If you’re asking about wheel bearing replacement cost, there’s some important information that you need to know.
This information includes what a wheel bearing is, how to know when it needs to be replaced, why it needs to be replaced, and what it should cost you.
Your wheel bearing is the part that lets your wheel roll smoothly and allows it to take weight while you drive. There are several ways the wheel bearing can go wrong: through water getting into the bearing, erosion of the components, or through an accident related to the car.
You typically want to replace your wheel bearing as early as practical because a broken wheel bearing can create bad problems with your car parts and result in dangerous circumstances for you.
The cost of wheel bearing replacement can vary based on the make, model, and year of the car, and the shop where you’ll get it fixed. If you have reached out to several companies and will replace your wheel bearing, consider doing so to find the best price and best service.
What Is A Wheel Bearing?
The wheel bearing is a series of balls located in the center hole of your wheel. The balls are joined together with a ring and mated to the axle.
The wheel bearing is a part of your car that is responsible for the actual rolling of your wheel on the ground and to support any heavyweight.
It makes sure the motor can turn smoothly without friction between the inside components. It also ensures that the wheel is mated tightly to your car.
In many modern cars, the wheel bearing is sealed off in certain places to protect it from moisture from water and heat generated from friction. Both heat, and moisture should be controlled because an excess can lead to breaking down the wheel bearing.
Wheel bearings are used in the front and rear wheels. If one wheel bearing is showing an issue, it does not necessarily imply that all of your wheel bearings are having trouble.
This is what makes it easy for a dishonest mechanic to request you replace two, if not all of your wheel bearings.
What Are the Basic Types of Wheel Bearings?
The wheel bearing is the part of the car that is designed to lessen the friction between metal components inside of the wheel.
Thus, the less friction, the longer wheel life and less erosion.
The four common types of bearings are:
- Ball Bearings: they are the most common type of bearings.
- Precision Ball Bearings: these bearings are the highest performance wheel bearings that are available. They will reduce the friction between the components of your wheel to a minimum, this is why you see them in so many cars that race and the wheels of planes.
- Roller Ball Bearings: they are also common; however, they can take the load on the wheel, but not while cornering.
- Tapered Roller Bearings: these are cone shaped bearings, they can accept the angular movement of shifting on the wheel. That’s why you see them utilized in many of your everyday regular cars and trucks.
What is the Different Type of Wheel Bearing Problems?
Wheel bearings can fail from several issues such as:
- Corrosion of the internal parts
- Water and moisture infiltration.
- An accident
- Tear and wear
They are connected to many of the parts of the car. If one of the pieces is damaged, it will affect performance of the function of the wheel bearing and could contribute to a loss or failure of the wheel bearing.
Just like any metal part in a car, a wheel bearing can corrode if water and moisture starts to infiltrate; broken wheel bearings can cause a total break or allow the wheel to come off more dramatically in extreme cases.
As with a wheel bearing wearing and getting damaged or broken, even if any of these things happen in an accident, that vehicle will be damaged significantly to wheel bearings and cause damage.
When Do You Need to Replace Your Wheel Bearing?
As referenced above, it is not too difficult to identify when you have a bad wheel bearing.
Here are some steps you can take to measure if you have an issue with your wheel bearings:
Listen for unusual noise.
There are many sound signals that can indicate you have an issue with your wheel bearings.
For instance, if you hear a snap or pop sound when you turn the steering wheel, this can be an indicator that you have a wheel bearing starting to wear. You can even determine which wheel bearing has the issue, based upon the direction of the sound.
Another indicator of a wear wheel bearing can be grinding or dragging sounds.
If the noise changes when you change the acceleration from slow to fast or vice versa, then this is a definite sign of a worn wheel bearing.
Look for other signs.
The earlier mentioned unusual sounds can be the key signals for a bad wheel bearing; however, there may be other signs that you need to look for.
For example, if the steering wheel starts to vibrate especially at highways speeds, there may be an indication that you have an issue with your wheel bearings.
Broken wheel bearings can result in a looser steering wheel, creating an unsafe driving situation which can lead to catastrophic consequences.
If your wheels wobble from side-to-side, you may have significant damage to your wheel bearings.
On some anti-lock brake system vehicles, there is an “ABS” light on the driver dashboard. If this light is illuminated, you should check your wheel bearings.
If you notice that your car is drifting to one side, you have another sign of bad wheel bearings. Driving on a flat road and monitoring drifting can help confirm this.
It is important to note that a car drifting is indicative of a possible wheel bearing issue, but can also be indicative of alignment issues. A mechanic can best advise you of the actual cause of the car drifting.
Finally, if you notice uneven wear on any of the wheels, this will point to the wheel bearing on the affected wheel having a problem.
Wheel bearings should generally wear evenly to the same degree, if they are all working properly. Once again, uneven wear can also result from alignment problems.
Assessing for wheel bearing damage
If you want to further confirm that you have an issue with your wheel bearings you can do one of the following:
- Lift the vehicle with a jack to observe if the wheel bearing has any physical damage. Make sure to read your manual carefully, and find out where your jack closest is, also what is best to stabilize the vehicle so that you do not hurt yourself.
- Once you lifted the car with the jack, wiggle the wheel back and forth. If the wheel has sway backward and forward, you have a very serious sign of a damaged wheel bearing.
- Try to spin the wheel while listening for any rattling sounds.
Very serious indications of wheel bearing damage
In some very extreme situations where the bearings are completely bad, you may see smoke coming from a wheel, or the wheel may completely detach while driving leading to significant consequences.
Can You Drive with a Bad Wheel Bearing? Why You Should Replace Them?
As previously discussed, the wheel bearing is important for having well-rolling wheels and supports the loads on the bike.
If you are having an issue with your wheel bearing, you can drive it but for not very long.
The longer you wait, the more complex the issue gets. A bad wheel bearing can eventually cause damage to other parts of your vehicle, and this can be more expensive than simply replacing your wheel bearing.
Whenever there is an issue with the bearings, it is best to get a technician to check it out and do so immediately. You never know how long it is going to be until the failure, and how bad the damage is.
If there is an issue with your wheel bearing, and the mechanic places the wheel back on without replacing it, you lose total control of your car through your steering wheel, which puts you and anyone else you drove with in serious risk.
Also, if the bearing is severely wearing down, a damaged wheel bearing can cause the motor to completely jump off of the car and put your life in very serious danger.
Is There Different Types of Wheels Bearing Assemblies?
There are three different types of wheels bearing assemblies when it comes to replacement, and each will take a different amount of labor and cost depending on what parts you chose.
Essentially, how cheap are the parts and how hard is changing it? Here are the three types of wheel bearing assemblies.
Serviceable hub assembly
This type of construction allows for the wheel bearing to be separate from the wheel hub. In this situation, when the wheel bearing needs replacing, it is generally very simple. The mechanic can just access the old one and install the new wheel bearing.
This type of serviceable hub assembly is not very cost: both labors, and most importantly parts. Most of the parts needed will not cost much compared to the other types of wheels bearing assemblies.
Non-serviceable hub assembly
The wheel bearing on newer cars is a prepacked bearing with the hub; it is a ONE unit which means if the wheel bearing has a problem, you have to replace the whole hub.
The non-serviceable hub assembly is not labor intensive in cost. The cost of the parts can vary considerably depending on the vehicle or you can find them in the junk yard.
Non-serviceable hub assembly with a press in bearing
This is the worst case of three. It is labor AND parts intensive.
In the non-serviceable hub assembly with a press in bearing, you have to take out the hub, and you have a press to remove the bearing. If you make a mistake while pressing the bearing out, you can do considerable damage to the whole hub.
For this reason, if your wheel bearing is a non-serviceable hub assembly with a press in bearing, I highly recommend taking it to a qualified mechanic or shop.
How Much Does It Cost to Replace Your Wheel Bearings?
The cost of a wheel bearing can vary a lot due to make, model, year, your mechanic, and is significantly more difficult establish without that information.
Generally, the cost to replace a wheel bearing is going to cost anywhere from $100 to $700, and could average about $300.
In addition to the make, model and year, the cost can also depend on who is performing the work.
Many would argue that higher shop rates equal higher quality work. While this is sometimes true, many name brand companies could charge higher prices for only a name, without the quality to back it up.
So, when replacing your wheel bearing make sure you are shopping for quotes, and find the one that chooses best for you.
The choice does not have to be price only, and you may also look for customer satisfaction and reviews, so you can guarantee better quality work, and a lesser headache for you in the future.
You may as well consider multiple repairs at once, to reduce labor costs too. For example, your brake or alignment repair is coming up, and you would like to do both at the same time.
The wheel bearing replacement may also rely on the hub assembly because a non-serviceable hub assembly cost anywhere between $400 to $800. That can easily rise to thousands if pressing into a non-serviceable hub assembly.
Also, your make, model, and year can greatly affect the cost of the replacement.
For example, if I were to replace a wheel bearing for a Scion TC it can cost between $250 and $358, with labor costing around $202 – $256, and $48 – $102 for parts value.
Generally, the Scion TC wheel bearing replacement which was not usually done at that price to keep is similar for Brake Pad replacement of $233 – $297 or Steering Knuckle replacement of $518 – $297.
Below are some examples of how much does it cost to take replace a wheel bearing for a few different cars:
| Vehicle Model | Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost |
| Ford F-Series | $402-$745 |
| Ford Fusion | $436-$577 |
| Chevrolet Silverado | $850-$1487 |
| Honda Civic | $414-$572 |
| Honda CR-V | $612-$728 |
| Toyota Camry | $402-$551 |
| Toyota Corolla | $620-$862 |
| Honda Accord | $539-$738 |
| Nissan Altima | $605-$810 |
| Ford Focus | $624-$879 |
When Do You Need to Hire a Mechanic to Replace Your Wheel Bearings?
As a general rule, you should not replace your wheel bearings unless you are a professional mechanic or something like it.
If you cause a major problem when replacing your wheel bearings, you would be more concerned about the price.
In other words, if you are worried the mechanic is going to cost you way more money than if you did it yourself, you must consider what risk you are taking and what it is going to cost you if you break something else.
You may end up spending more time and effort on your own. Most DIYs fail at least the first time. Imagine how much effort you can save by taking your vehicle to a professional mechanic?
If you are thinking you are capable on replacing the wheel bearings on your own, the process is super clear cut as far as serviceable hub assemblies; you jack the vehicle up, verify it is flat and stable, remove the old wheel bearing, install the new.
Keep in mind, there are some special tools and equipment, including what is required to remove the brake caliper and the bolt in the middle.
Again, even with all the proper tools, some of the wheel bearings assembly will require a mechanic, including the non-serviceable hub assembly that requires a press bearing.
How often do you need to replace your wheel bearings?
Every vehicle requires a wheel bearing replacement at some juncture in the vehicle’s life.
Most modern cars come with a seal on the above wheel bearings, requiring a wheel bearing replacement after 100,000 miles; however, older vehicles may require to have a wheel bearing checked every 25,000 to 30,000 miles.
Now, this does not require the replacing of the motor bearing, but rather their maintenance.
For example, AN SLK 320 R170 replaced the rear wheel bearing after 90,000 miles.
On average, most cars require wheel bearing replacement between 136,000 and 160,000 miles; although this varies to the car make, model and year.
How Can You Extend the Wheel Bearing’s Life?
To prolong the wheel bearing’s life drive on better roads and especially avoid dirt roads, which will wear down the bearing more quickly.
When driving on bumps keep your speed in check because the wheel bearing won’t recover from the impact if you go fast enough to hurt it. Whenever possible slow down and avoid driving in mud or deep water that can penetrate to the wheel bearing and cause rot.
If you had to replace the wheel bearing the secondly important thing to consider is to find a mechanic who replaces the wheel bearing correctly. If you need to get a wheel bearing repair make sure that it is fixed properly, and check that they don’t use any old parts (e.g., bolts, nuts, seals, etc.).
To decide whether it worth it to replace your wheel bearing depends on the value of the car and your situation.
For example if you know that car is near the end of it’s life and not worth a whole lot you may reconsider getting the wheel bearing replaced, as the difficulty and or cost of the maintenance could equal or exceed the value of the vehicle.
Another example, if it is apparent from the other issue or high mileage it may be a better idea to scrap the car instead of replacing the wheel bearing.
Conclusion
The wheel bearing is a really important component in a car, as it is responsible for the intermediate smooth rolling of the wheel and strong load resistance. Wheel bearings are located in the front and rear wheels of the car.
There are many causes on a bad wheel bearing that can originate from water and moisture and from overall wear over time. It should be easy to detect issues with your wheel bearing, by listening out for peculiar noises, assessing car behavior, etc.
If you are able to replace the wheel bearing yourself you could attempt it. If it is an advanced situation, consider the option of a mechanic.
The cost of a wheel bearing replacement will depend on the vehicle you have, make, model, and year, as well as who the mechanic is that will take on the job.
If you decided to perform wheel bearing replacements, you may want to shop around to different mechanics and shops to get the best quotes and best service.