Wheel bearing problems

[Romaldho]

Hello all

I have a year old 320CD Sport Convertible which I dropped off at a dealership today as there was excess noise in the cabin. They have informed me that BOTH rear wheel bearings need replacing. The car has only done 21000 miles. Has anyone else had these problems as this seems unusual? Also, the dealership reckons both rear tyres need replacing. Is 21000 miles what you would expect from rear tyres? Sounds quite low to me as the majority of them have been on motorways.

Cheers....

[Snail]

Hi Dude. What size wheels have you got?

Larger wheels tend to kill bearings quicker, my last set of bearings in my A4 (not exactly a beemer, but you get the idea) lasted about 15k with 18s

[kerbside]

Snail is right. Big alloys play havoc with wheel bearings. If the wheels are much bigger than the standard ones they can affect the suspension geometry which is probably what caused the premature wear. When you get new rubber get them to check the 4 wheel alignment with the new tyres otherwise your car will do the same to the new ones.

[A2TDI]

I have had 2 new WB's on the N/S/R on my E46 Coupe.

[PeterS]

Welcome! As your car is only a year or so old, I'd expect the wheel bearings to be covered under warranty, unless you've changed to non standard wheels. If you have, as others have said, this could cause additional wear on the bearings and so BMW would be unlikely to pick up the tab. As for tyres, 21,000 miles doesn't seem that bad to me for the rears; the ones on my 5 are over half worn at 11,000 miles...

HTH

Peter