I took my car to the dealer within two months of purchasing it (after I had taken it another repair shop--being told that the bearings needed to be replaced). The dealer told me that it was most likely my bearings but that for the time being they were only going to rotate my tires. Now the dealership is telling me that my tires are worn and that I need to replace all four tires. My car had 20K miles on it when I bought it with this tire issue. Thanks for any advice!!!
If the tires need to be replaced, replace them. If the bearing(s) are bad replace them too. When you are done, kick yourself for not having the vehicle inspected before you purchased it like you should have.
yes it will wear out the tire on one side of it.The cause of this is the bearing and you'll have to buy four new tires for your new wheel alignment.
30,000 miles? should have been taken care of under warranty? tires really shouldn't cause premature bearing failure, unless they are way out of balance causing shaking. The bearings might not have been worn enough to be noticed when the new tires were put on. Perhaps your new tires run quieter so you hear more noises that were hushed by the noisy cheap tires you had previously?
It does not seem as though no one can know for sure that the bearings are out. They are easy to pack and replace. If the bearings are no good a lot of things could happen. You could ruin tires you cou ruin the race or the spindle. The bearings are not that expensive and you can buy the grease that would last for ever.
Depending on the make of vehicle some wheel bearings are sealed units(called hubs) and cannot be re-packed but have to be completely replaced as one unit.Again depending on the make of the vehicle ,bad wheel bearings don't always affect tire wear.Improper alignment usually causes uneven tire wear.To find out if the tires are the original from factory,look at the sidewall of the tire and find the size designation (e.g. 225/55/16).Right above these numbers you will see the following TPC SPEC and a few numbers if the tires are factory originals. Alot of dealers consider alignment as a maintenance item and expect you to pay for it.A good dealer who values your business can do the alignment under warranty. If the vehicle still has the bumper to bumper warranty ,the wheel bearings should be a warranty item,especially if they have truly failed already. Don't be afraid to challenge a dealer.A good dealer will always work with a customer to make them happy.You don't have to buy a car from them but they need to sell you one.
