Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost – All You Need To Know About It

You may have read or heard about wheel bearings, and maybe you’re wondering about the wheel bearing replacement cost. But what exactly are they? A wheel bearing is a set of steel balls or rollers wrapped in a metal ring that sits inside a hollow piece of metal at the center of your wheel hub. The wheel bearing rides on your car’s axle shaft, helping to reduce friction as the wheel spins allowing for a smooth ride.

There are several types of wheel bearings that are used in cars which we will discuss further, but every car has a wheel bearing on each of its wheels and it is essential for your car to run smoothly.

It is important to have the best wheel bearing installed on your car to have the weight evenly distributed on the wheels.

Since they support your car’s weight while you’re driving, wheel bearings are prone to get abused. This is especially true if you drive on rough and bumpy roads with lots of potholes. Other driving conditions such as excessive water and mud can also cause the wheel bearing to excessively erode over time.

Just like almost any other car part, wheel bearings will wear out over time. On top of that, a major accident can also cause significant damage to the wheel bearings. We’ll be discussing further the types of wheel bearings, the signs you should look out for, and of course, how much you should expect to pay for the replacement cost.

• Types Of Bearings
• Signs Of Worn Out Bearings
• Why Change It?
• Common Types Of Assemblies
• Replacement Cost
• How Long Do They Last?
• Tips To Extend Their Life
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Types Of Wheel Bearings

Different manufacturers will use different types of wheel bearings for their own reasons, some are easier to manufacture, and other types will allow for more performance in the vehicle. Here are some commonly used types of wheel bearings:

1. Ball Bearings

This is one of the most commonly used types of bearings as they are very versatile and simple. They can cope with radial loads (the load of the vehicle that is on the wheel) as well as the thrust load (cornering pressure) fairly well. You’ll find this in most cars, bikes, and even roller skate wheels.

2. Precision Ball bearings

These are similar to ball bearings. However, their rotation speed is higher compared to standard ball bearings and they reduce friction which then reduces the amount of heat generated, allowing them to cope with even larger amounts of load and pressure.

These benefits allow for more performance to be squeezed out of the car. Since they can cope with larger amounts of pressure, they can be used for more extreme and demanding purposes. You’ll typically find this type of bearings in race cars, performance or exotic cars, and even airplanes.

3. Roller Bearings

You probably won’t find this type of bearings in a motor vehicle, as they don’t handle cornering pressure very well. They can only handle loads at low to medium speeds. You’ll typically find this mostly in shopping carts or hand trucks.

4. Tapered Roller Bearings

Tapered roller bearings are also commonly used in cars and trucks. Instead of a ball, they will have cone-shaped roller bearings which help with cornering pressure. For this reason, tapered roller bearings are used more commonly compared to standard roller bearings.

Bad Wheel Bearing Symptoms

If you’d like to physically check the ball bearings on your car, you’d have to take apart your suspension assembly. The video below shows how you can take apart and check your wheel bearings:

Understandably, not everyone will have the skill or time necessary to physically check the condition of their car’s wheel bearing. Thankfully, you can look for other telltale signs to see if your car has a worn or damaged wheel bearing. Here are the symptoms you should look out for:

1. Uneven Tire Wear, Requiring A Wheel Bearing Replacement

A worn-out or bad wheel bearing can cause your wheel to be loose or cause more vibration to happen during driving. This, in turn, will result in uneven tire wear, as each wheel is going through different levels of vibration. Loose wheels also mean they sit differently compared to the others, causing further uneven tire wear.

Make sure to check each tire if you’re doing tire rotations or changing your tires if you suspect you have a bad wheel bearing.

Keep in mind that unbalanced tires can cause uneven tires as well. A bad wheel alignment can also cause uneven tire wear in your car. So, don’t immediately assume it’s because of a bad wheel bearing, make sure the other symptoms match up as well.

2. Humming Or Grinding Noises, If You Need A Wheel Bearing Replacement

Another common symptom of bad wheel bearings is loud noises from the tires. Bad wheel bearings lose lubricity resulting in increased friction, which in turn causes the noises. It usually sounds like two pieces of metal rubbing against each other, often producing a humming noise as you drive.

Bad wheel bearings lose lubricity resulting in increased friction, which in turn causes the noises.

If the sound gets louder the faster you drive, then chances are it’s the wheel bearing that’s making the noise. If you’re hearing unusual noises from your car but are not entirely sure what it is, you can watch the video below as a reference:

If you hear a loud, unusual, and persistent noise as you drive along it’s best to get it checked. Regardless of the cause, cars are not really supposed to make loud noises as they drive. Except of course for the engine, wind, and tire noise.

3. Steering Wheel Vibration, Begging For A Wheel Bearing Replacement

If the wheel bearings are in a really bad state, it’s likely your steering wheel will start to vibrate as you drive along. It’s usually present at lower speeds and gets worse as you drive along just like the grinding noises.

Keep in mind that steering wheel vibration might also be caused by unbalanced tires. However, vibrations caused by unbalanced tires normally occur only at high speeds, usually above 60mph or highway speeds. While steering wheel vibration caused by a bad bearing can occur at speeds below that.

If you are experiencing steering wheel vibration you might want to get your tires balanced to see if the problem persists. If it does, then it’s possible the vibration is caused by bad wheel bearings. That being said, if you’ve had your tires balanced recently then there’s no need to do so. It usually takes about a year or two for steering wheel vibration to reappear after a tire balancing.

Another symptom that you can tell from the steering wheel is the car feeling loose. This one’s slightly more difficult to convey and unless you’re a keen driver you might not notice it at all. But a car with a bad wheel bearing tends to feel loose, meaning the handling feels less precise. This is due to excess wobble in the wheels caused by bad bearings, which segues us to the next symptom:

4. Excess Wobble Or Play In Wheels, Which You’ll Need A Wheel Bearing Replacement

To diagnose this symptom, you will need to lift your car and have all four wheels (fun fact, go check out our explainer on how many wheels are there in the world and are there more doors than wheels, as well as how many wheels are in the world, in addition to are there more doors or wheels in the world) up on jack stands. When lifted, grab each wheel and try rocking it backward and forwards. If there’s wobble or excess “play” in the wheels, then it’s likely you have a bad wheel bearing.

Normally a car’s wheels shouldn’t wobble when being rocked, they should stay firmly in place. But if it does then you’ll need to get it checked. In any case, having an excess of wobbles on your wheels can be very dangerous when driving.

On top of these symptoms, if you’re driving a newer car be on the lookout for the ABS light on your dashboard. The ABS light can mean a variety of things, usually brake-related. However, manufacturers often also use the ABS light to signify a problem with the wheel bearing as well.

If you notice those symptoms and the ABS light is on, you might want to go to a repair shop. It would be wise to diagnose the problem and fix it as soon as possible.

Why You Should Replace Your Worn Out Wheel Bearings?

We’re all a little guilty of putting off repairs on our cars sometimes. Even we car enthusiasts have done it from time to time. Whether it’s because of financial reasons, lack of time to get around to it, or just borderline procrastination. We’re not proud of it, but we’ve all delayed repairs on our cars for some reason.

However, as mentioned previously, wheel bearings are essential in providing a smooth ride while you drive. It is also responsible for your car’s load and weight as you drive along. For these reasons, it’s important to make sure they are always in good condition.

Of course, you can technically still drive your car with a bad wheel bearing. But the longer you wait on replacing it, the more damage it can cause to other parts of your car. Especially to the wheel and suspension assembly, which will cost you more money in the long run.

Bad wheel bearings can also make the car less controllable as you drive along. It affects the car’s handling significantly and puts you, your passengers, and other drivers around you at considerable risk. It’s best to have the wheel bearings replaced as soon as you confirm that it’s worn out or damaged.

It’s rare for the wheel bearing to experience immediate complete failure unless the car has been in an accident. But if you feel that there’s an issue with your wheel bearings, it’s recommended that you have it checked immediately. Visit your trusted repair shop to see how much damage there is on the wheel bearings. You can also ask them to assess how far is it from completely failing.

As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.

Wheel Hub Assembly

Wheel bearing replacement costs can vary depending on the type of car and the wheel bearing assembly. To help you understand how the assembly affects the wheel bearing replacement cost, here are the common types of wheel bearing and hub assembly and how they affect replacement cost:

Serviceable Hub Assembly

This is the simplest and easiest type of assembly to replace, as the wheel bearing is separated from the rotor or also known as the wheel hub. Replacing the wheel bearing in this assembly is fairly simple. The mechanic simply takes out the old bearing to replace it with a new one. They can do this without having to do much dismantling to the overall suspension assembly, costing you less labor cost.

Non-Serviceable Hub Assembly

Most new cars will have their wheel bearings come pre-packed with your wheel hub. Meaning the bearing sits in the wheel hub as one unit. This will be more costly to replace since you will need to replace the entire hub, not just the bearings.

While not very labor-intensive, it will cost you more money to replace. This is because you need to replace the entire wheel hub, which is slightly more difficult. Spare parts are going to be more expensive as well. The overall cost will of course depend on the type of vehicle that you have.

Non-Serviceable Hub Assembly With Press In Bearing

This assembly will require you to remove the wheel hub and put it in a press in order to remove the bearing. This is slightly more complicated so prepare yourself for a hefty bill. It’s much more labor-intensive to take apart, requiring more effort and tools, which makes wheel bearing replacement costs more expensive.

You’d want to leave your wheel bearing replacement to a mechanic unless you’re a professional mechanic yourself and have the necessary tools. If you’re not careful, improper installation of the bearings can cause premature wear and damage.

Wheel Bearing Replacement

As previously mentioned, cars come with different types of wheel bearings which means wheel bearing replacement cost varies from one car to another. To determine the actual cost, you’d have to confirm with your local dealership or your go-to local repair shop. However, here are some examples to give you a rough idea of how much it will cost:

Let’s take a 2018 Toyota Camry as the first example. If you were to replace the front wheel bearings and hub assembly the MSRP is $363. While a rear wheel hub and bearings will set you back $574. Note that this is the OEM price from Toyota and does not include labor costs.

As for the Camry’s compact little brother (just make sure you’re diligent about the problems with 2009 Toyota Camry), the Toyota Corolla, it will cost you $397 for each front wheel bearing and hub assembly, while the rear one costs $298 each.

Note that wheel bearing replacement costs can be higher in a sports car, a truck, or a luxury car. This isn’t always the case but it does happen with certain cars. The price difference can be either because of an overall more complicated assembly, or the manufacturer simply charging a premium for the spare parts.

For example, the list price of a wheel bearing replacement cost for a 2014-2019 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG with AIRMATIC suspension is a hefty $970. Well above what you pay for a more “regular” car such as the Toyota Camry.

Keep in mind these prices are OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts and for the entire hub assembly. If your car doesn’t require it to replace the entire hub, i.e. you can replace just the wheel bearings, it will be much cheaper. The 2018 Toyota Corolla for example only costs $64 just for the wheel bearing itself.

Average Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost

On average, a wheel bearing alone will cost you between $60 – $150, and an entire bearing and hub assembly replacement are around $200 – $400 for each wheel depending on your vehicle type. There’s also labor cost which varies depending on how much your local repair shop or the dealership charge, but you can expect to pay anywhere between $70 – $280 which also depends on how many wheel bearing assemblies you’re repairing/replacing.

Overall, you can expect to pay around $400 – $800 to replace the bearing and hub assemblies on both sides of the axles, and if you’re replacing all four then it would be around twice that.

Again, these estimates are based on OEM parts. If you don’t mind using parts from 3rd party manufacturers such as MOOG for example, you can get a bearing and hub assembly for around $150, about half the price of an OEM part. Just be sure to check the reviews first to see other people’s experience and to make sure the product has good quality as well as a good warranty, so you’ll have peace of mind even though they’re not OEM parts.

Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost (Samples)
Make And Model	Front Wheel Bearing + Hub Assembly	Rear Wheel Bearing + Hub Assembly
Toyota Camry	$363	$574
Toyota Corolla	$397	$298
Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG	$970	$970
Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost (Breakdown)
Wheel Bearing (x1)	Between $60 to $150
Bearing + Hub Assembly (x1)	Between $200 to $400
Labor Cost	Between $70 to $280
Total Average	Between $400 to $800

How Long Before You Need A Wheel Bearing Replacement?

On most modern cars, wheel bearings normally have a lifespan of around 85,000 to 100,000 miles. Of course, your failure rate may vary depending on your car model and driving conditions. If you often drive on bumpy roads with lots of potholes, it’s likely your wheel bearing’s lifespan will be shorter. But as a general rule of thumb, you should be fine up to 100,000 miles.

If you’re driving an older car, you might want to check around every 35,000 miles. Just to make sure they’re still in good condition. You’d want to maintain them better since older cars can be less reliable.

You can also check on online forums to see how long your car’s wheel bearing might last. Owners of certain car models often share their experiences online. It will also help you to learn if there are any manufacturer defects in your car, among other knowledge that could be useful. Keep in mind that you could use your car’s title to get money if you need some to cover some of these costs. Find out how much cash you could get with a car title loan.

What You Can Do To Extend The Life Of Your Wheel Bearings

So, now that you’ve diagnosed, identified, and have fitted in new wheel bearings on your car, what can you do to extend their lifespan so that you don’t have to change it again anytime soon?

As previously mentioned, rough roads can shorten your wheel bearing’s lifespan. So you might want to avoid driving on bumpy roads too often. You should also be more sympathetic to your car and take better care when going over a speed bump. Going too fast over a bump will be rough on your car’s wheel bearings. It might even damage other parts of the suspension or steering assembly.

On top of that, avoid driving through mud and deep water whenever you can. It might cause excess dirt and moisture to seep into the wheel bearings, wearing them out more quickly. Needless to say, we don’t want that.

Other than being more careful while driving, you should also make sure you go to the right repair shop. It’s crucial that you find a mechanic that knows your car well. Proper installation of the wheel bearings and hub assembly is important as a bad or improper installation may cause unnecessary damage to your wheel bearings over time. This will then shorten their lifespan even further.

If you don’t have a trusted repair shop or mechanic, try looking for reviews online of nearby repair shops. It will also be really good if any of the satisfied customers have the same car as you do, as it would mean the shop understands your car.

Wheel Bearing Replacement: Facts You Need to Know

• Wheel bearings support the weight of the vehicle at each of the four corners, and when they deteriorate, they can cause a humming or grinding noise.
• Old-fashioned wheel bearings were composed of two cone bearings on each front side, but most modern vehicles now use a hub bearing that consists of a bearing and flange surface bolted directly to the steering knuckle or rear transaxle.
• Wheel bearings can be either traditional cone or roller style or hub style, and come in both pressed-on and complete unit variations.
• Front-wheel bearings can be serviced during a brake job, and the cost of replacement varies depending on the style of bearing and the type of vehicle.
• Rear-wheel bearings can be either complete units or housed inside a solid axle, and replacement costs depend on the style of bearing and the type of vehicle.
• It is not safe to drive with a bad wheel bearing, as it can lead to instability and even a crash. The cost of replacement can be reduced by doing it yourself, but specialized tools are required.
• Inspecting wheel bearings involves raising the vehicle, trying to rock the tires, checking the lower ball joint, spinning the tire by hand, and listening for any grinding sounds.
• A noisy wheel bearing is a sign of wear, and driving on a damaged bearing can be dangerous due to increased friction and heat that can lead to complete failure.
• The cost of wheel bearing replacement varies depending on the type of bearing and the vehicle, and professional book times estimate the job to take around 4-6 hours.
• Regular maintenance and inspections can help prevent wheel bearing issues, and auto stores like AutoZone rent out specialized tools for free to aid in self-repair.

Conclusion On Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost

If your car is relatively new or the mileage is still comfortably below 100,000 miles, you can sit back and relax. Chances are your wheel bearings won’t be due for a replacement anytime soon. However, if your car is older or you notice some symptoms, then consider checking your car to a repair shop. It would be wise to check if there is damage to the wheel bearings or other components.

Major replacements such as wheel bearings can be costly and time-consuming. If you’re having trouble deciding on whether or not to make the repairs, you might want to consider how long you’re planning to keep your current car. If you’ve been thinking about buying a new car, it might be better to just get rid of your current car altogether. Finally buy that shiny brand new car that you’ve been eyeing up.

If you’re planning to keep your current car for longer, then it’s best to go through with the repairs. As we’ve said, wheel bearings are essential to a car’s operation. Driving a car with bad wheel bearings can be very uncomfortable. Not to mention putting you and other drivers at risk as well.

Remember to check in with multiple mechanics and shops to make sure you get the best quote. This is also to ensure that your car will get the best service possible.

FAQs On Wheel Bearing Replacement Costs

If you still h have some lingering questions on the wheel bearing replacement cost, our FAQs here might have the answer…

What Is A Wheel Bearing

Wheel bearings are one of the most crucial components of your car, and in particular, the wheel assembly and steering setup. Their design is of a set of steel ball bearings, which are then held together within a metal ring. You can find wheel bearings connecting the wheels and axles together. The primary role of the wheel bearings is to ensure that your car’s wheels rotate smoothly, and with minimal friction required. In addition, they’re designed to be incredibly robust, thus withstanding excessive gravitational, acceleration, braking, and cornering loads while you’re driving.

How Much Does It Cost To Replace A Wheel Bearing

One thing you have to note while pondering over a wheel bearing replacement cost is the type of bearing you’re looking at. Differing cars (by their make and model) have varying types of bearings. As such, the cost to replace said wheel bearings may differ from one car to another. It’s generally cheaper for economy cars when compared to sports and luxury cars, not to mention trucks or 4x4s. On average, you can find a single wheel bearing unit setting you back between $60 to $150. Meanwhile, an entire hub assembly (which includes the wheel bearings) will cost between $200 to $400. Accounting for labor fees, you can expect a cost of anywhere from $400 to $800 to replace a wheel bearing.

What Does A Bad Wheel Bearing Sound Like

One of the most tell-tale signs that you need to consider a wheel bearing replacement cost is the sound that worn-out bearings make. The type of noise it makes can be described as a grinding or gyrating sort of sound. At times, you may also hear a sort of humming, rumbling, squealing, howling, scraping, or growling sound. These can easily be misdiagnosed for other problems, though. If these particular sounds get louder as you accelerate, then it’s a good chance that it could be the wheel bearings. Remember to pair these with other symptoms, such as uneven tire wear, steering wheel vibrations, and excess wobble in the wheels, if you want to confirm that it’s the wheel bearings that are at fault.

How To Tell If Wheel Bearing Is Bad

There are several ways that you can identify when your car’s wheel bearings need a replacement. For starters, listen out for any grinding, humming, rumbling, or squealing sounds. In particular, these sounds should get louder the faster you accelerate, if they’re related to the wheel bearings. You can match these up with other symptoms to clearly tell if the wheel bearing is bad if it’s attributed to something else. For example, note if the tire tread wear is uneven. Alternatively, the steering wheel would vibrate a lot as you drive along. And, the wheels themselves would wobble and have some play or looseness in them.

How Long Do Wheel Bearings Last

Wheel bearings are typically designed to be robust, owing to how much stress and load that’s being put on them as you’re driving. As such, you can easily expect wheel bearings to last between 85,000 to 100,000 miles on average. However, these do vary a lot depending on the type of bearings you use. Not to mention, its build quality, what vehicle it’s fitted to, and your driving style. Heavy-duty and high-performance vehicles tend to wear out their wheel bearings rather quickly. Moreover, driving at higher speeds and with more aggression, or regularly trekking rough terrain will wear them out faster, too.