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0 pointsiancmceachern1y ago0 comments

Bearings, they have bearings

0 comments

Almost every car my family owns is over 200k miles, and we recently got rid of a 290k mile Volvo S80. I do all the work on all of our cars, and I've never had to replace a wheel bearing.

iancmceachernOP1y ago

We usually get 80-100k out of them on them:

https://www.bellandbell.com/service/service-and-parts-tips/h....

I too have had cars that went far longer than this without replacement, but they probably should have been replaced.

Just because you didn't have to, doesn't mean you shouldn't have.

talldatethrow1y ago

If a dealership's marketing says they last 100k, you can be certain they'll go 200k. They don't call them stealerships for nothing.

I'm as good of a mechanic as a diy gets. I've rebuilt entire auto transmissions instead of just sticking in another unit. I've regearied rear ends (which did get interior bearings while there). I do head gaskets as favors to friends.

I'm fairly certain all of my 200k+ mile vehicles have had perfectly safe and functional bearings.

1 more reply

rightbyte1y ago

You got lucky. Wheel bearing failure is usually a damage (pot holes) or manufacturing defect that slowly propagates.

talldatethrow1y ago

That's some great luck. 4 corners * 6+ cars between mine and parents * 200k each. Only advantage I guess could be that it's in California without rust or salt splashing everywhere.

toomuchtodo1y ago

https://www.kbb.com/tesla/wheel-bearing-replacement/

> In theory, wheel bearings could last as long as your Tesla. Unlike oil changes or tire rotations, there’s no standard maintenance schedule for replacing them.

I do not disagree that inspections should be done to ensure things that move between motor and road are in good repair, but all vehicles in the used car market experience this. EVs have less moving parts, less than 20 typically for propulsion, leading to higher reliability.

When was the last time you had your wheel bearings inspected? Probably never. You know when it’s time to replace them when they fail.

kgwgk1y ago

> they’ll last forever

> You know when it’s time to replace [bearings] when they fail.

Fail? They last forever!

toomuchtodo1y ago

Vehicles do occasionally need parts replaced. This does not diminish that these vehicles will last hundreds of thousands of miles cost effectively. The nuance is clear, or so I assumed. Replace parts as needed (either scheduled maintenance or ad hoc), but the powertrain will likely last the life of the vehicle, and that is the material cost concern of a vehicle.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2022/08/01/electric...

> “It’s the complete opposite of what people feared when we first launched EVs—that the batteries would only last a short time,” he reflected.

> It’s clear that most EV batteries will outlast the vehicles they were installed in, and even then, they have a worthwhile second life before they need to be stripped down for recycling.

> “At the end of the vehicle’s life—15 or 20 years down the road—you take the battery out of the car, and it’s still healthy, with perhaps 60 or 70% of usable charge,” said Thomas.

-- Nissan executive Nic Thomas.

(and these are early gen battery pack designs that were, frankly, not very good compared to Tesla's)

1 more reply

iancmceachernOP1y ago

Not true.

Your car will go way out of alignment first. It will handle like crap, and if you try to align it at an alignment shop they won't be able to.

You can easily test yourself, jack the car up, see of there is slop in the wheel.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

talldatethrow1y ago

Almost every car my family owns is over 200k miles, and we recently got rid of a 290k mile Volvo S80. I do all the work on all of our cars, and I've never had to replace a wheel bearing.

iancmceachernOP1y ago

We usually get 80-100k out of them on them:

https://www.bellandbell.com/service/service-and-parts-tips/h....

I too have had cars that went far longer than this without replacement, but they probably should have been replaced.

Just because you didn't have to, doesn't mean you shouldn't have.

talldatethrow1y ago

If a dealership's marketing says they last 100k, you can be certain they'll go 200k. They don't call them stealerships for nothing.

I'm fairly certain all of my 200k+ mile vehicles have had perfectly safe and functional bearings.

1 more reply

rightbyte1y ago

You got lucky. Wheel bearing failure is usually a damage (pot holes) or manufacturing defect that slowly propagates.

talldatethrow1y ago

That's some great luck. 4 corners * 6+ cars between mine and parents * 200k each. Only advantage I guess could be that it's in California without rust or salt splashing everywhere.

toomuchtodo1y ago

https://www.kbb.com/tesla/wheel-bearing-replacement/

> In theory, wheel bearings could last as long as your Tesla. Unlike oil changes or tire rotations, there’s no standard maintenance schedule for replacing them.

When was the last time you had your wheel bearings inspected? Probably never. You know when it’s time to replace them when they fail.

kgwgk1y ago

> they’ll last forever

> You know when it’s time to replace [bearings] when they fail.

Fail? They last forever!

toomuchtodo1y ago

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2022/08/01/electric...

> “It’s the complete opposite of what people feared when we first launched EVs—that the batteries would only last a short time,” he reflected.

> It’s clear that most EV batteries will outlast the vehicles they were installed in, and even then, they have a worthwhile second life before they need to be stripped down for recycling.

> “At the end of the vehicle’s life—15 or 20 years down the road—you take the battery out of the car, and it’s still healthy, with perhaps 60 or 70% of usable charge,” said Thomas.

-- Nissan executive Nic Thomas.

(and these are early gen battery pack designs that were, frankly, not very good compared to Tesla's)

1 more reply

iancmceachernOP1y ago

Not true.

Your car will go way out of alignment first. It will handle like crap, and if you try to align it at an alignment shop they won't be able to.

You can easily test yourself, jack the car up, see of there is slop in the wheel.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse