Wheel bearings aren’t thought about often… until they start to make some noise or give you some trouble. The wheel bearings are designed to reduce friction as your wheels are spinning. Without them, your wheels would seize up, causing an accident. The thing about wheel bearings is they start “talking” to you when they begin to wear out. This blog post will go through some of the more common signs of bad wheel bearings so you can have them replaced before something tragic happens on the road.

Each wheel on your vehicle has a set of wheel bearings that consist of steel balls held together by a metal ring and packed with grease. As mentioned, they reduce friction so your wheels can spin with ease. When one or more of the wheel bearings begins to wear out, you will start to notice certain signs. If you ignore the signs, it will become quite dangerous to drive as the wheel(s) with the bad bearing(s) could seize up causing a serious accident.

Here are some symptoms of a wheel bearing that’s going bad:

1. You hear a grinding or grating noise coming from the area of the wheels. The thing to note about this noise is that it will get louder as you accelerate. It’s happening because the bearings have gone bad (some may have even fallen out) and metal is grinding on metal.
2. The tires begin to wear unevenly. There are any number of things that can cause uneven tire wear. One or more bad wheel bearings is one of them. The reason they cause uneven tire wear is because a faulty wheel bearing will allow the wheel to be loose and vibrate more.
3. You noticed problems with the steering while driving. Faulty wheel bearings can cause a vibration in your steering. It could also cause the vehicle to pull more toward one side.
4. The steering feels “loose.” A broken wheel bearing will cause the steering to have a little more play which means it will feel looser. One way to tell is by trying to rock the wheel when it’s up on a lift. If the wheel wobbles or moves back and forth, there’s a bad wheel bearing.

How dangerous is it to drive with a broken wheel bearing?

A faulty wheel bearing will put pressure on other steering and suspension components. It could cause damage to the hub, CV joint, and axle. Even worse than that is the damage that could happen to you and others if the wheel bearing causes the wheel to seize while driving.

Think you have a problem with a wheel bearing? Don’t leave it to chance. Bring your vehicle into our auto repair shop located in Staten Island, NY. Our technicians will be able to inspect your vehicle and let you know if you need to replace a wheel bearing. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for wheel bearing repair.