7 Causes of Wheel Bearing Noise (and What it Sounds Like)
Wheel bearings enable your car’s wheels to rotate with minimal friction, but when a vehicle comes to a stop, the bearings start to cool down, creating a vacuum inside. This vacuum is normally contained by seals.
If these seals fail, the bearing can pull in outside air, which might contain water and other contaminants. This can lead to bearing damage and noise.
Understanding the common causes of wheel bearing noise can help you identify problems early on and save time when it comes to troubleshooting.
What Causes Noise From Wheel Bearings?
Wheel bearings are attached to your wheels and are always in motion when you’re driving. Since your wheels’ tires are constantly in contact with the road, there are a number of things that can cause wheel bearings to make unusual noises or become damaged. Here are the most common.
#1 – Normal Wear and Tear
Over time, wheel bearings naturally wear down from regular use. As your car accumulates miles, the constant motion and stress on the bearings will cause them to slowly deteriorate.
This is a normal part of vehicle aging, but you’ll want to address worn bearings fairly quickly to prevent further damage to the bearings and surrounding components.
#2 – Driving on Rough Roads
Because wheel bearings support the full weight of a vehicle, bumpy roads, potholes, and curbs can be especially hard on the bearings.
When you hit these obstacles, it can damage the small balls inside the bearing or the ring they sit in. This damage creates tiny flaws that lead to more heat and friction as you drive. Over the course of weeks or months, this can cause the bearing to fail and make noise.
#3 – Improper Installation
If your wheel bearings were recently replaced and you’re hearing noises, the problem might be a bad install. When bearings aren’t installed correctly or according to the manufacturer’s guidelines, they can become damaged quickly.
While replacing your own wheel bearings is definitely possible, this is one task that’s best left to the professionals in most cases. Specialized tools are often necessary and installing them incorrectly can lead to serious safety issues.
#4 – Driving Through Deep Water
Wheel bearing seals are designed to keep lubricant in and contaminants out. However, repeated or long exposure to deep water can eventually compromise these seals.
If you often drive through flooded streets or deep puddles, water might eventually work its way into the bearing. When this happens, it can mix with the lubricant, making it less effective. This can lead to increased friction and potential damage to the bearing.
Modern wheel bearings are better at resisting water entry than older designs, but they’re not completely waterproof. If water does get in, you can’t simply clean and re-lubricate a modern sealed bearing. In most cases, a water-damaged bearing will need to be replaced entirely.
To protect your wheel bearings (and other components susceptible to water damage), avoid driving through deep water unless you absolutely have no choice.
#5 – Unbalanced Tires or Worn Suspension
Your wheel system includes many parts working together, including the bearing, tire, suspension components, and more. If your tires are unbalanced or your shocks are worn out, it can put extra stress on your wheel bearings. This added strain can cause the bearings to wear faster and make noise.
#6 – Accident Damage Near the Wheel Area
If your car has been in an accident and a wheel area is affected, it could have damaged the wheel bearings. Even if the damage isn’t immediately obvious, the impact can cause internal issues with the bearing. This damage might lead to noise and eventual bearing failure.
See Also: What’s Causing That Popping Noise When Turning?
#7 – Manufacturing Defects
While rare, sometimes wheel bearings can have defects from the factory. These flaws might not be apparent at first, but they can cause the bearing to wear out faster than normal or produce noise earlier than expected.
If you’re experiencing bearing problems in a relatively new vehicle, this could be the cause.
What Does a Bad Wheel Bearing Sound Like?
With a damaged or broken wheel bearing, it may sound like you’re driving over a rumble strip on the shoulder of a highway. It won’t be very loud at first but gets more noticeable as the condition of the bearing gets worse.
Wheel bearing noise can be compared to the familiar childhood sound of a bicycle being ridden that has a playing card attached that hits the wheel spokes while rotating.
To identify the noise:
- Drive 30-40 mph on an empty road.
- Gently turn your steering wheel left and right, almost like you’re safely weaving in your lane.
- Listen for the noise to get louder when turning.
Wheel bearing noise (especially in the front) will be amplified when you you make that turn since physics allow more weight of the car to be transferred to one side of the car. This can also help when it comes to diagnosing which wheel is causing the noise and has the bad wheel bearing.
Here’s a video that indicates wheel bearing noise. You may need to turn up your volume to hear.
How to Diagnose Damaged or Noisy Wheel Bearings
To check for a damaged wheel bearing:
- Use a floor jack to lift the vehicle until the tire is off the ground.
- Try to move the tire up and down, then side to side.
- If the wheel wobbles or has some free play, the bearing might be damaged.
We made this video to demonstrate how to perform this inspection of the wheel bearing. Remember, the noise from a bad wheel bearing can vary. How loud or noticeable it is often depends on how severely the bearing is damaged.
Can You Continue Driving If You Suspect a Bad Wheel Bearing?
If you suspect a bad wheel bearing, it’s always best to address the issue quickly rather than continuing to drive. But if you absolutely need to drive, keep to lower speed roads and avoid long trips or highways. Pay close attention to any changes in noise or vibration, and be prepared to stop if the symptoms worsen.
While a slightly worn bearing might not pose an immediate danger, the problem can quickly worsen, leading to potentially hazardous situations. A severely damaged wheel bearing can cause the wheel to seize or even separate from the vehicle, resulting in a loss of control.
On top of that, driving long enough with a bad bearing can cause damage to other parts of your vehicle, such as the hub, CV joint, or axle. This can turn a relatively simple and affordable repair into a much more expensive one.
He’s known for his attention to detail and problem-solving skills and enjoys coming up with out-of-the box solutions when the situation requires it.
When he's not troubleshooting customers' cars, you'll most likely find him working on his current project ('96 Bronco) or cooking Italian food for his family.
I have a 2005 Cadillac STS AWD. I have recently developed a loud “humming” noise while driving. The noise goes away when turning left. I instantly thought passenger, front wheel bearing. I noticed a minimal amount of play in the tire once lifted, so I changed the hub assembly out. The problem persisted, so I changed the driver’s side hub assembly also. The noise remains. It doesn’t make sense to me that it could be a rear bearing as the noise goes away only when turning left, but I am at a loss for what to check next. Ideas?
I wonder if it could be an issue with the axle on that side? Did you happen to inspect the CV boots for tears while you were down there?
If it goes away when you turning left then, the problem is the left wheel bearing
ever figure it out ?
driving my 2000 ford expedition driving while raining hard. A sound came from under my car like i ran over something. then my driver side seemed like it wanted to come off but pulled over and bolts are strong. while driving sounded like grinding stronger around lower speed limits. pulled into my house next morning the tire didnt want to go reverse like it was struck but going forward no problem. bearings or worst not sure need to figure it out.
That’s not good. I would check the wheel bearing, but even before that: pull the wheel off if you’re able to and see if something is caught in the wheel or brake caliper.
Exactly,most of the time if I were to get pulled over dodging potholes , police would make me walk the line…… the holes are that bad and so many that make you look like drunk drunk driver
But if u changed both bearings and still hear the noise would that be the tires my upper control arm bushings are shot as well no more gasket just metal on metal clanking and get a wobble going 65 or more and car pulls to the left when stopping
I have recently changed front wheel bearing(left and right both) but still hearing sound of grinding after driving 2 to 3 km while pressing race Padel. What is the problem?
Check your wheels for clearance to make sure they aren’t rubbing on anything. If you can take a wheel off, that would be ideal. While you’re in there, check your brake calipers to make sure they can spin freely without any grinding. You may be able to find the source of the noise pretty quickly just by spinning the hub with the wheel off.
I suspect a wheel bearing on the front drivers side of my wife’s 2005 Trailblazer, but no rumbling sound only a rotational scraping noise when the car starts rolling….the sound is akin to the rotor dust shield rubbing against something.
If you have a place where you feel comfortable jacking up the vehicle, you might try taking a wheel off and rotating the hub to see if you can tell if it’s coming from the brakes or the wheel bearing itself.
If you’re having a hard time determining where the sound is coming from, you can remove the brake caliper and rotor to see if the sound persists.
Rumble strip is a great analogy! I like that, it’s very helpful.
about 1 month ago I had a BAD WHEEL BEARING and it looks like it has come back.I’ll have to take it back and having them to RE-CHECK them
Such a shame we cannot tie wheel bearing damage to a particular pothole incident… penny pinching highways departments find it cheaper to pay out on the few successful pothole damage claimants than to spend their budget repairing the potholes like they are tasked to… and have a duty of care to do.
I want an “I’m not drunk! I AM TRYING TO AVOID TORY POLICY POTHOLE DAMAGE” stickers for front and back of my car!