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Wheel bearing noise, right?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by CloudJumper, Nov 15, 2024 at 12:40 PM.

  1. CloudJumper

    CloudJumper Junior Member

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    Howdy y'all, I have a 2010 Prius that begins humming at ~30+ mph. It becomes more noticeable when turning gradually to the right. To the best of my knowledge, it is a failing wheel bearing. It sounds like it is coming from the front passenger wheel but I would like a second opinion just to be sure. I tried jacking the car up and rocking the wheel back and forth, both vertically and horizontally and there was no noise or play. This is where I started doubting my self-diagnosis as most my research suggests that some noise and/or play would likely be present if a bearing is failing. I took it to the dealer and they took it for a test drive, said it was the wheel bearing, and quoted me $1660. Sounds like a quick and easy way to get money out of me.

    Are there any other problems a humming (worst at highway speeds) could be indicative of? Are there any other tests I can perform before fishing out money to replace the front wheel bearings (will be done in pairs). Anything else I should look out for?

    2010 Prius, 240K miles.
     
    #1 CloudJumper, Nov 15, 2024 at 12:40 PM
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    #2 bisco, Nov 15, 2024 at 1:27 PM
    CloudJumper likes this.
  3. CloudJumper

    CloudJumper Junior Member

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    Are you suggesting it's the CV Joint? There is no clicking sound at all, only a constant hum that gets louder and slightly higher pitched at higher speeds. This would suggest the wheel bearing is at fault, however, this article states that wheel bearing noises are more noticeable at lower speeds. No noticeable vibrations can be felt inside the cabin at any speeds, aside from what's typical from the engine running and road conditions. Thank you for including the link to that article.
     
    #3 CloudJumper, Nov 15, 2024 at 1:49 PM
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no, just a possibility. that's why i posted the link
     
    #4 bisco, Nov 15, 2024 at 1:52 PM
  5. CloudJumper

    CloudJumper Junior Member

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    Gotcha, sounds unlikely based on sound description, but not impossible so I will continue to look into this. Thank you so much!
     
    #5 CloudJumper, Nov 15, 2024 at 1:55 PM
  6. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    You're sure it's the passenger side? If the pitch is different/louder while making a right turn, your left tire is covering more distance, so spinning faster vs right tire turning slower...
    I had a similar issue trying to find the failed front wheel bearing on my 4x4 GMC. You did do the proper procedure by checking your tire, but you needed to loosen and push back your CV shaft to find the bad bearing. As soon as I pushed back my CV shaft, it was readily apparent the bearing was failing. The pressure of the CV shaft nut is holding everything together, preventing you from finding play in the bearing hub.

    Hope this helps.....

    PS, shop around - any tire/alignment shop can do this job 4 much cheaper.....
     
    #6 BiomedO1, Nov 15, 2024 at 2:22 PM
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2024 at 2:31 PM
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    At these kind of miles I would just be putting on new hub bearings just because of the mileage right around this mileage somewhere 240 to 300 right in there so if I got a noise and it's worth it for me to fix it that's the first thing I'm doing I have two sets of hubs loaded for the three and the generation to always on the ready loaded with TRQ bearings and a new ball joint a fixed at the bottom it's about 40 minutes aside to drop them on the car maybe at that time it's time to slide in new pads who knows can't see from here 1650 that's a good one but now the TRQ bearings I think I'm paying $90 for a set of two delivered to my door and then I already have the aluminum hubs off of two cars so I have two sets for the two generations of car loaded ready to go so it'll take you 30 more minutes aside to knock out the old screw in the new then hang it back on the car and go plus the other side If that's worth $1,650 to you then by all means it is you'll want to have a battery operated impact half inch drive gun to blast the part the nonsense You hit all those bolts one time till they're loose and then everything's hand tight from there It is really that simple man even a desk pilot can handle it get you some rubber gloves.
     
    #7 Tombukt2, Nov 15, 2024 at 2:43 PM
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