it is gone at 120K. Thought it could be the tire, so rotated but noise still comes from driver side rear. Car is a daily driver but we do not live in snow belt, so cannot blame it on salt. Replacement $250. Is this an isolated case or there are others? has there been a recall?
Mine started making lots of noise earlier this year at about 80K miles. My local dealer said the right side was very noisy and the left was going out too. I have an extended warranty so the service manager called whoever he calls at Toyota and told them what he had discovered and recommended replacing both sides. Toyota would only pay for the noisiest side and told him to wait on the other side until it got worse. I guess they think I might sell the car or die before the other side freezes up and they would save a few dollars. A surprising decision considering they (Toyota) had not listened to it. I know both sides were noisy because the mechanic let me listen to them but one side was noisier than the other. So they replaced the passenger side, $365, and said keep an eye (ear) on the other side. I will probably replace the driver's side myself if Toyota refuses to do it when I take it back next time.
thnx for the link, it was 216$ shipped. My mechanic thinks that hub was damaged b/c of pothole or curb hit. He also said it is a bad design with 2 ball bearing separated ~1". Unlike the designs which use roller bearings and longer axle, races on these can get easily damaged due to excessive side load. Oh well..
Hi CycloP what kind of noise was it? I have a low hum back there not sure what it is old tires or what.
That's how mine started out and I thought it was the tires so I had them rotated and told the tire guys to check them, they found no tire problems. The noise just kept getting louder until there was no doubt. You may be able to tell if you get the wheels off the ground and rotate them by hand, all you should hear is a gentle scraping noise from the brake pads rubbing against the rotor. The bad bearing makes a kind of grinding or growling noise.
as thumbleweed says if you lift wheel and rotate by hand it you will hear it.. sounds sort of like you have sand in bearing. brake pads give more chirping noise. you can also sit in the back seat while someone drives and the noise will be clearly coming from wheel well. If tires were previously rotated then there is no doubt it is hub. another tale sign to tell bad tire apart if it is noisy at ~25mph and you open windows noise level does not go up.
the only real way to tell if it is bad is when you hear a rumbling noise and, you take the assembly off and turn the hub by hand, it should turn smoothly,otherwise replace it
