~20k miles, needs driver front wheel bearing already... fluke?

[mckennar]

2016 Trail, completely stock, never driven off road where 4x4 was required. Under 20k miles, 90% highway. Hasn't rained significantly here in a while, in other words we've not done any water crossings or puddles deeper than 2 - 3" since we bought it in June. We are not in a dusty environment.

FWIW, tire wear with the stock AT20s has been dismal, but it's even and we rotate every 5k while changing oil.

Starting around 30 - 40mph, we get a bearing growl from the left (d-side) front. More pronounced if you change lanes to the right and load up the left front bearing. Changing lanes to the left, i.e. unloading the left front, the noise disappears. Rotated tires, re-torqued lugs, noise remains. Louder under braking or while "porpoise-ing" after a dip in the road.

My shitbox Subarus would eat wheel bearings every 30k - 40k miles, but I've not yet had to replace one in a 4Runner or any of my Toyota pickups below 200k miles.

I've done quite a bit of searching on here, and it seems like this is a fluke and not at all a common problem... anyone care to chime in with their experiences? We plan on keeping this thing for a good long time (I've never let go of a 4Runner or Toyota truck without first hitting at least 250k miles) and if these are a 20k - 30k wear item... well then I guess I'm going to have to tool-up once the warranty expires, because I love this thing (more importantly, the wife loves this thing) and front wheel bearings once a year aren't going to prevent us from keeping it until 200-300k.

 

[MeefZah]

I've done quite a bit of searching on here, and it seems like this is a fluke and not at all a common problem... anyone care to chime in with their experiences? We plan on keeping this thing for a good long time (I've never let go of a 4Runner or Toyota truck without first hitting at least 250k miles) and if these are a 20k - 30k wear item... well then I guess I'm going to have to tool-up once the warranty expires, because I love this thing (more importantly, the wife loves this thing) and front wheel bearings once a year aren't going to prevent us from keeping it until 200-300k.

It is a common problem, not a fluke. 20k is a little early but not unheard of. Seems a lot go around 40-60k. I'm at 50k and my passenger one is going. Same symptoms as what you describe.

There's even an entire aftermarket community devoted to selling stand alone hub / new bearing assemblies that bolt on (since the bearings are pressed in, and can be a PITA for the garage mechanic).

You should be under warranty still, but be prepared for douchebaggery on the part of the Toyota dealer.

 

[amalik]

5th gen problems.

Sad to see Toyota quality declining so much.

 

[mckennar]

You should be under warranty still, but be prepared for douchebaggery on the part of the Toyota dealer.

What kind of douchebaggery might I be in for? The appointment is this Friday. We're covered for another 15 - 20k at least on the factory warranty.

I searched and found a bunch of info for 4th gens, only one or two threads about 5th gens (do they share the same hub assembly?). Looks like my google-fu is weakening with my age. Do you have a company name?

 

[00Sebby]

My driver side wheel bearing went out at 65k miles. That was a surprise to me as most vehicles I've had go well into 150k range before it ever becomes an issue and most never did go bad even past 200k, including multiple Jeeps. Either a poor design or bad supplier I guess.

 

[Engineer]

I am going to disagree with the posts above, while wheel bearing failures have happened I would never go as far to say its a common problem or "something to watch out for" when searching for a used 4Runner. It happens yes, but its not a common issue in the opinion of this post troll.

Good luck getting it fixed, shouldn't be a major issue.

If I remember I will try to find the link on my home computer for the guy that makes them for the 4th gens/Tacoma's. Bookmarked it as I am trying everything possible to shorten the life of my bearings

 

[BLACK-FL4RUNNER]

If I remember I will try to find the link on my home computer for the guy that makes them for the 4th gens/Tacoma's. Bookmarked it as I am trying everything possible to shorten the life of my bearings

This one?

Blue Pit Bearings | 2003-2014 Toyota 4runner 4x4

 

[bcolts]

Had replaced both sides in front twice on my 4th gen with 273,000 miles, but had always heard, along with brake calipers, it was largely a 4th gen problem. My new to me 5th gen LE came with 138,000 miles and extensive service records and no bearing replacements. 147,000 miles currently and no rumbling or pulling. I guess it's self serving, but I'm calling "fluke".

 

[MeefZah]

4th, 5th, and 2nd gen Tacos use the same hub. Search the 5th gen 4r forum for "wheel bearings" and get back to me on fluke or not. Some people have replaced them 2 or 3 times in 100k.

I would assume MOST people don't have enough miles yet on the 5th gen but the ones that do are seeing failure at the same rate as the 2nd gen Tacos and the 4th gen 4R. The older 5th gen with the most mileage seem to be prone. Antman I believe is on his 3rd set (I didn't look, so I could be recalling that wrong).

 

[MeefZah]

Here's one of at least two guys, not bluepitbearings, who are selling on TW and 4runners.com:

https://www.4runners.com/threads/4th-5th-gen-front-hub-assemblies-4x4-4x2.154/

 

[1engineer]

4th, 5th, and 2nd gen Tacos use the same hub. Search the 5th gen 4r forum for "wheel bearings" and get back to me on fluke or not. Some people have replaced them 2 or 3 times in 100k.

I would assume MOST people don't have enough miles yet on the 5th gen but the ones that do are seeing failure at the same rate as the 2nd gen Tacos and the 4th gen 4R. The older 5th gen with the most mileage seem to be prone. Antman I believe is on his 3rd set (I didn't look, so I could be recalling that wrong).

I searched. I found six. Five of the six are modded with different offset wheels, larger tires and/or wheel spacers. Every single one of these mods changes the bearing load and reduces life.

Now, Toyota has sold a half million 5th gen 4Runners. Pretty much anyone who has a problem comes here to ask questions and solve problems. Again, six is all I could find. Do you have a different website you go to? Where, you can find 5000 5th gen 4Runners that have wheel bearing issues? If you don't want to do the math that would be 1% failure rate.

Even driving only 10K/yr the 2010 models would now have 60K on them. There are many out there over 100K.

Now, next week there might be a bunch of guys that start reporting wheel bearing failures. Who knows. Up to now though there have only been a few. My point is don't post something that is not true.

 

[bcolts]

4th, 5th, and 2nd gen Tacos use the same hub. Search the 5th gen 4r forum for "wheel bearings" and get back to me on fluke or not. Some people have replaced them 2 or 3 times in 100k.

I would assume MOST people don't have enough miles yet on the 5th gen but the ones that do are seeing failure at the same rate as the 2nd gen Tacos and the 4th gen 4R. The older 5th gen with the most mileage seem to be prone. Antman I believe is on his 3rd set (I didn't look, so I could be recalling that wrong).

OK, I guess put my fluke vote down as self serving and HOPEFUL.

 

[jtc44]

4th, 5th, and 2nd gen Tacos use the same hub. Search the 5th gen 4r forum for "wheel bearings" and get back to me on fluke or not. Some people have replaced them 2 or 3 times in 100k.



I would assume MOST people don't have enough miles yet on the 5th gen but the ones that do are seeing failure at the same rate as the 2nd gen Tacos and the 4th gen 4R. The older 5th gen with the most mileage seem to be prone. Antman I believe is on his 3rd set (I didn't look, so I could be recalling that wrong).

Sure, but this forum isn't representative of the over 300,000 5th Gen 4Runners on the road. Not to mention that the forum enthusiast is probably often more likely to modify their vehicle (wheels with more back spacing and/or wheel spacers, heavier tires, etc.) I agree with [MENTION=96008]Engineer[/MENTION]; fluke or not, it's not "common." Especially in the case of the OP with a totally stock vehicle under 20k.

 

[Antman]

The older 5th gen with the most mileage seem to be prone. Antman I believe is on his 3rd set (I didn't look, so I could be recalling that wrong).

I have replaced 3- here are my thoughts on that...

I'm fairly certain they went bad due to splashing through mud puddles at speed off-road. I also ran spacers before I purchased my wheels.

One of the failures was completely my fault because I wasn't aware that you should replace the seal behind the upright to complete the repair. If that seal is bad your bearing won't last more than a year - mine was in pieces...

Easy enough job once you know the shortcuts!

 

[MeefZah]

Now, Toyota has sold a half million 5th gen 4Runners. Pretty much anyone who has a problem comes here to ask questions and solve problems. Again, six is all I could find. Do you have a different website you go to? Where, you can find 5000 5th gen 4Runners that have wheel bearing issues? If you don't want to do the math that would be 1% failure rate.

Now, next week there might be a bunch of guys that start reporting wheel bearing failures. Who knows. Up to now though there have only been a few. My point is don't post something that is not true.

There's four in this thread. OP, me, Antman (twice, though he admits he messed up the install one time), bcolts (twice, though he has 200k+). What's the percentage of that?

And "not true"? Did you take a look at the TW forum regarding the same wheel bearings we have? Did you look through the sale ad I linked and note the number of late 4th gen and early 5th gen owners who are ordering bearings?

I'm not calling it the most defining automotive crisis since the Pinto explosions. I'm not even saying it's a big deal. I'm saying there's more wheel bearing failures on those models than what is "normal". "Normal" to me is never having to replace a wheel bearing - I've never had to do that on any vehicle I've ever owned (motorcycles excluded). I'm arguing with the dealership about repairing mine but if they don't, I'll bolt on an aftermarket, pre-assembled hub and not give a shit.

In summary, it's not abnormal for them to fail, ergo it is not a fluke.

 

[MeefZah]

Search:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/customsearch/?q=wheel+bearing

Granted not every thread in the TEN pages of threads is about wheel bearings gone bad, but many are. These are the same hubs and bearings in the 5th gen 4R.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

That's it I am selling this POS tomorrow.

As Is (to protect myself from liability). 7K miles, doubt it will make it to 20K with these earth shattering events unfolding.

Cash only. $10K OBO. LOL

 

[1engineer]

There's four in this thread. OP, me, Antman (twice, though he admits he messed up the install one time), bcolts (twice, though he has 200k+). What's the percentage of that?

And "not true"? Did you take a look at the TW forum regarding the same wheel bearings we have? Did you look through the sale ad I linked and note the number of late 4th gen and early 5th gen owners who are ordering bearings?

I'm not calling it the most defining automotive crisis since the Pinto explosions. I'm not even saying it's a big deal. I'm saying there's more wheel bearing failures on those models than what is "normal". "Normal" to me is never having to replace a wheel bearing - I've never had to do that on any vehicle I've ever owned (motorcycles excluded). I'm arguing with the dealership about repairing mine but if they don't, I'll bolt on an aftermarket, pre-assembled hub and not give a shit.

In summary, it's not abnormal for them to fail, ergo it is not a fluke.

Modded vehicles puts the failure on someone else's shoulders instead of Toyota, unless you believe Toyota should have designed it for additional loads caused by modding...

Yours is modded right? And that's Toyota's problem how?

 

[mckennar]

Hey folks. Didn't mean to kick the hornet's nest, but I appreciate all of the insight regardless of the position. Thanks for the links / info re: aftermarket bearings, I'll strap on my thinking toque sometime this weekend and do some research if the dealer gives me any flak about replacing the bearings under warranty this Friday.

I also want to comment that my 3rd gens and 1st gens have all been modded (suspension, wheels, tires, etc) and wheeled, in some cases very hard very often, and I've seen excellent mileage out of the wheel bearings. I am of the opinion that the front end components of (at least) the 3rd gen were quite over-engineered / overbuilt for the application.

I'm not the type to condemn a vehicle for minor vices like this (I've owned VWs, Audis AND an RX-8, and I LIKED the punishment). If wheel hub assemblies every 30 - 60k are in my future so be it. Unlike my Subarus, the rest of this vehicle is worth the time expenditure.

Oh and FWIW we've put almost 20k on the thing since buying it new in June. We typically put 30-40k/yr on our cars. This is the first issue aside from tire wear that we've had with it so far. Everything else exceeds expectations.

 

[MeefZah]

Modded vehicles puts the failure on someone else's shoulders instead of Toyota, unless you believe Toyota should have designed it for additional loads caused by modding...

Yours is modded right? And that's Toyota's problem how?

Not trying to make this about me, but, at the time the bearing started to go, the "mods" consisted of Firestone Destination AT tires in a larger size.

OP is stock.