Wheel bearing squeel answer from SOA

[UtahGT]

My question to SOA after a dealership said it was a mis-adjusted CV joint.

I recently took my vehicle in for service on what I thought to be a bad front wheel bearning, however, when I took the car in the dealer stated that it was the front CV joint and not the bearing. My question is I had the same problem previously the high pitched whinning noise at speeds greater than 10MPH and when I took the vehicle in the time before it was the front wheel bearing and the rear wheel bearing, once replaced the noise went away. But now I have the same whinning sound but different problem. I guess my question would be, is there a way that you can mandate a dealership to replace the part you think is bad, or pay for the service that they recommend, but what if the problem still occurs can you get your money back and have them replace the wheel bearing, which they should have done in the first place?

 

And now their response

Dear Mr. Kim:

I apologize for my delayed reply; I have been out of the office. I reviewed your concern with the service manager at Ogden Subaru. I have been informed that the whining noise you hear is a result of worn front tires. The remedy is to replace both of them.

When tires wear down, they can make a similar noise to a faulty wheel bearing. A technician can differentiate between a tire noise and a wheel bearing noise during a road test and or inspection of the car on the lift. Subaru of America relies on our factory trained technicians to correctly diagnose a problem.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. –Charles

Charles Ballard

 

Subaru of America, Inc.

 

Customer/Dealer Services Department

 

So I guess my question is, can worn tires cause this kind of squeek or can CV joints cause that ? Thanks

[Dergara]

The first clue is that they talked to the Service Manager and not the mechanic that worked on it last or is familiar with that problem. I have met Service Managers that know squat about Subaru cars and are just good with managing people. Their resumes always include the last chevy dealership they worked for.

 

Frankly, the only squealing I get from tires is when I am pushing it through some sharp curves on mountain roads.

 

As for CVs, when I have had one go bad on my car (not Subaru) it knocks when turning or backing up. I never heard of one squealing.

[Diggs753]

They told me it was my tires as well. I did a wheel swap and it was still there.Then they said that since it didn't make the noise on the rack that it wasn't a wheel bearing.

I asked them how they could be certain since many bearings need a load on them to make noise.Their reply was, "it doesn't need a load."I asked them if they had a "chassis ear" on each axle.Their response was 'We don't have one"

 

Nice work Subaru.

 

I wonder what would happen if I tried to get them to "good-will" my leaking rack and pinion?

[blackfang]

Yes, tires can cause similar noises that a wheel bearing can. The diffeence is when the technician drive it up in the air, another one is listening to the wheel bearings under the car with chassis ears or a similar device using a stethoscope. If the wheelbearing is making noise, they will hear it.

 

I would try and take it to another dealership and see what they say.

[CapnJack]

I would try and take it to another dealership and see what they say.

 

Came here to post this

[UtahGT]

Update on current wheel bearing issue. Now at another dealership getting that second opinion. For those that are SLC, Nate Wade is pretty pimp. They give free wifi to customers that are wait on service. Cool beans. I'll post another update and final diagnosis once the inspection is finished. Thanks everyone for posting suggestions and solutions.

[Grios2.5]

I had that same squeal for the longest time luckily it wasnt a wheel bearing just dirt!!! I had my car on the rack swapping the clutch I pulled the axles cleaned all the dust and crap off put everything back together and Voila no more noise. Hopefully its as simple to fix as mine. Goodluck

[UtahGT]

Well it's final, the dealership that I took the car to get that second opinion found that it was in fact the front left wheel bearing, they found it after three minutes of searching after the car was put on the lift. I was out of the dealership in about an hour. and man does not hearing the squeal sound good..thanks Nate Wade Subaru of SLC.