rustfarmer

The factory wheel bearings lasted about 60K miles so I had a dealer replace them--$1200. Car now has 180K miles and I have replaced the bearings one side at a time several more times and now needs the left side again. I've gotten pretty good at doing this job and takes about 45 minutes a side now, but sure would be nice if someone makes a better version of this part. Last time I used a Moog and that's what I need to replace. Interestingly, I have never had to replace a front hub. Any advice on brand that might be better? Several brands claim to be an improved part, but who knows?

Our rear wheel bearings seem to be getting loud, again. With only 152K miles on the car we have replaced rear bearings twice already at a cost of $1200 each time. We don't tow anything and never carry more than a 50 lb sack of dog food and rarely have even one passenger in the rear seats. Are the factory bearings just a poor quality part? Could I use aftermarket USA bearings and do the job myself?

Just finished a week long trip--about 1000 miles and since carrying some luggage I upped the tire pressure to 35 psi rear and 34 psi front. After running about 4 hours in speed zones with 80 mph limit the TPS warning light started blinking so we exit and find a air pump and buy a new digital gauge. Tires were all fine and reading 36 rear and 34 front while still warm. After this short stop the light was off so just kept the speed down to 75 and it did not come back on. Next day, light came on again running about 80 so slowed to 70 and it went out. Tire pressure was still fine. My question is, could the light be coming on from tires being over-inflated? Or could the sensors be old and failing?

Thanks for your input Numbchux. That's the first I've heard about the replacement short blocks being tighter. Our 2014 has a "rebuilt" title, which means it was a salvage title then inspected and "certified" rebuilt, which if funny, because so much major safety stuff was still wrong after the inspection. I guess that gives Subaru an excuse to void the warranty although ours has only 79K miles.

Thanks heartless. Our 2013 Crosstrek was getting 28 mpg at 120K miles but after tuneup and throttle body cleaning it now get 31 to 32. It runs 0-20 oil and never needs any between changes I do at 6K. FWIW, a dealer service advisor I like just told me about a product he swears will reduce oil consumption by about half. He says B G Engine restorer is a engine flush that actually works! He recommends just before an oil change get the car a quart low; add a quart of this product (available on amazon and some parts stores); run the engine for 10 minutes; stop engine and let cool (which I assume helps the product dissolve deposits); restart engine and run 5 minutes and then drain while still hot (be careful!). Complete oil and filter change--oil will be black as tar. Do this for two normal oil changes and oil consumption should be greatly reduced. He did not recommend using thicker oil, but we'll see. I will try this soon and report my findings. May still go to 5-30, but I'll try this first.

No thoughts anyone? I was thinking 5 w 30 might be a help.

I have done further research on this issue and turns out there is a tech service bulletin about reprogramming the ECU so that the low oil light only comes on when you are 1.1 quarts low. This seems like a bad idea, but is a band aid due to the excessive oil consumption issue on these engines. I found a youtube video (mrsubaru1387) which claims the real problem is that corporate made the decision to try to get extra fuel mileage by building these engine to "looser" specs. Apparently even a class action lawsuit a has been settled which resulted in Subaru replacing entire short blocks for some folks, but that did not help the issue and thus some owners actually got a buy back. The excess oil use can foul plugs, catalytic converters, O2 sensors, etc. My question now is, might it make sense to use a different weight oil, even if this reduces fuel mileage a bit? Color me frustrated!

Thank you Numbchux. That seems to be our experience as well.

Update FWIW. Daughter reports oil level is within normal level but perhaps could take a half quart so she added about that much (although she said she spilled quite a bit so who know exactly how much was added). Light was off for a while, then came on for ten minutes, that on and off some and finally on steady. She will check in the morning when dead cold to get exact reading. Engine seems fine with no noises, excess heat, nor tailpipe smoke and she has run about 9 hours today. Frustrating for me and wish this part could just be replaced more easily. I will post again when I know more.

Thanks Bennie. That is our decision too. The occasional false warning will be a reminder to check the dipstick just to make sure. If the warnings become too frequent we may price having the unit replaced.

Nice. Thanks so much for your help Ferret54.

Thank you Numbchux for that info. Is there an easy way to disable the oil level indicator (snip a wire?) if it is giving false readings? Dealer said oil level was spot on.

Thank you Ferret54 for this information. This is the first I have heard about this being such a PITA job. I, too, am an old wrench (74 years) and will be looking for some work around if this turns out to be the bad part. What would be an easy way to disable it without the warning light coming on? Have others dealt with this as well and if so, how? Thanks for your help.

Thank you Bennie!

Thanks for your reply Bennie. My reading does confirm that this model has both an oil pressure sensor and an oil level sensor. The dealer said both parts are inexpensive but they didn't want to replace them without a second false reading. They said drive at least another 1000 miles to see if the warning light comes on again. Not a very satisfactory answer IMHO. I would have gladly paid to replace both sensors and inspect the wiring too. Time will tell I guess.