This is a tutorial on how to replace the front wheel bearing assembly on the Lexus CT200h/Toyota Prius, which share the same front suspension setup. After some research on Youtube and the shop manual I tried the job myself and saved some money. I installed a cheap hub assembly with a 2 year warranty, because the higher-end SKF hub was sold out at the time and the OEM Toyota part was too expensive (400$).

For me, the symptoms of a bad front wheel bearing were a crescendo-decrescendo humming resonating sound from the front of the car starting at 90 km/h, suspension play when rocking the wheel and shifting sound intensities when making a left/right turn. Generally, the noise from a bad left wheel bearing would increase when making a turn to the right at higher speeds.

Necessary tools:
- socket & spanner set + extensions (including sockets 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 21mm)
- rubber mallet
- large steel hammer
- long 30mm 12-point socket (10$)
- torque wrench
- breaker bar
- punch
- large screw driver
- recommended: air compressor, air impact wrench, air wrench, air hammer (30$) (could be attempted without, but succes not guaranteed)
- steel brush
- WD40 or other penetrant
- sand paper or dremel with grinding attachment

1. remove centre wheel cap using plastic lever (or large screwdriver with some tape on it to prevent damaging the allow wheel)
2. with punch, punch out the indentation on the front axle nut
3. with breaker bar, loosen the front axle nut a few turns
4. jack up the car under the designated area of the pinch-weld down from the side skirts, place jack stands for safety
5. using 21mm socket, remove the lug nuts & wheel
6. (important) remove negatieve battery cable with 10mm socket, located in the right side of the trunk, behind plastic covers (easy to remove without tools). Do NOT close trunk lid.
(note) never turn on the car with the brake caliper removed.
7. using impact wrench: remove front axle nut
8. remove 12mm bolt that secures the brake line & the 10mm bolt that secures wheel-speed sensor, then get the wheel speed sensor out of the way to prevent damage.
9. turn the steering wheel to give acces to the two 17mm brake caliper bolts, remove these using a breaker bar.
10. pry a large screwdriver in the top of the caliper between the fins of the brake disc and lever the caliper towards you to loosen the brake pads and caliper. Using a tie-wrap of cable, suspend brake caliper front the front strut assembly.
11. using the rubber mallet, hammer on the brake disc at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock (hard) to break loose the brake disc. Place the disk on aside. Brake pads might fall out, this is not a problem.
12. spray WD-40 liberally on the interface between hub-assembly and knuckle, spray the 4 bolts that hold on the hub assembly (red arrows)
13. by turning steering wheel left & right gain access to the 4x 14mm bolts (red arrows) that mount the hub assembly to the knuckle. You can lightly tap the axle in to gain more access (green arrow). loosen the bolts only half of the way (keep half of the threads engaged).
14. from the medial/back side of the knuckle (yellow arrows), hammer on these four bolts one by one using the air hammer to break the hub free from the knuckle. With some persistence, the hub eventually creeped out of the knuckle. This can be attempted using a socket extension and hammer, but succes is not guaranteed. The hub assembly seems to be rust welded to the knuckle and is difficult to remove. Additional techniques include hammering on the hub from all sides. Removing the entire knuckle in case this does not work, to press out the hub assembly using a shop press.
15. using sand paper or dremel with grinding attachment, clean up the rust from inside of the knuckle
16. install new hub assembly and tighten the four 14mm bolts one by one in a star pattern to 40Nm torque
17. using steel brush, remove the rust from the inside face of the brake disc and then mount the brake disc. When dirty, clean with brake cleaner.
18. re-install brake caliper with the two 17mm bolts to 137Nm torque
19. replace bolts that hold brake line and speed sensor
20. mount the front wheel temporarily and lower the car as to when the wheel barely gets a grip on the ground. It is important to not have the full weight of the car on te hub in this step.
21. tighten front axle nut to 216Nm, remove the wheel once more and punch an indentation in the nut to keep it from backing off.
22. mount wheel and hub cap again, tighten lug nuts to circa 110Nm, make a test drive

time to complete was circa 2 hours (first time). Difficulty 7/10.

 

Thanks. fairly easy job w/ the 4-bolt design. biggest hurdles will be the 4 bolts if they're seized and possibly the axle nut. both removing and getting enough torque on it.

thankfully we have a 4 bolt design vs. the germans which use a press-in which is extremely difficult (ask me how I know)