How Much Does a Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost?

A worn wheel bearing announces itself as a drone or hum that rises with road speed, not engine speed, and changes when you steer one way or the other. Left alone it gets louder, loosens the wheel, eats the tyre, confuses the ABS and eventually fails, which is dangerous. The cost of replacing one depends mostly on how the bearing is fitted on your car, and to a lesser degree on which corner it is and what else is found while the hub is apart. This guide explains the difference so a quote makes sense.

Norwich Tyres & Auto Service · 2 min read · Reviewed 18 September 2026

Hub Unit or Pressed Bearing

• Bolt-on hub unit. Most modern cars have the bearing built into a complete hub that unbolts from the knuckle, often with the ABS sensor built in. The part costs more, but the labour is short and predictable.
• Pressed-in bearing. On many older and smaller cars the bearing is pressed into the hub carrier. The bearing itself is cheap, but the carrier has to come off, the old bearing be pressed out and the new one pressed in with the correct tooling, and seized components on a Norfolk-salted car can add time.
• Rear beam bearings. On some small cars the rear bearing sits in the brake drum or a stub axle and is one of the quicker jobs.

The same fault on two different cars can therefore be a short job with a dearer part or a longer job with a cheaper part. We tell you which your car is before quoting.

What Else Affects the Price

• Front or rear, driven or not. Front bearings on a front-wheel-drive car involve the driveshaft and usually take longer.
• ABS sensor. Built into many hub units; if separate, it is checked and sometimes replaced if it has been damaged by the failing bearing.
• Seized hub bolts, driveshaft nuts and carriers, common on cars that live near the coast.
• Collateral damage. A bearing left droning for months can wear the hub carrier, the driveshaft splines or the tyre unevenly, each of which adds to the bill.
• Part quality. We fit branded bearings from the original equipment makers; a cheap bearing often fails within a year.

Is It the Bearing or the Tyre?

A cupped or feathered tyre makes a very similar noise, and so does a worn CV joint or differential. We road-test, then check for play, roughness and heat at each hub, and inspect the tyres, so you do not pay for a bearing when the noise was a tyre. Read the wheel bearing noise guide for how to tell them apart, and see suspension and steering repair for the work itself.

How We Quote It

Give us the registration and describe the noise. We confirm which corner and whether it is a hub unit or a pressed bearing, then quote the part and the labour on your car, with the alignment checked afterwards where the geometry was disturbed. Call 07933 900901; nothing is done without your approval, and the work carries our 3-month / 3,000-mile guarantee.

How to Get an Honest Quote

Get a Quote  ►