How common are failing wheel bearings?

[a6_chris]

.

 

[3DTDi]

i have had a rear wheel bearing go on mine, was 50k 57plate, seems quite common as i have heard a few similar stories

 

[crunchie]

58 plate S3, 21k, NSF GOOSED! £255 to get it changed.

 

[a6_chris]

Mine is still very faint - will be listening very closely from now on - a long shot, but would this be covered under warranty - still under Audi warranty 'til December

 

[mike foster]

Mine is still very faint - will be listening very closely from now on - a long shot, but would this be covered under warranty - still under Audi warranty 'til December

Yes mate - wheel bearings should not go during warranty period. I have a 2006MY sportback and the bearings are fine. :icon_thumright:

 

[a6_chris]

Yes mate - wheel bearings should not go during warranty period. I have a 2006MY sportback and the bearings are fine. :icon_thumright:

Super, thanks Mike. Was getting worried incase I had to throw more £££ at the car

 

[N8]

Luke's went on his 06 plate A3 with around 55k on the clock, so yes its not uncommon.

 

[Ste_Nova]

what are you doing to your cars! :O

passat 186k miles, all orignal bearings

 

[a6_chris]

I'm doing nothing to mine - gets an easy life on the motorway with no town driving!

Although I do think it's cursed - problem after problem - Nigel will back me up on this

 

[_G_]

70k now all original bearings - even inspected them and they are good. motorways on weekends.. combined driving in week.

 

[PH1L]

had 2 go on the a3 at 50 1 on the s3 at 35 common as muck

 

[N8]

I'm on 49k now, on an 08, mine are still ok, I hope

 

[jrsteeve]

Out of curiosity what would happen if you just left it?

 

[a6_chris]

I would assume the bearing would either collapse = wheel comes off or the bearing would seize.

But I'm no mechanic

 

[_G_]

Very dangerous... if left unattended the wheel can start to flop around and damage your brakes etc. in the process. Worse case is driving on a motorway and the wheel comes off making you suddenly change lanes and that could be a recipe for disaster in traffic conditions. Just keep listening out for rubbing/grinding noise from the wheels every now and then - music off/quiet road and listen to any sounds that may give you concern. Otherwise its real easy to do a basic test.. you could always jack the car up/use axle stands to be safe.. place your hands on the wheel at the 9 o'clock poistion and 3 o'clock position, gently try rocking the wheel as if you were going to take it off.. if there is excess play in the wheel then this could be a sign of potential wheel bearing failure.

 

[jrsteeve]

Very dangerous... if left unattended the wheel can start to flop around and damage your brakes etc. in the process. Worse case is driving on a motorway and the wheel comes off making you suddenly change lanes and that could be a recipe for disaster in traffic conditions. Just keep listening out for rubbing/grinding noise from the wheels every now and then - music off/quiet road and listen to any sounds that may give you concern. Otherwise its real easy to do a basic test.. you could always jack the car up/use axle stands to be safe.. place your hands on the wheel at the 9 o'clock poistion and 3 o'clock position, gently try rocking the wheel as if you were going to take it off.. if there is excess play in the wheel then this could be a sign of potential wheel bearing failure.

I get a bit of noise around 50mph, goes after 60mph, the steering wheel is also slightly to the left when driving straight, it doesn't pull to the left though, any ideas? Jacked it up for the wobble test but they're solid, has been told previously it could be due to having two different manufacturer tyres on the front - previous owner was a moron. Probs gonna be going for a new tyre on the front so they match this week anyway but'd be good to know if it needs anything else.

 

[djsherif]

My car has 39,000 miles, and I have had both my front wheel bearings replaced twice!
Car is a 2010 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro.

 

[Nine Pack]

My A3 2.0 Tdi Quattro has one of the rear wheel bearings gone (and I foolishly replaced the diff thinking that's what it was..oops) so I'd guess quite common. My garage are testing the car to determine which corner has gone but I suspectI'll end up having both rear ones done as a precaution.