When purchasing a used vehicle, most people are concerned about finding a specific make or model, body style, performance package, amenities, or even color.

Advice, how-to guides, and car care information featured on AutoZone.com and AutoZone Advice & How-To’s are presented as helpful resources for general maintenance and automotive repairs from a general perspective only and should be used at your own risk. Information is accurate and true to the best of AutoZone’s knowledge, however, there may be omissions, errors or mistakes.

Although bearings reduce friction a great deal, automotive wheel bearings still take a lot of abuse. Not only do they have to support the weight of your vehicle while traveling over potholes, different types of roads, and the occasional curb, they must also withstand the lateral forces of corners you take and must do all of this while allowing your wheels to spin with minimal friction at thousands of revolutions per minute. They must also be self-sufficient and sealed tightly to prevent dust and water contamination. Modern wheel bearings are durable enough to accomplish all of this. Now that’s impressive!

Frontwheel bearing what does it do

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Once again, these are all just approximations. However, they are a great indication of what you can anticipate paying. Fortunately, wheel bearings last a long time, so you won’t need to change them very frequently.

Popular in German and Japanese vehicles, these units are the sealed roller bearing that you see on the back of the complete unit. In these cases, the entire steering knuckle must often be removed from the vehicle, and the bearing pressed out, and the new one pressed in. While the cost of the bearing drastically diminishes (usually these run between $25.00-50.00) the labor involved to replace the bearing goes up, usually to the tune of 2-4 hours to replace ($160-400.00).

How to tell whichwheel bearingis bad while driving

Learn the symptoms of a worn wheel hub, common causes, and why early replacement is key to maintaining your vehicle's safety.

Badwheel bearingsound

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Spin the wheel/tire by hand and listen carefully. You should hear a soft rubbing sound which is just the brake pads gliding over the rotor. A grinding sound centered in the very middle of the wheel is a dead giveaway for a failing wheel bearing. It’s important to note that when wheel bearings first start to go, it will normally be difficult to hear and tell. Usually only a road test under the weight of the vehicle will reveal that the bearing is going out.

If the seals on a sealed bearing assembly fail, the seals cannot be replaced separately. The entire hub assembly needs to be replaced. Wheel bearings that are not factory sealed, which are rare today, require periodic maintenance. They should be cleaned, inspected, repacked with new grease, and have new seals installed approximately every 30,000 miles or according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Badwheel bearingsymptoms

In the case of most vans and trucks today, along with older RWD cars, the rear wheel bearings are housed inside the solid axle, and are usually pressed into the axle tube, or pressed onto the drive axle itself. In either case, the cost of the bearing is usually between $25.00-50.00, whereas the labor to remove and press in a new bearing runs between 1-4 hours.

Give us a call today or stop by your local AutoZone if you have any questions about wheel bearing replacement, where we have all the parts, tools, and advice to get the job done right! If the job is too big for you, look through our list of Preferred Shops in your area that can help you complete the job!

A humming or rumbling noise while driving is usually the prime indication of a worn wheel bearing. This sound will get louder if you take the wheel and lightly turn one direction of the other at speed or go on a slight curve in the road at speed. Driving on a damaged wheel bearing can be dangerous, considering that the wheel bearing is not sufficiently lubed and friction is extremely high at this point. This friction generates heat, which will eventually disintegrate the bearing more, when can lead to complete failure, wheel off, or loss of control of the vehicle.  This can occur anytime you are driving.

Have you ever gone to check your vehicle’s tire air pressure and found the cap that screws on the valve stem was missing on one or more tires?

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A typical hub contains an inner and an outer wheel bearing. Bearings are either roller or ball style. Tapered roller bearings are the best alternative since they more efficiently support both horizontal and lateral loads and can stand extreme shock such as hitting potholes. Tapered bearings have bearing surfaces situated at an angle. Tapered roller bearings are usually mounted in pairs with the angle facing opposite directions so they can handle thrust in both directions. Steel roller bearings are tiny drums that support the load. The taper or angle supports horizontal and lateral loading.

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Wheel bearings live a tough life. Most of a vehicle's weight rides on the wheel bearings at the 4 corners of your vehicle. Once these bearings begin to deteriorate, a humming noise becomes noticeable. It's easiest to hear at speed when you turn the wheel slightly from side to side. When a rear wheel bearing goes out, the humming or grinding noise is usually constant.

Wheel bearingreplacement cost

Most vehicles sold today are equipped with wheel bearings that are sealed inside a hub assembly and require no maintenance. Sealed bearings are found on most newer cars, and on the front wheels of trucks and SUVs with independent front suspension. Sealed wheel bearings are engineered for a service life of more than 100,000 miles, and many are capable of going twice that distance. Even so, average bearing life can range from 80,000 to 120,000 miles depending on how a vehicle is driven and what the bearings are exposed to.

Wheel bearings live a tough life. Most of a vehicle's weight rides on the wheel bearings at the 4 corners of your vehicle. Once these bearings begin to deteriorate, a humming noise becomes noticeable. It's easiest to hear at speed when you turn the wheel slightly from side to side. When a rear wheel bearing goes out, the humming or grinding noise is usually constant. Back in the old days, wheel bearings were composed of 2 cone bearings on each front side. When removing the brake rotors (or drums) these more old-fashioned bearings could be serviced by packing the bearings with grease. While some vehicles still retain this style of bearing, it is rare. Today, aside from rear-wheel drive vehicles that use a solid axle (like trucks), most vehicles use a hub bearing. These consist of a bearing and flange surface that is bolted directly to the steering knuckle or rear transaxle. The bearing then has a hub face, with the wheel studs and tire-mounting surface. Often, an axle (often one with a CV joint) also passes through this bearing via a splined surface and has a large hub nut (called a spindle nut) that secures it at the bearing. This design makes up most bearings on vehicles today. There are some vehicles that still use a pressed-in hub bearing, where you re-use the original wheel hub, but this is becoming rare.

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The first symptom of a wheel bearing problem is noise coming from the vicinity of the wheels. It usually starts with a barely audible growling, whirring, humming, or some kind of cyclic noise. The noise will generally increase in severity as the vehicle is driven. Another symptom is steering wandering resulting from excessive wheel bearing play.

While you can lower your wheel bearing replacement cost by doing it yourself, be prepared to invest a bit of time into the repair. Experience is among the key elements impacting completion time and the estimates above are based on professional book times, not “I’m doing this for the first time” times. First-timers should expect the job to take around 4-6 hours.

Diagnosing a wheel bearing noise is not always easy. Deciding which one of your vehicle’s wheel bearings is making the noise can also be difficult, even for a seasoned technician. Therefore, many mechanics often recommend replacing multiple wheel bearings at the same time as they may not be sure which one has failed.

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Wheel bearing what does it doon a car

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Frontwheel bearingnoise symptoms

Without getting under the car, grab each wheel at the top and bottom with both hands. You bottom hand should reach under the tire to the backside. Your top hand should grab the front top portion of the tire. Now, try to rock the tire back and forth by pulling outward with the bottom hand, and inward with the top hand, then reversing the motion.

Shift back into park (for an automated transmission) or gear (for a manual transmission) prior to lowering the vehicle to the ground.

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A wheel bearing failure can have serious consequences, especially if it occurs while driving at highway speeds and the vehicle loses a wheel. That’s why you should have an ASE certified technician inspect your wheel bearings at least annually, and test drive your vehicle to listen for any troublesome noises.

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Today, aside from rear-wheel drive vehicles that use a solid axle (like trucks), most vehicles use a hub bearing. These consist of a bearing and flange surface that is bolted directly to the steering knuckle or rear transaxle. The bearing then has a hub face, with the wheel studs and tire-mounting surface. Often, an axle (often one with a CV joint) also passes through this bearing via a splined surface and has a large hub nut (called a spindle nut) that secures it at the bearing. This design makes up most bearings on vehicles today. There are some vehicles that still use a pressed-in hub bearing, where you re-use the original wheel hub, but this is becoming rare.

When doing any regular vehicle maintenance or if you suspect a wheel bearing issue, they can be inspected. Do the following to check your bearings for wear without taking the wheels off.

Back in the old days, wheel bearings were composed of 2 cone bearings on each front side. When removing the brake rotors (or drums) these more old-fashioned bearings could be serviced by packing the bearings with grease. While some vehicles still retain this style of bearing, it is rare.

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With the wheel bearing replacement cost in mind, you may be wondering if you can drive with a bad wheel bearing. A bad wheel bearing needs to be changed as soon as possible. There is no lubrication on a bad wheel bearing. Consequently, as you drive with a bad wheel bearing, you run the risk of the wheel bearing completely failing and breaking apart, which can cause massive stability problems when driving, even a crash. If you’re in the middle of nowhere and you need to drive a short way to get help to prevent this scenario, you should drive at a slower speed so that your wheel remains intact for a couple more hours.

There should be very little motion in the tire. If you have any movement at all, either a wheel bearing, or ball joint is at fault.

The vast majority of vehicles today use a complete-unit hub bearing. Here, the cost of the bearing is usually the bulk of the expense, as most hub bearings run between $80.00 to $300.00. Many of these have ABS sensors built into them. These bearings are unbolted from the steering knuckle, and a new bearing bolted on. Expect to pay for 1-2 hours of labor to replace per side, usually between $80-200.00.

Wheel bearing noise does not change when accelerating or decelerating but may change when turning. It may become louder or even disappear at certain speeds. It is important to not confuse a wheel bearing noise with tire noise, or with the noise a bad constant velocity (CV) joint makes. Faulty CV joints usually make a clicking noise when turning.

A common way to inspect wheel bearings is to raise the wheels off the ground and rotate each wheel by hand while listening and feeling for any roughness or play in the hub. On vehicles with sealed wheel bearings, there should almost no play (less than .004 inches at most) or no play, and absolutely no roughness or noise. Inspecting for play can be accomplished by holding the tire at the 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock positions and rocking the tire back and forth. If there is any noticeable play, the wheel bearings are loose and need to be replaced or serviced.

An average vehicle weighs around 4,000 lbs. That is a lot of weight that must be supported over thousands of miles. To perform as required, wheel bearings must be in almost perfect condition, have adequate lubrication, and be sealed to keep lubricant in and contamination out. Although wheel bearings are engineered to last a long time, constant load and turning takes a toll on the bearings, grease, and seals. Premature wheel bearing failure results from damage due to impact, contamination, loss of grease, or a combination of these.

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Faulty wheel bearings may also impact your vehicle’s anti-lock brake system (ABS). Excessive play, wear, or looseness in the hub will often cause the sensor ring to wobble as it rotates. Wheel speed sensors are very sensitive to changes in the air gap between the tip of the sensor and the sensor ring. Consequently, a worn wheel bearing may cause an erratic signal which will set a wheel speed sensor trouble code and result in the ABS warning light coming on.

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Average life ofwheelbearings

Wheel bearings are made using high quality and high spec steel. The inner and outer races, rings with a groove where the balls or rollers rest, and the rolling elements, rollers or balls, are all heat-treated. The hardened surface adds considerably to the wear resistance of the bearing.

These vehicles up until very recently still used hub systems that house roller bearings or cone style. While these bearings themselves are often as cheap as 2WD vehicles, the process of removing them and disassembling the hub is often a little more time-intensive. Expect to pay for 1-1.5 hours of labor per side, which is usually $80-160.00, plus the bearings to replace. Keep in mind if the race is damaged in the hub, it will need to be pressed out, and a new race pressed in, leading to more time.

Once a wheel bearing seal starts to leak, the bearing has begun the process of failure. A damaged grease seal will allow grease to leak out of the bearings, and dirt and water can then enter the bearing cavity. Water is the worst thing for bearings as it causes rust and contaminates the grease. Since so much weight is riding on the wheel bearings during driving and cornering, even the smallest amount of race and bearing damage will create noise.

Rear wheel bearings today are usually no different than fronts in terms of a complete hub bearing or pressed-on units. In the vast majority of cases here, a complete unit is used and unbolted / bolted to the rear transaxle (2WD vehicles) or independent rear axle.

Bearings have been around since the ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids. The concept behind a wheel bearing is simple: Things roll better than they slide. When things slide, the friction between them slows them down. If two surfaces can roll over one another, friction is greatly reduced. The ancient Egyptians placed round logs under heavy stones so they could roll them to the building site, thus reducing the friction caused by dragging the stones over the ground.

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Be sure to consult your owner’s manual, a repair guide, an AutoZoner at a store near you, or a licensed, professional mechanic for vehicle-specific repair information. Refer to the service manual for specific diagnostic, repair and tool information for your particular vehicle. Always chock your wheels prior to lifting a vehicle. Always disconnect the negative battery cable before servicing an electrical application on the vehicle to protect its electrical circuits in the event that a wire is accidentally pierced or grounded. Use caution when working with automotive batteries. Sulfuric acid is caustic and can burn clothing and skin or cause blindness. Always wear gloves and safety glasses and other personal protection equipment, and work in a well-ventilated area. Should electrolyte get on your body or clothing, neutralize it immediately with a solution of baking soda and water. Do not wear ties or loose clothing when working on your vehicle.

Traditional cone or roller bearings in older 2WD vehicles are often serviced when removing the rotors during a brake job. These bearings can easily be replaced, are less expensive to buy, and generally cost around $6-20.00 per unit, and $80-100.00 to service, along with the cost of replacing the rotor usually, as the bearing race is pressed in. All in, labor and rotor, most vehicles will run around $150.00 to replace and go up depending on rotor cost. In many cases, it’s cheaper to replace the rotor than it is to remove and press in a new bearing race.

You can lower your wheel bearing replacement cost by changing them yourself. You should be able to do this in your own garage. However, it will require some specialized tools. Make sure to reference your vehicle’s service manual or seek out online information and determine the kind of wheel bearing your car or truck is geared up with prior to starting the repair work. Keep in mind that AutoZone rents all the specialized tools you will need to replace your wheel bearing and does so for free! Learn more about Loan-A-Tool here.

Next, if movement is present, inspect the lower ball joint (and upper if applicable) and see if the movement is coming from a worn ball joint. If ball joints are tight, then the wheel bearing is suspect.