new parts.

Your lower control arm has rusted again, even though it was previously repaired under a manufacturer recall. The dealership told you that because the recall work was already done, any further repairs would be at your own expense. This is a suspension component that affects your car's handling and safety.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A TIRE SHOP TO PURCHASE A SET OF NEW TIRES. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED BY THE TECHNICIAN THAT THERE WAS NO POINT OF REPLACING THE TIRES BECAUSE BOTH FRONTAL CONTROL ARMS WERE SEVERELY RUSTED AND THE VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TOO OLD TO BE INCLUDED IN A RECALL FOR THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 136,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE RECEIVED THE RECALL NOTICE ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 11V464000 (SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM). THE CONTACT NOTIFIED AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT HIS APPOINTMENT WAS RESCHEDULED BECAUSE THE PARTS NECESSARY TO REMEDY THE FAILURE WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 115,000.

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