I should add that Toyota and, I’m told, other manufacturers are now using ball bearings for the wheels rather than the roller bearings that all cars used to have. Ball bearings don’t have anywhere near the contact area of roller bearings and don;t stand up as well to high loads and impact. They use them for the lower rolling resistance. I offer the attached as evidence. http://tijil.org/Scion_Docs/Scion_06_misc_docs/2007sciontc_ncf%20Folder/axle.pdf
Unfortunately, I think worn out wheel bearings are going to become more common than they used to, although 46K is premature.
The bearings themselves can be bought for about $50-$60 apeice (fronts), but replacing them is a lot of labor. Everything has to be removed and the bearings pressed out of the hubs. The rears often are bolt-on bearing $ hub assemblies, typically anout $150 each on the internet, but they’re much easier to replace and don;t require realignmnet after.
2001 Prius III with 45k miles: My wife called earlier from the dealer. She had the oil changed (which was supposed to be free) and had them diagnose noise coming from the rear of the car. They called out to replace the right rear wheel bearing. $546 to replace.
Said there was some indication of impact under right side of car. However there are no issues with the tires or rims and no kind of body damage.
Well you have hijacked an old post here, but at least that means that you have done a little research. I suggest that you call Toyota’s customer service to see if they will cover it for free. A wheel bearing that fails this early was defective to begin with.
Also check your warrantee manual to see if it is covered under the power train warrantee. This bearing is $204 at Rock Auto so the dealer quote is about right for a dealer, but if its not done under warrantee, then you should be able to save about $100 to 150 at an independent mechanic.
Just called Toyota Customer Service. Unfortunately the mechanic at Newark Toyota World in Delaware, logged the dianostic as an “Accident”. Where as my wife told them my son had an incident with the car whereby he pinched the right front tire with the curb causing a bubble in the right front tire (which we replaced). The mechanic also logged that there were “marks” on both right side passenger wheel covers and thereby some outside influence causing the rear wheel bearing to go bad. This is a ridiculous assessment.
But since these items were logged Toyota Customer Service would not help. Not only that but if I ever sell the car, the buyer will be put off by the “Accident” remark in the car’s log !