Cost to replace a front wheel bearing?

The cost will probably be around $500 at a dealer, a little less at an independent, but call around and see for yourself what your local prices are.

I think the hardest part of replacing the front wheel bearing is 1) removing the axle nut and 2) not screwing up the skid control ECU with bogus DTC codes and having the front disk piston shoot out of the caliper.

Regarding 1), maybe you can ask your independent shop to loosen the axle nut using their impact wrench. Regarding 2), disconnect the 12V auxiliary battery before you start working on the car.

If you are serious about DIY then I recommend you download the relevant repair manual info at techinfo.toyota.com so that you can see what is involved and decide whether you would be in over your head or not. Your personal safety is at risk when working on suspension and brake parts, so I encourage you to do your homework before you decide this is a job that you can do.

 

Yes, especially if you first bend up the portion of the axle nut that is depressed into an indentation in the axle shaft (for locking purposes.)

 

That's a good price. I paid $410 a side at an independent mechanic. I paid $280 for each bearing. Did both to be done with it.

 

This was all very helpful. I know these repairs took place 4 years ago but a nat'l chain tire shop wants to charge me over $1000 for the front assembly.

 

If your bearings are not in immediate need of repair and you can not do the work yourself, there is an alternative. You can purchase OEM hub/bearing assemblies from on online source, bring them to the dealer and let them do the install. There has been a steep increase in price in the last 5 years. In 2009, I could get the hub/bearing unit for a little over 60. Currently, the list price is $183.62 per unit. One of the sites I contacted listed a discount price of $135.78.

 

I just replaced both front wheel bearings on my 2006 Prius. I decided to buy new knuckles, lower ball joints, bearings, brake dust covers, bearing dust covers, and wheel bearing mounting bolts. Total cost for the parts was around $1050. I could have taken it to the dealership and had just the bearings replaced without all the extra parts and it would have cost me about the same. I didn't save any $$, but I made sure the job was done right and changed out more parts than the dealer would have.

 

Holy crap, i just paid $895. to replace one at my local Toyota dealer. Upon driving home I realized the other one is making the same noise. Don't think I'll take it to the dealer for this one.

 

Another means to save is to buy the OEM parts online and have them installed by an independent shop.

 

price update: Sept 2016 dealer charged $213 for the hub & Bearing assy and $257.50 to install on my 2006. This was the second time around for the right bearing, but the first time about 3 years ago and at a different dealership, out the door cost was about $800.

 

Just an update....
I called a local dealer here in southeast Michigan and the cost was:
$231 part cost for each wheel bearing assembly
$330 labor for one side
If I wanted to get both front wheel bearings replaced by the dealer, it would cost me over $1100 + tax. Ouch.

 

In my experience, it hasn't been necessary to use impact to loosen that nut. It is tightened to a respectable 150-ish foot pounds IIRC, but doesn't really get seized on there or anything. Unstake the staked place (Schley Products makes a nice little tool just for that), a socket, breaker bar, and nice length of pipe will back it off in very civilized fashion, without transmitting any impact whacks back into the CV joint.

Definitely unstake the nut first. While it might be possible to brute-force it off still staked, Toyota's pretty clear about not doing that.

If the car's on jackstands or the like, watch how you line up the breaker bar / pipe. Horizontal, so you can push the end straight down, is good. Some other angle, where you end up pulling forward or backward on the jacked-up car? Less good.