[JNW1]

My car went in for its EGR recall today and at the same time I also asked the dealer to investigate a slight whine that had developed (road speed rather than engine speed related). They've just come back and said the problem is a wheel bearing and the replacement cost will be £407 (!!) or my £250 excess if it's covered under the extended warranty.

My car's done 62k miles and I've never had a wheel bearing fail before (even on company cars that had done over 100k miles) so I'll be very disappointed if BMW says it's fair wear and tear. I'll just have to wait and see on that but out of interest has anyone else had a wheel bearing fail on an F3x 35d and if so what was the approximate replacement cost if not covered by warranty?

Being honest I'm not 100% convinced it's a wheel bearing as, although I've never had a problem with one myself, I've been in the odd car that was suffering in that regard and the noise was more of a rumble and not at all like the whine I've been experiencing on my car. My theory was that changing the front tyres may have caused the issue on mine as following an uneven wear issue I now have almost brand new ones on the front but fairly well worn tyres on the back; from what I've read that can sometimes cause problems on X-Drive cars so an option might be to change the tyres (which will need doing shortly anyway) and see if the noise disappears. If it does then great but if it doesn't then perhaps the wheel bearing diagnosis is correct and that needs doing as well!

Any thoughts chaps?

[Harryg]

Originally Posted by JNW1

My car went in for its EGR recall today and at the same time I also asked the dealer to investigate a slight whine that had developed (road speed rather than engine speed related). They've just come back and said the problem is a wheel bearing and the replacement cost will be £407 (!!) or my £250 excess if it's covered under the extended warranty.

My car's done 62k miles and I've never had a wheel bearing fail before (even on company cars that had done over 100k miles) so I'll be very disappointed if BMW says it's fair wear and tear. I'll just have to wait and see on that but out of interest has anyone else had a wheel bearing fail on an F3x 35d and if so what was the approximate replacement cost if not covered by warranty?

Being honest I'm not 100% convinced it's a wheel bearing as, although I've never had a problem with one myself, I've been in the odd car that was suffering in that regard and the noise was more of a rumble and not at all like the whine I've been experiencing on my car. My theory was that changing the front tyres may have caused the issue on mine as following an uneven wear issue I now have almost brand new ones on the front but fairly well worn tyres on the back; from what I've read that can sometimes cause problems on X-Drive cars so an option might be to change the tyres (which will need doing shortly anyway) and see if the noise disappears. If it does then great but if it doesn't then perhaps the wheel bearing diagnosis is correct and that needs doing as well!

Any thoughts chaps?

In my experience when wheel bearings whine the noise generally stops when cornering then comes back on again once driving straight

[330XDave]

My thoughts are that £400+ for a wheel bearing is ridiculous!

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Harryg

In my experience when wheel bearings whine the noise generally stops when cornering then comes back on again once driving straight

Makes sense but can't say I recall noticing that; however, haven't got my car at the moment so can't take it out to try to confirm one way or the other!

Originally Posted by 330XDave

My thoughts are that £400+ for a wheel bearing is ridiculous!

I agree and if BMW come back and say it's not covered under warranty I'll be taking it to a local independent to get the work done; can't imagine the part is much more than £100 (if that) so a cost of over £400 implies a serious labour charge!

[Jeff123]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Makes sense but can't say I recall noticing that; however, haven't got my car at the moment so can't take it out to try to confirm one way or the other!



I agree and if BMW come back and say it's not covered under warranty I'll be taking it to a local independent to get the work done; can't imagine the part is much more than £100 (if that) so a cost of over £400 implies a serious labour charge!

I would do this.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Makes sense but can't say I recall noticing that; however, haven't got my car at the moment so can't take it out to try to confirm one way or the other!



I agree and if BMW come back and say it's not covered under warranty I'll be taking it to a local independent to get the work done; can't imagine the part is much more than £100 (if that) so a cost of over £400 implies a serious labour charge!

I think the genuine OEM ones are around £200, but you can get cheaper replacement ones for around £100 that would do the same job

[330Stevie]

Can’t see why it won’t be covered if you have comprehensive warranty with bmw? Covers w&t upto 100k

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Hooded

I think the genuine OEM ones are around £200, but you can get cheaper replacement ones for around £100 that would do the same job

Ok, £200 for the part - which in itself seems a lot - makes a total cost of £400 a little easier to understand given the labour rates main dealers charge; however, if it's not covered under warranty I won't be paying that and the car will be going to an independent!

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Can’t see why it won’t be covered if you have comprehensive warranty with bmw? Covers w&t upto 100k

However he's still got £250 excess to pay. Indy garage might do it for £160 with non OEM part?

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Can’t see why it won’t be covered if you have comprehensive warranty with bmw? Covers w&t upto 100k

Good to know, thanks!

Originally Posted by Hooded

However he's still got £250 excess to pay. Indy garage might do it for £160 with non OEM part?

I think my local independent tends to use OEM parts so being honest I doubt he'd charge less than the £250 excess on the warranty assuming the part is indeed the best part of £200.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Good to know, thanks!



I think my local independent tends to use OEM parts so being honest I doubt he'd charge less than the £250 excess on the warranty assuming the part is indeed the best part of £200.

The BMW specialist I use gives you the choice (OEM parts are always used unless specified not to).

Personally for things like wheel bearings, wheel sensors, brake pads, wiper blades etc I don't think you need to use OEM as long as the parts are branded quality ones.
Note: I would always use Genuine OEM parts for anything engine related/main drivetrain related

[Harryg]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Ok, £200 for the part - which in itself seems a lot - makes a total cost of £400 a little easier to understand given the labour rates main dealers charge; however, if it's not covered under warranty I won't be paying that and the car will be going to an independent!

I would think that BMW as a lot of companies do is source the bearings from another manufacturer then add their 50% on for handling etc. Getting a bearing from a reputable manufacturer will halve the price and you will properbly get the job done for the price of bearing only at BMW

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Hooded

The BMW specialist I use gives you the choice (OEM parts are always used unless specified not to).

Personally for things like wheel bearings, wheel sensors, brake pads, wiper blades etc I don't think you need to use OEM as long as the parts are branded quality ones.
Note: I would always use Genuine OEM parts for anything engine related/main drivetrain related

Originally Posted by Harryg

I would think that BMW as a lot of companies do is source the bearings from another manufacturer then add their 50% on for handling etc. Getting a bearing from a reputable manufacturer will halve the price and you will properbly get the job done for the price of bearing only at BMW

Thanks for your input chaps, will see what the dealer has to say in the morning!

However, having thought about it, even if it's covered under warranty I'm leaning towards taking the car back and replacing the rear tyres to see if that solves the problem. If it does then no wheel bearing replacement is necessary but if it doesn't I'll then have a chance to confirm what my independent would charge prior to re-booking at the main dealer.

[Jeff123]

I once ran some Falkens down to 2mm of tread and for the last year or so the whine became increasingly louder. Sounded just like a wheel bearing. As you say, if the tyres are nearing the end of their life maybe that’s the way to go first.

[330Stevie]

Just bear in mind if you go Indy route and then have a drive train/transmission type fault at a later date you may have a slightly harder job claiming if you used non oem parts.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Just bear in mind if you go Indy route and then have a drive train/transmission type fault at a later date you may have a slightly harder job claiming if you used non oem parts.

No he won't.. because they won't take the wheel bearing out and check if it's OEM or not if his engine explodes or gear box goes

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Jeff123

I once ran some Falkens down to 2mm of tread and for the last year or so the whine became increasingly louder. Sounded just like a wheel bearing. As you say, if the tyres are nearing the end of their life maybe that’s the way to go first.

That's interesting and has confirmed I'm going to do the tyres first! The rears aren't as low as 2mm but are probably down to 3mm (and therefore less than half what's on the fronts as they're nearly new).

[330Stevie]

Originally Posted by Hooded

No he won't.. because they won't take the wheel bearing out and check if it's OEM or not if his engine explodes or gear box goes

If he has rear diff issues or something then wheels will come off and they will have noted previous wheel bearing flagged up. It’s very unlikely to be fair but just worth pointing out.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

If he has rear diff issues or something then wheels will come off and they will have noted previous wheel bearing flagged up. It’s very unlikely to be fair but just worth pointing out.

However if it has no bearing (excuse the pun) on the fault it goes in for repair they cant really refuse any warranty claim.

[Harryg]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Thanks for your input chaps, will see what the dealer has to say in the morning!

However, having thought about it, even if it's covered under warranty I'm leaning towards taking the car back and replacing the rear tyres to see if that solves the problem. If it does then no wheel bearing replacement is necessary but if it doesn't I'll then have a chance to confirm what my independent would charge prior to re-booking at the main dealer.

I would say if your dealer doesn't know the difference between tyre noise and wheel bearings you need to change dealers

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Harryg

I would say if your dealer doesn't know the difference between tyre noise and wheel bearings you need to change dealers

You're right but in fairness I might change the tyres only to find the dealer was correct all along because the noise is still there!

However, my logic is the tyres need doing shortly anyway so by changing them now I won't lose anything; if the noise disappears then great and I've avoided any more hassle and expense with the wheel bearing but if it doesn't I then have to bite the bullet and have that replaced.

If I do it the other way round - and replace the wheel bearing only to find the noise is still there - I'm then in a potential argument with the dealer unless they're going to give me a 100% guarantee in advance that the noise will disappear once the wheel bearing has been replaced or my money back if it doesn't. If they're confident in their diagnosis I suppose they should be prepared to offer that but not so sure they will!

[kzg1969]

I had a front left wheel bearing replaced recently on my 1year old car under warranty. It did however have a rather large hit on a pothole.

you dont just replace the bearing, you also replace the hub (why i do not know, but this is the way it is on this car) and hence the price of the part.

my symptoms were EXACTLY the opposite of what i have experienced on other cars - turn left and noise gets worse AND faster. Turn right and it gets slower and disappears.