Subaru Repair: road noise, bridgestone dueler h t, wheel bearing

Question
In the last few months, our 2001 forester, manual transmission, 22k miles, has developed really loud road noise. It sounds like an airplane engine, especially at high speeds. We rotated the tires, but there was no change. We can't really tell where the noise is coming from (because it is so loud!)but perhaps from under the body.
On another note, maybe you can help us with this, too: intermittent backfiring when shifting, which has been happening since the car was new. We can't establish a pattern for the backfiring, either.
Thank you very much.


Answer
Hello J.,

    Your noise sounds like it is one of two things. 1) Could be a wheel bearing, in which should be covered under warranty. 2) most likely though it is the tires. Foresters are noted for chopping tires on the inside edge. It seems to happen most with Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires. If you were to run your hand around the outside edge or the center or the tires, it should feel pretty smooth, as to where you run your hand along the inside edge and it will feel choppy. When the tires are like this, they are very noisy.  My recommendation would be to take your car to your local dealer and have them check. If it is the tires, and you haven't had an alignment done on this car before, then I recommend 4 new tires, and an alignment. The alignment should be covered under warranty, but you would have to pay for the tires, and labor. One thing to keep in mind, is that on AWD vehicles, it is very important that the tires are all about evenly worn.

   Your other question is not so easy to answer. It is difficult to tell. I suggest when you take your Forester in, have it check for ant open recalls. There is a recall out there to reflash the computer. I am not sure if it fall under your car or not.    I hope this helps..

                                   Thanks,
                                      Frank