Wheel Bearings. How often do they go bad?

[Caddyman]

Back in the day, with RWD cars, the front bearings were open tapered roller type, you could remove them, clean them and re-pack them. This was part of a front brake job…Kept clean and lubricated, they would last the life of the car…Todays cars use sealed straight rollers that perhaps have a little more trouble absorbing side loads than the old tapered roller design…And they can’t be cleaned and re-packed…As with ANY bearing, once the seal fails, the bearing is not far behind…