Rep Power: 0

I have an 05 Civic, bought new, that has a problem with front wheel bearings. At less than 30,000 miles it started a hum, sounded kind of like a low tire. I was 600+ miles from home. By the time I got home it was over 30K, out of warranty. I've heard it's hard to get Honda to fix anything on their dime so I didn't try. The fix i finally found was to change the left front bearing. The guy that pressed it out said the bearing looked good but the noise was completely gone when I put it back together. Defective bearing I figured. Less than 5,000 more miles and the same thing right bearing this time. I'm thinking bad batch of bearings.

Now with 58,000 on the clock I have the noise again. I think it's the left again. The noise changes with speed, the loudest at 50-55 mph. It doesn't matter turn, straight, brake or accelerate. The original tires are on the front so I don't think it's an alignment problem and it's not driven hard or abused. It takes over 1000 miles before the noise gets bad enough that I know which side to work on. The hum is noticeable, not my imagination, easy twice as much as normal road noise, switching tires makes no difference.

I ran it by the head mechanic at the Honda dealer. He asked if I used Honda replacement bearings (I didn't, I used Timkens). He suggested that I replace both steering knuckles and bearings. I said I thought the axles would be more likely since they move. He agreed but said they cost more so try the knuckle first. I'd be more inclined to replace the bearing and sell the car than to try easter egging it.

I haven't found anything online about 05s having a front wheel bearing problem, only 06 and later. Most of the people I talk to draw a blank when I remind them that the tires are the originals, should wear out long before 3 bearings. Has anybody seen this before?

Thanks in advance

 
Rep Power: 308

My 05 had a noisy passenger front right from the start, thought it was the RE92s until they were replaced at 42k and the noise was still present. 115k and still o.k.

 
Rep Power: 0

Replace the whole knuckle (junk yard), I believe there is a speed ring in there too that makes contact with the axle, it may not have been replaced properly. Timkens are fine replacement wheel bearings, I have them on the front of my car. Are there inner and outer races on an '05? I wouldnt think your axle would be the issue.

 
Rep Power: 0

I have the Civic VP. It came with Dunlop SP20 FEs, lots of road noise. I don't know how much further it would go if I didn't change the bearings out but I really doubt an extra 1000 miles and they would get very loud.

I can't wrap my head around how the knuckle could be bad and ruining the bearing, if everything is tight and aligned. The bearing is a sealed unit (inner, outer race, 2 rows of bearings and seals), pressed out and in. It is a very tight fit and a circlip holds it in the knuckle and the axle nut holds the hub in the bearing. I don't know anything about a speed ring. I'll try to see if can find the bad knuckle ruined bearing connection since I have 2 votes for that.

 
Rep Power: 0

I've been reading. I have found the big 4 enemies of bearings are; lack of lube, water, dirt and impacts (potholes). I don't think any of those apply to my case. I'm box stock and don't race, check those off. I do need to be extra, double careful when I torque the axle nut this time. If the bearings are damaged when they're pressed in they don't last 30,000 miles. The cases I've seen where the knuckle is at fault, it's because it wears on the seal (certain Jeep models on the right side) or it's not holding the bearing firmly, also not my case. Any ideas out there? Do I need to replace bearings until I luck into 2 good ones?

I do have a Isuzu Rodeo that had 4 warped brake rotors at less than 3000 miles. The dealer turned all 4 and said the wheels were put on wrong at the factory. I was worried it would be an ongoing problem but at 140,000+ it hasn't happened again. I'm scratching my head on that one too.

 
Rep Power: 0

I got an email from this forum asking what's been going on with me. In a nutshell I still have the problem I came here with. The noise finally got bad enough I could pinpoint it to the left front. I replaced only the bearing, using a bolt and washers to press it in. I don't know if I found that procedure here or another Civic forum. I can see that using a shop press would be better if (big if) it is done properly. This time I borrowed a torque wrench from Autozone to torque to 134 ft/lbs instead of maxing out mine to 100 ft/lbs and guessing from there. The bearing does have a two piece inner race but I don't think the spindle nut preloads it. 134 ft/lbs would be a whole lot of preload on a bearing.

Before I changed the bearing, there was at least triple the normal road noise and a vibration you could feel in the steering wheel. The bearing I took out looks perfect in every way, ***** and races are shiny smooth, plenty of clean looking grease. I do have a little abnormal noise still. I suspect the other bearing is beginning to make noise. The bearing noise has always been less when you first start driving the car. After a couple of blocks, it gets as loud as it is going to and then there is slight variation from there. It starts at about 20 mph and is the worst at 50 to 55. It will get louder if it is driven at continuous highway speeds, not by a lot and it maxes out after 10 minutes.

I've run this by a lot of people. Most people have no answer. Some suggest an alignment problem until I remind them I still have the original tires on the front at 59,000 miles. From there it's easter egg it until something works. That would be easier for me to go with if it was one side. For instance, if I go with steering knuckles, that means I got a bad left and right knuckle (they are different) but I haven't found that this is a problem anyone else is having. What are the odds I got a bad right and left knuckle if there are very few of either out there?

I haven't tried contacting American Honda about this. Has anybody had any luck getting help from them? Other than that I have been thinking I need to run this by an experienced alignment person. It is tempting to replace that car with a Nissan Versa. It seems I'm always suspicious of one bearing or another, hoping it won't self-destruct.

I think the bearings are going from close to zero tolerance to slight tolerance, not much chance they'll fail but, they do make noise. Does everybody else turn up their radio and live with it? Does anybody have a cure?