$900 single rear wheel bearing

200Volts · 07-28-2006, 08:33 PM

I had a wheel bearing wear out at about 75k miles due to bad factory alignment. My dealer said that will be $900 per side to fix.
After I held my temper back, they said they can replace just the bad side. The bearing is part of the hub, which is part of the brake, which is part of the ABS sensor and so on. The part alone was about $600.

Now the good news: Since it was caused by the factory alignment being out of spec they paid for everything.
Good job Toyota.

seasalsa · 07-28-2006, 09:57 PM

What year Prius do you have. With 75k miles it must be a classic.

Glad to hear that Toyota took care of it even if it was not under warranty.

galaxee · 07-28-2006, 10:36 PM

whoa whoa whoa. tell us your story here. what year prius is this? what problem did you take it in for?

part should be no more than $450, labor 1.5 hours... and wondering how out-of-spec factory alignment kills a wheel bearing... unless we're talking so out of spec that the car isn't drivable... what were the specs they cited?

this is ridiculous. the rear wheel bearing is very similar in a camry (difference is how the bolts go in), DH just did one today, part was $200 and he actually felt guilty about charging the full 1.5 hours...

tochatihu · 07-29-2006, 04:24 PM

I had the right rear wheel bearing assembly replaced on 2001 Prius. The part cost was quoted as about $225, and I would guess that the labor is 1 or 1.5 hrs. This was done under warranty.

Seems rather mysterious that suspension alignment could cause this.

200Volts · 07-31-2006, 03:59 PM

It was on a 2004 model(yeah I drive a lot). You could hear the bearing making more and more noise inside the car (and of course on a jack when spinning the wheel).
The right rear alignment was excess toe out (beyond factory alignment limits, they had to order a shim kit to fix it) found at about 40k miles. No major driving problems except the "normal" freeway instability (car felt about the same after the alignment shim kit was installed). Left rear was in spec and did not fail.

**efusco** · 07-31-2006, 04:07 PM

200,
Seems that if the dealer said that both sides should be replaced, and that it's under warranty, that you should insist that they do the repair as they said was best under that warranty. Should that left side fail at 105k miles and you're out of warranty then you're SOL.

theorist · 07-31-2006, 04:45 PM

Thank you 200Volts for the heads up. Was there any driving indication of the rear misalignment? How was the problem identified at 40,000 miles?

I've heard many reports here about Priuses delivered out of alignment and requiring shims to correct. This is the worst outcome I've heard of so far. Scary, if the dealer didn't cover it.

Does anyone have advice on early alignment checks as a form of preventative screening? The cost and different shops reporting wildly different alignment status on a single vehicle as reported in another thread make this sound a little daunting.

galaxee · 07-31-2006, 04:59 PM

well it's always a good idea to have your alignment checked regularly- tire wear and suspension wear are reduced greatly with proper alignment... and since you can put your toe out by hitting a curb or driving on badly potholed roads, it's not something you can just do once and forget about.

200Volts · 07-31-2006, 05:06 PM

At 40k is when I got involved with PC. Plus I was changing tires, so this was the first alignment with the car.
Never touched a curb, hit a few "medium" potholes (but the right FRONT was not out of alignment). Never had a change in dead center for the steering wheel. I measured tire wear in 3 spots on all tires with a micrometer depth gauge and the driver side wore out the fastest (rotated about every 5k miles). I'll have to look up my records to see exactly how much excessive toe out there was.

galaxee · 07-31-2006, 06:47 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jul 31 2006, 04:07 PM) [snapback]295275[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Should that left side fail at 105k miles and you're out of warranty then you're SOL. [/b]

the left side shouldn't be affected... sounds like a ploy to collect more money. <_<

07-28-2006, 10:36 PM	#3
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: boilermaker territory Posts: 9,675 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 94 Times in 37 Posts Friends: 26	whoa whoa whoa. tell us your story here. what year prius is this? what problem did you take it in for? part should be no more than $450, labor 1.5 hours... and wondering how out-of-spec factory alignment kills a wheel bearing... unless we're talking so out of spec that the car isn't drivable... what were the specs they cited? this is ridiculous. the rear wheel bearing is very similar in a camry (difference is how the bolts go in), DH just did one today, part was $200 and he actually felt guilty about charging the full 1.5 hours... __________________ black 2005 prius, a few mods that make me happy g: class of '09 in intense science DH: class of '09 in medical equipment hoping to discover the 'reward' part of the sacrifice-reward cycle soon!

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07-28-2006, 08:33 PM	#1
200Volts Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Northern CA Posts: 362 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I had a wheel bearing wear out at about 75k miles due to bad factory alignment. My dealer said that will be $900 per side to fix. After I held my temper back, they said they can replace just the bad side. The bearing is part of the hub, which is part of the brake, which is part of the ABS sensor and so on. The part alone was about $600. Now the good news: Since it was caused by the factory alignment being out of spec they paid for everything. Good job Toyota.

07-28-2006, 09:57 PM	#2
seasalsa Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Kent, WA Posts: 1,202 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	What year Prius do you have. With 75k miles it must be a classic. Glad to hear that Toyota took care of it even if it was not under warranty.

07-29-2006, 04:24 PM	#4
tochatihu Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kunming Yunnan China Posts: 2,408 My Car: 2001 Prius Model: Package: Pioneer #1 Thanks: 1 Thanked 38 Times in 38 Posts Friends: 14	I had the right rear wheel bearing assembly replaced on 2001 Prius. The part cost was quoted as about $225, and I would guess that the labor is 1 or 1.5 hrs. This was done under warranty. Seems rather mysterious that suspension alignment could cause this.

07-31-2006, 03:59 PM	#5
200Volts Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Northern CA Posts: 362 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	It was on a 2004 model(yeah I drive a lot). You could hear the bearing making more and more noise inside the car (and of course on a jack when spinning the wheel). The right rear alignment was excess toe out (beyond factory alignment limits, they had to order a shim kit to fix it) found at about 40k miles. No major driving problems except the "normal" freeway instability (car felt about the same after the alignment shim kit was installed). Left rear was in spec and did not fail.

07-31-2006, 04:07 PM	#6
efusco Troll Slayer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 17,231 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 49 Thanked 249 Times in 148 Posts Friends: 37	200, Seems that if the dealer said that both sides should be replaced, and that it's under warranty, that you should insist that they do the repair as they said was best under that warranty. Should that left side fail at 105k miles and you're out of warranty then you're SOL.

07-31-2006, 04:45 PM	#7
theorist Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Lexington, MA Posts: 330 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Thank you 200Volts for the heads up. Was there any driving indication of the rear misalignment? How was the problem identified at 40,000 miles? I've heard many reports here about Priuses delivered out of alignment and requiring shims to correct. This is the worst outcome I've heard of so far. Scary, if the dealer didn't cover it. Does anyone have advice on early alignment checks as a form of preventative screening? The cost and different shops reporting wildly different alignment status on a single vehicle as reported in another thread make this sound a little daunting.

07-31-2006, 04:59 PM	#8
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: boilermaker territory Posts: 9,675 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 94 Times in 37 Posts Friends: 26	well it's always a good idea to have your alignment checked regularly- tire wear and suspension wear are reduced greatly with proper alignment... and since you can put your toe out by hitting a curb or driving on badly potholed roads, it's not something you can just do once and forget about.

07-31-2006, 05:06 PM	#9
200Volts Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Northern CA Posts: 362 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	At 40k is when I got involved with PC. Plus I was changing tires, so this was the first alignment with the car. Never touched a curb, hit a few "medium" potholes (but the right FRONT was not out of alignment). Never had a change in dead center for the steering wheel. I measured tire wear in 3 spots on all tires with a micrometer depth gauge and the driver side wore out the fastest (rotated about every 5k miles). I'll have to look up my records to see exactly how much excessive toe out there was.