Honda Accord Wheel Bearing Questions

[mcdmgb]

The local Honda dealership has informed me that the front wheel bearings on both sides of my 2000 Accord need to be replaced. The car has 49,000 miles on it. Its not been abused or driven through high water. They quoted $425.00 to replace both sides. It seems to me that the wheel bearings should last much longer than 49,000 miles. The two previous Hondas that I owned never had this problem, and the mileage on both of them was well beyond 49,000 miles. Has anyone else had the same thing happen on their Accord, particularly both sides at the same time? Does the price seem to be about right?

Thanks,

Mike

[outlawmws]

Front wheel drive, = a lot more labor to fix wheel bearings.

Whats the labor/parts breakdown?

[mcdmgb]

They didn't give me a breakdown between the two. I'm not really sure what their hourly labor rate is. They were going to charge me $40.00 to check it out. That might be it.

Mike

[skippy_ps]

Weird. What are your symptoms?

No Honda here but I'm gonna guess that the bearing is a sealed unit pressed into the strut. Likely the strut has to be removed.

Murray

[botrytis]

Wheel bearings - those can be the ones inside the hub. Those are pressed in and out and are a real pain. Then they also will to replace the boots on the CV's and lube them up. They will also probably redo the brakes, too. It is quite a bit of work!!

The ones on the Struts are called by a different name.

Dave

[approse]

Like Skippy said.... do you have symptoms or was this a finding at the same time other service was done? If it's having wheel bearing problems you should hear a rumbling noise coming from the outside wheel in a corner most pronouncedly. In otherwords... do this on a quiet smooth street so you can hear.... on a left turn he right bearing would usually be louder, a right turn, the left bearing. If you do hear noise then there's the chance its a rear bearing..... more common. Easiest to check by jacking the rear wheel, turning it may make noise, if not shake the wheel like you're trying to make it turn a corner..... other than the slightest play is junk. If you have no symptoms at all..... I'm rather suspicious unless you don't know the entire history of the vehicle.

Ron

[Andyman]

FWIW, I just had the hub replaced on my 1997 Taurus and it ran $225 or so. The corner shop did it as it involved pressed parts I'm not prepared to mess with.
but my Taurus had 147,000 miles on it at the time; 49,000 miles on a Honda seems to be pretty bogus.
Doesn't that car have like a 100K bumper to bumper, or 7yrs/70,000 miles or some other big time warranty, or are you not the original owner??

[Eric H]

If someone told me my 2000 Honda had two bad wheel bearings at 49k I'd be suspicious, very suspicious.
They are sealed and pressed in and usually will last the life of the car, barring something unfortunant like being parked under water for a period of time.

What exactly is supposed to be wrong with them?

Eric

[Wornears]

We've had three Hondas, one from new; in fact a 2000 Accord V6 Coupe. It has 80K on it and no wheel bearing issues. And we've never had one wheel bearing problem on the other Hondas. Plus, I've never had a wheel bearing go out/bad on any of the 40 or so used cars I've owned at that kind of mileage or much greater. Someone is full of it.

If this in fact the problem, which I highly doubt, the first thing I'd do is go to another shop to get an idea of what is going on and observation. Even another Honda dealership. You don't tell any of the symptoms, but if wheel bearings are bad, you will know it, particularly when turning.

Let's say it turns out it really is a wheel bearing problem. Insist on speaking to the service manager of the Honda dealership, and insist that he talk to the district service rep and get this covered completely under warranty, parts and labor. No car with that low of mileage should have even a trace of a wheel bearing issue unless they weren't lubed ever (like off the factory floor), and it would have shown up before now. There may even be a factory service bulletin on this.

I think our fearless leader Kam works for a Honda dealership. Do not pass go or let them collect $400-plus out of you until you contact him or he posts here.

This does not pass the smell test!

[mcdmgb]

The symptom that I initially heard on quiet pavement at 65 mph was a high pitch whine, that varied with speed. Thought that it might be a tire inflation issue , but pressures were okay. I can't really tell what noise its making at lower speeds. It can hear a rumble as though its road noise. Unfortunately most of the paving around here tends to be of a design that is noisy, so determining if its bearings or pavement is a challenge. The car had the standard 36 mo/36000 mile warranty. I might try the Honda Zone office to see if I can argue that this is a premature failure.

Mike

[hpsenicka]

Between my wife and I , we have owned a variety of Honda's over the years.. many of them purchased used with relatively high mileage, and driven into to the ground.

1983 Accord LX
1986 Accord S (hatchback)
1988 Accord Exi
1989 Civic Wagon AWD
1993 Civic Si Hatchback
1999 Civic EX
2004 Civic EX

None of these cars has ever had a wheel bearing issue.... all of them has travelled at least 300,000km ( or close to 200,000 miles). They typically are retired due to rust/corrosion problems rather than because of mechanical issues.

As others have stated, I would be highly suspicious of a wheel bearing problem other than one caused by either a manufacturers defect, or exposure to extreme conditions, such as being submerged repeatedly or for prolonged periods of time.

Is the car equipped with the stock wheels and tires, and is it being driven in a "normal" fashion? i.e. no exotic non-standard aftermarket wheels/tires/suspension parts? This kind of situation "might" create some extreme loads on the bearings, but even that hypothesis is a real stretch!

Good Luck!

[hpsenicka]

The symptom that I initially heard on quiet pavement at 65 mph was a high pitch whine, that varied with speed. Thought that it might be a tire inflation issue , but pressures were okay. I can't really tell what noise its making at lower speeds. It can hear a rumble as though its road noise. Unfortunately most of the paving around here tends to be of a design that is noisy, so determining if its bearings or pavement is a challenge. The car had the standard 36 mo/36000 mile warranty. I might try the Honda Zone office to see if I can argue that this is a premature failure.

Mike

I'd hazard a guess that it is more likely you are hearing tire noise or vibration rather than a wheel bearing noise. Are you still riding on your original rubber?

[skippy_ps]

High pitched whine does not = wheel bearing failure. A bad wheel bearing will make a low pitch rumbling sound that will have a metalic component to the sound.

Drive on a smooth road about 45 mph and turn the steering wheel back and forth. A bad bearing will sound worse when you pull the wheel to one side.

Murray

[botrytis]

Sounds more like a brake problem of some sort - could you have a locked caliper.

Now I owned a Honda, in the past from new, and even though it was a decent car - I felt it was put together very shabily. I mean that thing at 50K had more rattles than a baby did. The body rotted out really fast too.

Dave

[mcdmgb]

Nothing exotic about the wheels or tires. It is running on the original Bridgestones, and I am a bit suspicious about them. I will try to find a parking lot tomorrow and make some slow turns to see if I hear anything that might pinpoint the problem better.

Mike

[dgwojo]

Usually these last much longer, I'd be suspect of that service garage. If possible, replace the entire hub assembly, usually cheaper in the long run as there's less labor. We make National hub assemblies at work, I just obtained a pair for my 1999 Taurus, now I need to find someone to install them, I just don't have time right now. Here's a helpful link from our web site, unfortuneately I don't think we carry an assembly for the Honda, that could mean insufficient falure rates, Dave.

National Hub Assemblies - Symptons (http://www.federal-mogul.com/cda/content/front/0,2194,2442_7701_8296,00.html)

[Doug The Dog]

Before you part with the $$$ to replace the wheel bearings have Honda check the output bearings in the transmission, honda has had a lot of problems with their transmissions and they have extended the warranty on them to 100,000 miles. the symptoms are the same as wheel bearings. The wheel bearings are pressed into the spindles, they cost about $100.00 each and should require about 2 hours per side to install them bringing the cost to about $280.00 per side. $425.00 for both sides is a fair price. I am a service advisor for a Honda dealership and I see this problem all the time. If in fact the wheel bearings are bad and you haven't played Dukes of Hazzard or U-boat commander with your car I would call Honda customer service and start a customer releations contact (CR) and I'll bet that honda will assist you with the bill (goodwill warranty repair). GOOD LUCK.

[mcdmgb]

As suggested, I found a parking lot and and did some hard turns each direction at a speed faster than I would use turning a corner. I did not hear any grinding noise in either direction. I tend to hear the noise which sound which varies in pitch when traveling straight down the road. This makes me even more suspicious of the dealership's diagnosis.

Doug - I am aware of Honda's extended warrantee on the transmission. I asked the service mangler if what I was hearing could be related to the transmission going out. He gave me what I felt was an evasive answer and said that the failing transmission symptoms had to do with the transmission not going into gear or slipping. At what mileage do you start seeing the failed transmissions?

Mike

[Doug The Dog]

We've replace transmissions with less than 20,000 miles on them. I find it hard to believe that both wheel bearings are bad. Usually the only time a wheel bearing goes bad is when the car has been in an accident or has had a curb shot. Have the dealership rack the car, where the cv axles go into the transaxle check to see if there is any up and down play. If there is or there is signs of leakage from the axle seals the output bearings are bad and yes....That is covered by the extended warranty!!!!!! Do you watch NASCAR? When they are on a caution lap and turn the car back and forth to scrub the tires? Try that with your car at low speeds, if the noise comes and goes, that is more than likely a wheel bearing. If it stays the same it is probably the transmission. If you like, I can PM you my Phone # and talk to you more in depth about it. Good luck!

[mcdmgb]

Thank you for the offer. If you would PM your phone number and the times that you are available, I would like to talk with you regarding this matter.

Mike

[toxcrusadr]

This sounds fishy to me - stay away from dealers, is my motto. They charge way more and do stuff you don't need. Go to cartalk.com and click on the find-a-mechanic link. See what they have to offer in your town - recommended by customers.

Chris

Owner of two 1992 Accords and a 2002 Accord, never a wheel bearing problem.

[MCS Guy]

We've replace transmissions with less than 20,000 miles on them. I find it hard to believe that both wheel bearings are bad. Usually the only time a wheel bearing goes bad is when the car has been in an accident or has had a curb shot. Have the dealership rack the car, where the cv axles go into the transaxle check to see if there is any up and down play. If there is or there is signs of leakage from the axle seals the output bearings are bad and yes....That is covered by the extended warranty!!!!!! Do you watch NASCAR? When they are on a caution lap and turn the car back and forth to scrub the tires? Try that with your car at low speeds, if the noise comes and goes, that is more than likely a wheel bearing. If it stays the same it is probably the transmission. If you like, I can PM you my Phone # and talk to you more in depth about it. Good luck!
Doug is right, Check those Output carrier bearings in the transmission! When I worked at the honda dealership, we had our share to replacing transmissions just for this problem.

Both bearings going on it is suspisious to me. usually you find one on older models with miles.

[mcdmgb]

I put the car up on ramps yesterday to check the condition of the CV axles. There was no sign of leaks, and the axles seemed tight when i tried to move them in a vertical direction. At one time I thought I heard a faint clicking coming from the transmission when I tried the right axle, but when I tried it a second time, I didn't hear it. As Doug suggested, I tried the NASCAR manuver and I hear a warbling noise from the left side in a right hand turn, that still was present when I drove straight. There also seems to be a different noise that I do not hear in turns, but do when traveling straight coming from the right side. Another thing that I noticed is that it seems that I do not hear the noise for about the first mile when driving the car after it has sat overnight.

I've contacted Honda and gave them the basic story, and I'm waiting to hear back from someone to have further discussion on this matter.

Mike

[Kamakiri]

Feel free to email me at hondacuraworld@aol.com , I just happen to work at a Honda dealership and run the www.hondacuraworld.com site ;)

The reason I mention to email me is so that I don't forget about it. I can check your VIN, go over diagnoses with my techs, and give you the best parts prices if you like :)

By the way, the transmission failures have to do with a 2-3 shift, and a shudder over 45 mph as I recall.

[Eric H]

If it's the transmission instead of the wheel bearings that's kinda like going from the frying pan into the fire, a much bigger problem, but at least $425 doesn't seem so bad to fix the trans. :worried:
Hopefully Honda will eat the cost if this is the case.

[mcdmgb]

Actually Honda has an extended warrantee on the transmission due to an acknowledged problem with premature failures. So if its the transmission, I should not be out anything.

Mike

[toxcrusadr]

Since there are dealer employees present (Kamakiri), I will temper my broad strokes about dealers. I have seen some non-Honda ones do some real shenanigans. We have two Honda dealers here. One I like - I once bent up my front quarter panel and drove it in to see what parts I might need. The service guy pushed this and pulled that and it snapped back together - no parts, no charge. They have been quite helpful with parts I did need, although never cheap (hey, it's a Honda). The OTHER one...well I lost the keys in the river once on a float trip, and went in to get my wife a new set (yep they were hers, doghouse big time). The Accord had a "valet key" that does not open the trunk. They didn't have the blanks to cut a new one, and said "Oh we don't keep those, if we made you one we'd have to order a whole box of valet key blanks and we don't want to." Wanted $12 for the regular key. The 'good' dealer made them both, no hassle, $4 each. Little things like that will really make you choose one over the other when it comes time to buy a new one.

[Wardsweb]

Feel free to stop over at http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/

It's all about Honda Accords, lot's of savy Accord owners, and technical experts.

[mcdmgb]

Thanks to all that posted. I thought an update might be due. After talking with Honda, they agreed to pay for half of the repair, which was done last Wednesday. It cost me $178, which beats the $425 that the service manager initially told me. Drove off, no noise, hey wadda know, the service department was right.

Today decided to do an oil change. While waiting for the oil to drain, thought that I would check the CV axles for play as previously suggested in a posting by Doug the Dog. I had done this check before taking the car to the dealership for the wheel bearings and found no play in either one. Today there is play in each one with the driver side seeming to have the most. Just got back from the dealership and their diagnosis, "The play is normal and should be expected". I haven't told them about not finding play in the axles prior to their changing the wheel bearings. I think that I have been BS'd. Anyone have any idea if the dealership is correct about the play?

Mike