How to Determine if a Car Bearing is Faulty?
2 Answers
How to identify wheel bearing damage: 1. Roll down the window and listen to determine if the noise originates outside the vehicle. 2. Increase the vehicle speed (when the humming sound is more pronounced), then shift to neutral and let the car coast, observing whether the noise comes from the engine. If the humming sound remains unchanged while coasting in neutral, it's likely a wheel bearing issue. 3. Make a temporary stop, exit the vehicle, and check if the axle temperature is normal by touching each of the four wheel hubs to roughly gauge if their temperatures are consistent (under normal brake shoe/pad clearance conditions, there's a temperature difference between front and rear wheels, with the front wheels being slightly hotter). If the temperature difference seems negligible, proceed slowly to a repair shop. 4. Lift the car using a lift (after releasing the handbrake and shifting to neutral). In the absence of a lift, use a jack to raise each wheel individually, then manually rotate all four wheels quickly. A faulty axle will produce distinctly different sounds compared to others, making this method highly effective for pinpointing the problematic axle.
If you hear a humming noise from the wheel area while driving, and the noise gets louder as the speed increases, it's likely a bad wheel bearing. Especially when turning, if the noise changes—such as hearing it on the right when turning left or on the left when turning right—you can pinpoint which side the bearing is failing. Additionally, if the steering wheel starts shaking noticeably and the car feels unstable while driving, almost as if the tires are misaligned, these could also be signs of bearing wear. For safety, don’t delay if you notice these symptoms; get to a repair shop promptly. If the bearing fails completely and the wheel locks up, it could be very dangerous.
