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2015 Forester increasing road noise & traction issues


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I have a 2015 Subaru Forester.

Recently I had started noticing increasing road noise.  I'm not quite sure how long it has been going on - it has gradually increased, and I didn't really notice it right away.  (It wasn't until someone else who wasn't in the vehicle regularly pointed it out that I really took note of it).

Just recently I was driving in the rain on the highway and the traction was very bad.  Like it was hydroplaning - but like it was constantly on the edge of losing traction.  Very different than anything I had experienced before.

I was in a bad accident about 4 years ago.  After the repairs I hadn't noticed any problems like this - this is definitely something new.  But of course, I am concerned it might be related to that.

In a couple threads here I had noticed people asking similar questions, and someone had asked if the vehicle had been in a wreck.  In those cases it hadn't, so I was curious what the thought was about how the wreck could be related.  For example:

https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/119312-tire-cupping-scalloping-sequence-to-remedy/

I just experienced the traction issue and as soon as I got home started searching for info on it - and found this site - which looks like a great resource.  My plan was to make an appointment with the dealer this week to look at it - but I was hoping to get a bit of insight in the meantime.

Any advice is appreciated - Thanks!

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first thing is how old are the tires? any unusual wear patterns? are all tires the same brand, size and approx tread depth?

next up, for me, would be what condition are the struts/springs in? how old?

also related suspension bushings..

handling issues are typically related to suspension components.

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The tires are relatively new. I’ll have to check the wear pattern.  
 

it has about 85k miles on it.  From what I see that is reaching the time when suspension items maybe an issue.  

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new-ish tires could be the source of your road noise..

every tire has its own unique characteristics, and different brands, compounds and tread patterns will create different noises and handling characteristics going down the road.

heck, new vs worn will produce different noise levels.

85k -  suspension might be ok, might not.. worth spending a little time inspecting things.

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23 hours ago, whopis said:

I have a 2015 Subaru Forester.

Recently I had started noticing increasing road noise.  I'm not quite sure how long it has been going on - it has gradually increased, and I didn't really notice it right away

Just recently I was driving in the rain on the highway and the traction was very bad.  Like it was hydroplaning - but like it was constantly on the edge of losing traction.  Very different than anything I had experienced before.

I was in a bad accident about 4 years ago.  After the repairs I hadn't noticed any problems like this - this is definitely something new.  But of course, I am concerned it might

My plan was to make an appointment with the dealer this week to look at it - but I was hoping to get a bit of insight in the meantime.

Any advice is appreciated - Thanks!

hey it’s me. Thanks for bringing this to the forum instead of private message. 

you have a bad wheel bearing. 

but I am making some assumptions about what you haven’t said, and hearing more about what you did say than you actually said (inferring some things).  I would hold off on taking it to a dealer this may be better addressed somewhere else depending on the answers you give below. 

1. Listen carefully - is the noise to the:

front or rear?

left or right?

which corner - front right, rear left?

2. New tires - brand new or used? Pressure is all good?

what brand?

 Check the 4 digit date stamp on them. It’ll be 4 numbers stamped in a row surrounded by a box or circle. Sometimes it’s not found on both sides of each tire so check all 4 as it might be on the “inside” where you can’t see it.  

This tells us the date they were made and how old they are. old tires can have gobs of tread and look brand new to the untrained eye but are dried out and perform terrible in snow and rain. 

3. Is the tire pressure good?

4. Are any of the tires warn or bald on the inside or outside corner.  

5.  Does the car track straight or are you fighting the steering wheel?

6. Does the noise change at all with braking or steering left and right?

Edited by idosubaru
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Thanks again for the reponse!

 

To answer your questions:

1) Noise location:
It is hard to tell exactly.  Definitely sounds like the rear to me, and I think the rear right - but it is difficult.

2) Tire age:
Tires are Milestar MS932
11/2017 
35,000 miles on the tires.
Pressure is good.

3) Tire pressure:
good


4) Tire wear:
The rear right looks more worn on the outside corner than others.
They actually all look a bit more worn than I thought they should, but the right rear was more noticeable.

5) Tracking:
No problem tracking - no having to fight the wheel.

Not every time - but sometimes when braking, particularly at higher speeds, I get some vibration in the brake pedal and wobbling on the wheel.

6) Noise change with steering:
Maybe - very hard to tell though. 
I think it sounded a bit rougher turning left - but hard to say.
 

 

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2 hours ago, whopis said:

Thanks again for the reponse!

To answer your questions:
 

 

Like I said in private message and first post here - wheel bearing.   There's almost no reason to consider anything else at this point.   Two tests you can do to confirm this rely on the bearing creating additional heat: 

Take the temperature of the rotor/behind the wheel after driving a long time.  compare the rear left and rear right sides - if one is notably hotter then it's almost certainly the wheel bearing.  You can use a cheap infrared temp gun or even tough it with your hands - but this takes care so you don't burn yourself...start on outside of wheel/rotor and limit direct contact and work your way in/around circumference.  The bad bearing can generate more heat. 

 

 

2 hours ago, whopis said:

:
Tires are Milestar MS932
11/2017 
35,000 miles on the tires.
Pressure is good.

 

 

There's a date stamp on them that shows the date they were manufactured - I assume 2017 is the date you bought them.  If they were a couple years old (NOS - New Old Stock) they could be older than you think and nearing their useful life by mileage and age.  Particularly consider these are low end tires which don't resist sunlight and degradation as well. 

 

 

2 hours ago, whopis said:

 but sometimes when braking, particularly at higher speeds, I get some vibration in the brake pedal and wobbling on the wheel.

One of your front rotors needs turned or replaced.  Many people do both because they can't tell which one is causing the vibrations and shops have other reasons for doing so, but it's not necessary. 

Shop across the street from me turns them for $15, but few places do that now so you're looking at new rotors. 

The easy solution is to just replace both front rotors and if yo'ure paying labor then you do the pads at the same time because they're only $20-$60 for a set of pads.  The subaru pads are excellent quality and come with new retaining clips that other pads don't, or if they do they aren't as rust avoidant if you live in a rust prone area. 

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have to agree with idosubaru after getting more details.. definitely does sound like a wheel bearing on its way out. the more noticeable wear on the RR suggests that wheel.

would suggest investing in some better quality tires as well, once you get the other issue sorted out. And possibly an alignment job, too.

a good, budget friendly brand is Mastercraft. Have used them myself for a few years now and have always been very happy with them.

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Thank you all for your info / advice.

You were spot on with the wheel bearing diagnosis.  Right rear was the really bad one, left rear wasn't much better.  Getting those replaced along with new tires and an alignment.

I'm glad I found this site - it is really pretty cool.  Thanks again for the responsiveness and good advice!

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10 minutes ago, whopis said:

Thank you all for your info / advice.

You were spot on with the wheel bearing diagnosis.  Right rear was the really bad one, left rear wasn't much better.  Getting those replaced along with new tires and an alignment.

I'm glad I found this site - it is really pretty cool.  Thanks again for the responsiveness and good advice!

You're welcome!   

All manufacturers seem to need wheel bearings more often now than in the past, I'm not sure if it's increasing weight of vehicles, weight savings of EPA driven fleet mileage bearing design, or maybe it's anecdotal but Honda, Subaru...all of them seem to basically all have a reasonable chance of needing wheel bearings more often than past decades.  So it was pretty easy to guess that and your description and lack of other identifying symptoms suggested it as well. 

As far as practical, Subaru specific, experience driven feedback this site is about the best out there.  Other are more social and larger so they are good too, but are also prone to poor guesswork when it comes to mechanical issues.  They have good people in them, but you have to sort of find out or identify who knows what they're talking about, who's guessing, who's never picked up a wrench before, who misappropriates information from other manufacturers into Subaru world, who thinks they're solving a well known decades old issue for the first time....etc. 

Edited by idosubaru
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