There are 2 stored owner reports matching the tires & wheels leading-label group for the 2002 Subaru Forester in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 2 of 2 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I RECENTLY PURCHASED A NEW SET OF 4 COOPER CS4 (P215/60R16) TIRES FOR MY 2002 SUBARU FORESTER, HAVING THEM INSTALLED BY A DEALER, ALONG WITH BALANCING AND ALIGNMENT. ABOUT A WEEK LATER I CROSSED THE COUNTRY FROM WISCONSIN TO CALIFORNIA. ON GROOVED CONCRETE INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS, THE TIRES MADE MY CAR "SWIM" FROM SIDE TO SIDE ERRATICALLY. I HAD TO CONSTANTLY BE VIGILANT TO KEEP THE CAR GOING STRAIGHT, AND THIS PROBLEM WAS EXACERBATED WHEN NEAR LARGE TRUCKS. I ASSUME THIS IS DUE TO THE TREAD DESIGN, SINCE I'VE HAD TWO PREVIOUS SETS OF TIRES AND NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS DIFFICULTY. ARE TIRE MANUFACTURERS CHECKING THEIR DESIGNS ON GROOVED CONCRETE, WHICH IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE PREVALENT ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS? IS THE GOVERNMENT CHECKING THIS ISSUE AND WORKING WITH MANUFACTURERS TO ASSURE DRIVER SAFETY?? I NOW HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS ISSUE FOR THE LIFE OF MY TIRES, WHICH IS MOST UNFORTUNATE, AND VERY DISCONCERTING. *TR
THE OPEN WHEEL DESIGN ALLOWS SNOW, SILT, MUD TO EASILY PACK IN GROOVES INSIDE THE WHEELS. THIS CAUSES ALL WHEELS TO BECOME IMMEDIATELY OUT OF BALANCE CAUSING, OF COURSE, EXTREME SHIMMYING. THE COMPANY IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT DOES NOT CONSIDER IT IMPORTANT. I CONSIDER DRIVING A VEHICLE WITH OUT OF BALANCE WHEELS AND IMPORTANT IF NOT DANGEROUS SITUATION. ALSO, TO CLEAN THE WHEELS ENTAILS GETTING DOWN ON HANDS AND KNEES WITH A SCREWDRIVER AND SCRAPING THE DEPOSITS FROM THE OUTSIDE GROOVE, BEHIND THE WHEEL "SPOKES" AND AROUND THE INSIDE GROOVE. THE ONLY ACCESS TO THIS IS THRU THE SMALL OPENINGS IN THE "SPOKES". IT ALWAYS TAKES AT LEAST THREE SUCH CLEANING OF ALL EFFECTED WHEELS BEFORE ONE CAN GET ALL THE DEPOSITS REMOVED AND THE WHEELS BACK IN BALANCE. WHEN YOU ARE ON THE WAY TO CHURCH DURING THE MIDDLE OF WINTER THIS SITUATION BECOMES UNTOLERABLE AND RESULTS IN HAVING TO DRIVE WITH UNBALANCED WHEELS TO DESTINATION OR AT LEAST A LOCATION WHERE REMOVAL OF DEPOSITS CAN BE DONE SAFELY. EXPLAINING THIS PROBLEM IS DIFFICULT AND I DO NOT KNOW THE TECHNICAL TERMS OF WHEEL PARTS/CONSTRUCTION. IN ALL VEHICLES I HAVE OWNED THE OUTSIDE OF THE WHEEL IS SOLID, NO OPENINGS, OTHER THAN FOR LUG BOLTS THEREFORE THERE IS NO PLACE FOR DEPOSITS TO STICK AND OF COURSE HUBCAPS FURTHER PROTECT FOR THIS. ON THE SUBARU THE WHEEL IS NOT SOLID BUT OF AN OPEN SPOKED DESIGN ALLOWING SAND, MUD, SNOW TO EASILY SETTLE INSIDE THE WHEEL. THERE ARE NO HUBCAPS AVAILABLE TO AT LEAST PROTECT THE OUTSIDE OF THE WHEEL. EVEN IF THERE WAS THAT WOULDN'T STOP STUFF FROM GETTING IN FROM THE INSIDE. I'M NO EXPERT BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT SUBARU JUST NEEDS TO PROVIDE A SOLID WHEEL REPLACEMENT TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. THANKS. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.