Could this be a bad wheel bearing?
02-01-14, 10:31 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Could this be a bad wheel bearing?
Hey forum, I just traded an 06 TSX for my 09 IS250 with 45,000 miles on it. When I first bought it I thought it had some tire noise from the used tires on it which are actually in good shape, but now I think the noise is getting louder and may not be tire noise at all. It appears to be coming from the front right and starts at about 30 mph with a on off slight roaring should like MMMMMmmmmMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmMMMMM and the sound gets closer to consistant the faster i go. Up around 70 it is almost constant. Here is why I think it is the front bearing. 1. That tire and rim have damage from hitting a curb or something hard. 2. When I turn the wheel to the left it gets louder and when I turn it to the right it mostly goes away. I did balance the wheels, but that did not change a thing.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
02-01-14, 10:42 AM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
Hey forum, I just traded an 06 TSX for my 09 IS250 with 45,000 miles on it. When I first bought it I thought it had some tire noise from the used tires on it which are actually in good shape, but now I think the noise is getting louder and may not be tire noise at all. It appears to be coming from the front right and starts at about 30 mph with a on off slight roaring should like MMMMMmmmmMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmMMMMM and the sound gets closer to consistant the faster i go. Up around 70 it is almost constant. Here is why I think it is the front bearing. 1. That tire and rim have damage from hitting a curb or something hard. 2. When I turn the wheel to the left it gets louder and when I turn it to the right it mostly goes away. I did balance the wheels, but that did not change a thing.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
02-01-14, 10:50 AM
#3
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
I have seen many posts on here about wheel bearing going bad and many going bad before 100K which is quite surprising. I know that many of them were because of people hitting curbs, but everybody hits curbs in every type of car and it does not always knock out the bearings. I appears these might be a weak spot on the car.
02-01-14, 12:02 PM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
One other thing to mention is the tire appears to be wearing well. I am about to go out and jack it up and see if there is any play in the wheel. My guess is there won't be, but goona try anyway. Also gonna swap front wheels around.
02-03-14, 09:08 AM
#6
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99.9% guarantee you that it is the wheel bearing. Very easy to DIY if you are handy with tools. Mine is AWD and requires a little bit more work than a RWD, but should be simple either way really.
The fact that the sound sounds like a humming and changes when you turn the car left/right tells me its the bearing. Just to be safe, if you'd like, rotate your tires (just make sure you do it right if your tires are directional) and see if the sound goes to any other wheel. If not, then its the bearing for 100% certain.
Get it changed sooner than later as this may actually cause for the hub to separate from the car and then you'll be 3 wheeling. Not very likely, but can happen so a word of warning.
The fact that the sound sounds like a humming and changes when you turn the car left/right tells me its the bearing. Just to be safe, if you'd like, rotate your tires (just make sure you do it right if your tires are directional) and see if the sound goes to any other wheel. If not, then its the bearing for 100% certain.
Get it changed sooner than later as this may actually cause for the hub to separate from the car and then you'll be 3 wheeling. Not very likely, but can happen so a word of warning.
02-03-14, 09:36 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Hey forum, I just traded an 06 TSX for my 09 IS250 with 45,000 miles on it. When I first bought it I thought it had some tire noise from the used tires on it which are actually in good shape, but now I think the noise is getting louder and may not be tire noise at all. It appears to be coming from the front right and starts at about 30 mph with a on off slight roaring should like MMMMMmmmmMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmMMMMM and the sound gets closer to consistant the faster i go. Up around 70 it is almost constant. Here is why I think it is the front bearing. 1. That tire and rim have damage from hitting a curb or something hard. 2. When I turn the wheel to the left it gets louder and when I turn it to the right it mostly goes away. I did balance the wheels, but that did not change a thing.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
99.9% guarantee you that it is the wheel bearing. Very easy to DIY if you are handy with tools. Mine is AWD and requires a little bit more work than a RWD, but should be simple either way really.
The fact that the sound sounds like a humming and changes when you turn the car left/right tells me its the bearing. Just to be safe, if you'd like, rotate your tires (just make sure you do it right if your tires are directional) and see if the sound goes to any other wheel. If not, then its the bearing for 100% certain.
Get it changed sooner than later as this may actually cause for the hub to separate from the car and then you'll be 3 wheeling. Not very likely, but can happen so a word of warning.
The fact that the sound sounds like a humming and changes when you turn the car left/right tells me its the bearing. Just to be safe, if you'd like, rotate your tires (just make sure you do it right if your tires are directional) and see if the sound goes to any other wheel. If not, then its the bearing for 100% certain.
Get it changed sooner than later as this may actually cause for the hub to separate from the car and then you'll be 3 wheeling. Not very likely, but can happen so a word of warning.
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02-03-14, 09:53 AM
#8
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
A little bit of an update:
I did rotate the two front tires and the noise still gets louder when the car steers to the left and almost goes away when the car steers to the right, so rotating the tires did not change a thing. I did check to see if there was any play in the hubs when I had the car jacked up and they appeared to not. Since the car does still have powertrain left on it i am going to make an appointment with Lexus.
I did rotate the two front tires and the noise still gets louder when the car steers to the left and almost goes away when the car steers to the right, so rotating the tires did not change a thing. I did check to see if there was any play in the hubs when I had the car jacked up and they appeared to not. Since the car does still have powertrain left on it i am going to make an appointment with Lexus.
02-03-14, 11:00 AM
#10
I hit a pothole last week and now whenever i brake at slow speeds i can feel a "chug chug chug" in the pedal. Not sure if its in my head but when i accelerate slowly i can feel the chug chug chug too. Not my wheels because im running a different set than the one that hit the pothole. Any possibility that my bearing was damaged? or just an alignment issue. Thanks!
02-04-14, 09:55 PM
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A little bit of an update:
I did rotate the two front tires and the noise still gets louder when the car steers to the left and almost goes away when the car steers to the right, so rotating the tires did not change a thing. I did check to see if there was any play in the hubs when I had the car jacked up and they appeared to not. Since the car does still have powertrain left on it i am going to make an appointment with Lexus.
I did rotate the two front tires and the noise still gets louder when the car steers to the left and almost goes away when the car steers to the right, so rotating the tires did not change a thing. I did check to see if there was any play in the hubs when I had the car jacked up and they appeared to not. Since the car does still have powertrain left on it i am going to make an appointment with Lexus.
02-04-14, 10:05 PM
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This is a descent idea of what it may sound like but I found mine to be a little different on the Lexus vs other cars I've owned and replaced bearings on. One thing that will not change from car to car is the reduction or increase of noise when turning left or right. The more pressure that is applied on the bad bearing, the louder it'll get, and vice versa.