Did my wheel bearing just die?

[AKPS4]

Caught in torrential down pour yesterday in Long Island. Literally heaviest downpour I've seen in 15+ yrs.

Anyways I started to hear a loud humming sound from the front right side. It was first intermittent only when slowing down off the gas. Then after 15 mins it only happened while on the gas. Weird.

Drove today, completely dry and clear out, no noises under any driving condition. Is it possible that heavy rain and puddles can penetrate into the bearing and cause issues? Would be a terrible design if that did happen I would think.

I think I'm going to keep driving occasionally and see if it comes back. It's not my daily so barely drive as it is.

Also, for those who replaced theirs did you go aftermarket or new OEM from Audi? I don't have warranty so now dipping into my reserve that I saved instead of paying for the ridiculous cost of warranty. Can this be a DIY?

[adro830]

I just got my car out of the shop it was making really noticeable noises around 40MPH and it was the front passanger wheel bearing. Look for some of my post, there's videos includes. Hope this helps!!


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[Davido1]

Exactly what you're describing just happened to my driver's side. Wheel bearing was bad


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[StealthBlackA4]

Same exact scenario when my front passenger wheel bearing went in my B8 A4 at 18k miles.

[adro830]

Yup! I had three different techs tell me it was tire noise at cavander audi, I was like "Bro, drive the car for a day! That is not tire noise!" Until I finally got it in there to get fixed and on top of that they took 3 weeks! Bad service...


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[brainpan]

Definitely a bearing and seems fairly common, ive had 2 front bearings fail, one under warranty and another out of pocket. Indy shop charged me 450ish after tax.

IMO don't let the repair wait, I tried to limp home when my first failed and the car became undrivable.

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[Davido1]

Around $400 at an indy shop. $750 at the dealer, they charge 405 for the part. You can buy it online as low as 160.


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[gambera]

Or, you can get it as low as $95 + shipping from these guys

[AKPS4]

What's the difference between the *** and SFK manufacturers. Says SFK is OEM. If OEM fails this quickly I'm reluctant to buy the same one again.

[gambera]

I've read somewhere here on AZ that F A G is the original manufacturer of our wheel bearings (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I'm not sure about SFK. Also, I'm not aware of any aftermarket wheel bearings for A4/S4 etc. It's just cheaper to buy them from vendors than dealership. Genuine audi parts sells them for $223 a piece for example.

Besides, if you frequent around the forum, you'll notice that some wheel bearings fail early 20-40K miles and some, much later 80-100K. Eventually, they fail. That's the information I've gathered by reading. Hopefully someone else will chime in with more knowledge.

[b8audis4]

Looks like both F A G and Febi are OEM.

[AKPS4]

Alrighty. Looked up a few DIYs and doesn't look like it that's bad. And no need for a press so it's certainly do able at home for a savings of a few hundred per side.

[Senseless]

Caught in torrential down pour yesterday in Long Island. Literally heaviest downpour I've seen in 15+ yrs.

Anyways I started to hear a loud humming sound from the front right side. It was first intermittent only when slowing down off the gas. Then after 15 mins it only happened while on the gas. Weird.

This same scenario just happened to me. We've had flooding rain for the past few days and my driver's side front bearing just started humming over 25 mph. Co-incidentaly, I just got a set of new Pirellis and was blaming those. But, my mechanic confirmed it's a front wheel bearing. It changes with hard turns. Just 66,000 miles, so I didn't expect it. Anyway, I'm glad it's not the tires.