Worn Tire Belts or Front Bearing Problem?

i think it's a bearing, and your buddy can fix it no problem. all the best.

 

If your buddy has a ChassisEar it should quickly tell you all you need to know. It's a little sound receiver with several little wireless transmitters you can clamp at various parts of the car and then go for a drive.

When my left front bearing was going, I tried all kinds of things to be sure that's what it was, and which one it was. Nothing seemed really definitive until listening with the ChassisEar, and that was "ah, yup, left front bearing" within about 3 seconds of turning the speaker on.

-Chap

 

What is "reasonable tread"? Legal limit (2/32 in most states)? Did he measure the tread depth in three places across each tire? Feel the edges of the tire tread to see if the edges are uneven (cupped)?

There is an enormous difference in the effectiveness of a tire depending on the tread depth. And on the alignment. Especially in the wet. On a 2/32 tire, in stopping tests in the wet from 70MPH the new tire would have stopped the car where the worn tire would only have slowed the car to 55MPH!!!! 4/32 would only have slowed the car to 45!!!! (Tirerack test results)

Consider a suspension inspection and alignment check before you go in for new tires. At 184k miles, darn near anything in the suspension could be worn and throwing things off.

 

you might need to turn a little harder left and right to see if the sound changes. look at the tires for cupping or chopped tread. if the edge of each tread block is higher or lower than the one next to it, that can make for noisy tires.

 

I agree with Bisco. If rotating the tires didn't help the noise then it could be a wheel bearing.

Using a chassis ear would be the best but it is not a common item for a individual to have.

Does Gen II Prius seem to have problems with fromt wheel bearings?

LG-D851 ?

 

i don't think more than any other car. does 184,000 miles seem early?

 

So are going further than that, others not so much. 184k is a long way but others still have originals

Wonder what kind of roads, wet or cold have on bearing performance?Or is it the seals that let water, salt, grit and grime in that eventually destroy those bearings?

LG-D851 ?

 

I've seen many reports here on bad wheel bearings on 07s. Mine went out at 130K.

 

one would think road salt as the major culprit, but maybe things like regular high speed driving in hot weather have a detrimental effect.

 

Yes high speed and salt can do a bearing in but only if the seal lets water or grime in first.

If this is a weak point, then Toyota should change bearing suppliers. Is it a Timken bearing or a Japanese company of some sort?

LG-D851 ?

 

My noise went away with new tires. A couple of us with GY have been wondering about this. I had the Assurance Comfortreds on the rear and they were pretty old but had tread left. But seemed to make a rumble. Another guy had the OEM Assurance he was wondering too if his noise was tires. I went with the Conti TrueContacts, I probably should check how the reviews are trending now that they've been out a couple years.

 

might be a curb or pothole hit at some point. It is usually a side hit

 

My '09 front right bearing set went at half of that mileage! Yes, for Toyota they seem to be poorly engineered, and there are folks on the forum who have had to replace several. It isn't easy or cheap either.

 

well, you're always going to get folks on a forum with problems. hard to know if it's something that needs to be addressed. our '04 and '08 are fine at 135,000 and 95,000, but that doesn't mean anything either.

people buy used cars, and then don't understand why things break. but they have no idea how they were previously treated, or what conditions they were driven in. others abuse their own cars and don't even realize it. we have no way of knowing, when someone reports here with a problem.

 

Amen to that. I don't know how many times I heard, "I will never buy another _____ they're junk". Treat your car right and it will treat you right.

LG-D851 ?

 

It is relatively easy for a good tire dealer to check the front wheel bearings. Replacement of both left and right should run around $400-$500 at an independent shop. Other than temporarily disconnecting 12v battery (to avoid problems with brakes), noting special is required. My regular tire dealer quoted $900, but two other independent mechanics were under $400 (2 years ago). A lot cheaper than brakes, for example.

 

You can do it yourself. Jack the wheel up and rotate by hand. If bearing is gone you'll hear grinding noise, sort of sand in the bearings noise (not to be confused with rotor/brake pad noise.

Warped rotor or stuck brake caliper are one of the possible reasons for bearing failure. Brake drag, overheated hub may cause bearing issues.

 

Does Prius use press into the knuckle style bearings or are they the newer unified bearing assembly? Either are not much fun, very labor intensive.

LG G3 T-MOBILE phone ☎

 

Not sure Gen2 check parts on RockAuto.com.

Gen3 uses assembly in the back and it was hard to find one for <$300 a couple years back. Don't ask why I know it