I have 132,000 miles on my 2001 Toyota van, in which I have kept up on the maintenance. The front wheel bearings are sealed. The dealership says there is no particular time or mileage that these need to be dealt with. They could break down at 80,000 miles or 300,000 miles. My tires seem to be wearing well (I rotate and balance them every 6K-8K. I am having no problems. I am taking a 3600 mile trip in March. Do I need to be concerned??
If you have had the brakes redone check with the shop, as a bearing service may have been done.
This is true. I would not be concerned with them. Bearing fail with an audible warning giving you plenty of time to address.
Hmmm, bearing service on SEALED bearings? how’s this working out?
Lifetime warranty, oh they failed, end of lifetime. period end.
There is no maintenance to be done. Drive until they start making noise, then replace them. If you hear no noise right now, there’s no reason to be concerned. I’ve seen these bearings last 300,000 miles or more. My cousin had to have one replaced on her Volvo after 165,000 miles, but the other one is doing fine. The bad bearing was making noise for the last 4 months, about 2,000 miles they way she drives. She told her mechanic about it when she went in for an oil change, and he offered a good price to replace it for her. Took him less than 2 hours, including a test drive.
These sealed, non-adjustable wheel bearings are becoming universal. All you can do is jack the tire off the ground and see if there is any play in the bearing. If there is no slop, you are good to go…
So someone explain what waterboy was saying???
Waterboy,
Thanks for the reply. I did check with the shop where I last had the brakes done and they said they do nothing if they are sealed.