Our experience with Subarus
Our experience with Subarus has shown a consistent short service life for wheel bearings and brake shields. The cost of replacing these is high, due to the design of the systems, the cost of OEM replacement parts and cost of the significant amount of labor required to do the work.
Wheel bearings are integral with complete hub assemblies, yielding a high cost. Need a new bearing? Buy a whole hub assembly.
Brake shields are designed so the entire hub assembly must be removed to replace the brake shield. The quality of the metal used in OEM Subaru brake shields is poor, rust protection nonexistent.
How hard would it be to galvanize such parts and save long term Subaru lovers many hundreds of dollars over the life of the vehicle? If I could buy galvanized or stainless steel brake shields, I would gladly spring for the extra cost.
Hint to all Subaru owners: When replacing your junk wheel bearings, have the brake shields closely evaluated and replace them at the same time, if needed. This would be every Subaru owner in the Rust Belt.