[Jessilynn0723]

Hi!
I own a certified pre-owned 2014 Chevy Cruze Lt 1.4L. Don't get me wrong, I love my car so much. It's awesome... but this is just ridiculous. I'm about to have to replace the wheel bearing and hub assembly at only 50,000mi. Has this been an issue for a lot of other Cruze owners? From what I understand, this replacement this early is basically unheard of in most vehicles... I'm just concerned that my car may not have been maintained as well as they told me it was... Or that I'm being too rough with it [hopefully that's not the case as this car is my baby and I try to take as good of care of it as I know how]. Or maybe this should be brought to someones attention for a possible recall on the part it's self. I'm spending money I don't really have on a wheel bearing, pretty upset. Even more upset that it went out only 2,000 miles after my bumper to bumper ran out. :|

 

[Tomko]

Wheel bearings tend to fail if driven over rough road. There's really no maintenance for them on a Cruze.

You could have bought GMPP or GMEPP that would have continued your coverage for more time and miles. But it would have cost you more than $500.

 

[MP81]

Wheel bearings fail, whenever they feel like. This isn't uncommon in...any car, ever since they switched the ball-bearing hub/bearing assemblies, rather than the separate taper bearings which you pack with grease.

Collegue of mine's Dart had the wheel bearing fail at 6,000 miles. THAT is early. 50k miles...meh.

 

[obermd]

One really good pothole hit can damage wheel bearings, resulting in early failure.

 

[jblackburn]

It can happen on any car.

Or they can last 200,000 miles. No telling.

Rough roads or a sideways impact can do a number on them.

 

[revjpeterson]

It's a GM. GM wheel bearings have been a documented weakness for a few decades now. Stop by a NAPA store with an old-school counter man who has been there for several years and knows his business, and ask him about what brand of vehicle he sellsthe most wheel bearing/hub assemblies for. The guys I have known said they sell them for GM 10 to 1 over every other brand combined, including a former dealer service manager. My 6 late 90s and early 2000s Chevy/Oldsmobile/Pontiac cars I owned would go through bearings about every 2 years/30k miles. The fronts are the worst, but I've gone through a set or two of rears as well, on mostly good roads too. Basically, if it's GM, there's a really good chance it will be going through some bearings.

Compare my Jeep on the other hand, which gets the suspension beat to death on a regular basis. I'm nearing 130,000 hard miles (towing, dirt roads, off road, heavy ice/snow, etc.) miles and just about to replace the front bearings for the first time, and probably the only time I will ever do so. My wife's Chrysler van is similar. Same roads that the GM cars have driven, and it's at 174,000 miles. One front bearing is still factory, and the other was only replaced, because it got taken out by a pothole so bad it bent the strut too.

 

[jmlo96]

Hi!
I own a certified pre-owned 2014 Chevy Cruze Lt 1.4L. Don't get me wrong, I love my car so much. It's awesome... but this is just ridiculous. I'm about to have to replace the wheel bearing and hub assembly at only 50,000mi. Has this been an issue for a lot of other Cruze owners? From what I understand, this replacement this early is basically unheard of in most vehicles... I'm just concerned that my car may not have been maintained as well as they told me it was... Or that I'm being too rough with it [hopefully that's not the case as this car is my baby and I try to take as good of care of it as I know how]. Or maybe this should be brought to someones attention for a possible recall on the part it's self. I'm spending money I don't really have on a wheel bearing, pretty upset. Even more upset that it went out only 2,000 miles after my bumper to bumper ran out. :|

If its any consolation, I once saw a 14 Civic need a new wheel bearing at 7,000 miles. 50k depending on the roads you drive on might not be unusual. Also, things should not be recalled on every car just because people don't want to pay to replace them. Cars themselves are essentially a wear item and so are the parts.

 

[obermd]

Hi!
I own a certified pre-owned 2014 Chevy Cruze Lt 1.4L. Don't get me wrong, I love my car so much. It's awesome... but this is just ridiculous. I'm about to have to replace the wheel bearing and hub assembly at only 50,000mi. Has this been an issue for a lot of other Cruze owners? From what I understand, this replacement this early is basically unheard of in most vehicles... I'm just concerned that my car may not have been maintained as well as they told me it was... Or that I'm being too rough with it [hopefully that's not the case as this car is my baby and I try to take as good of care of it as I know how]. Or maybe this should be brought to someones attention for a possible recall on the part it's self. I'm spending money I don't really have on a wheel bearing, pretty upset. Even more upset that it went out only 2,000 miles after my bumper to bumper ran out. :|

Since you bought it used, you have no idea how it was treated by the previous owner. My Pontiac Transport had a wheel bearing go out at 49,995 miles. I traded it at 240,000 miles with no further wheel bearing issues.

 

[boraz]

it sucks.

its likely random.

you and the car will be fine

 

[money_man]

BTW anytime I see a GM product with original wheel bearings @ 60k miles or more I know they're on borrowed time. So 50k miles doesn't seem to out of the question.

 

[UpstateNYBill]

Ehh, my previous daily driver, a 2002 Impala, only had a couple of wheel bearing replaced in 268,000 miles of driving.

My current Cruze is at 194,000 miles now and still has all 4 original wheel bearings.

Upstate NY has lots of potholes too.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Rough roads or a sideways impact can do a number on them.

Or kids who think it's "cool" to have the tires stick way out from the fender.

 

[Alex V.]

"Maintained as well as they told me it was."
"Certified pre-owned"

It's still used. Maybe not-very-used, but used. Maybe GM's eat wheel bearings, but you get what you pay for - avoid the depreciation of buying it brand new and in turn gamble on how good the dealer is at covering up the car's past life.

A friend of a friend asked me to look over an F150 at a classy used car lot a few weeks ago. As the truck was idling, me poking around under the hood, I asked the salesman if the A/C worked - "yes". Go around to the dash and kick it on, walk back to the engine and the compressor isn't engaged. Spent the whole rest of the test drive with the climate control on A/C, never got anything more than ambient temp out of it. After the fact the prospective owner said the salesman admitted, out of my earshot, "the person that traded it in said the air worked".

It's not the sales rep's job to be honest with you... That's why I buy new, buy clean, private owner, accept anything else as box of question marks on four wheels, or treat what I already have like I want it to last 500,000 miles.

 

[beaurrr]

Agreed with the above posters, which is to say, it is what it is. My friend's Honda Pilot had two wheel bearings go at about the same mileage as yours. I've had one or two fail over the years. On the other hand, they can outlast the car, which is also something I've experienced. Probably impossible to tell for sure what the cause is.
One thing you can do that might help over the long term is to replace the bad one with a Timken or SKF bearing. Those are as good as you can buy. If it's not under warranty, skip the dealer. They'll put in the same middling quality bearing that failed and charge you as much for it as for the Timken or SKF bearings.

 

[dhpnet]

I never had to replace the wheel bearings on any GM car I have owned. Well, except for my Saturn, but that was because someone crashed into the back wheel.

 

[Merc6]

The Saturn Vue...... OMG we would buy those in pairs. As for me I lost the BJ somewhere around the same time I lost the trans and got new tires. Same side as the 3rd axle was put on. Believe it was around 40K miles I got the whole LCA after the tire shop confirmed and slid in thier $380 estimate if I didn't have the GMPP.

 

[anthonysmith93]

My 2005 Malibu LS had all original bearings at 193,000 miles when I traded it in.

 

[Chevy Customer Care]

Hi!
I own a certified pre-owned 2014 Chevy Cruze Lt 1.4L. Don't get me wrong, I love my car so much. It's awesome... but this is just ridiculous. I'm about to have to replace the wheel bearing and hub assembly at only 50,000mi. Has this been an issue for a lot of other Cruze owners? From what I understand, this replacement this early is basically unheard of in most vehicles... I'm just concerned that my car may not have been maintained as well as they told me it was... Or that I'm being too rough with it [hopefully that's not the case as this car is my baby and I try to take as good of care of it as I know how]. Or maybe this should be brought to someones attention for a possible recall on the part it's self. I'm spending money I don't really have on a wheel bearing, pretty upset. Even more upset that it went out only 2,000 miles after my bumper to bumper ran out. :|

Hi Jessilynn0723,

I'm terribly sorry to hear of the unexpected issue you have encountered with your Cruze. We welcome the opportunity to connect with the involved dealership to explore possible repair options on your behalf. Please send us a private message with your VIN, contact information, and involved dealership if this is something of interest. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

Jasmine
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[tyrn]

I complained about front end noise at about 50K and the dealership excused it as tire noise... after an engine replacement and trans service I again told them about it... now at 105K, out of warranty, I brought it to an independent shop who confirmed it WAS the wheel bearings ... only aboutr $1K I don't have... he said "when it sounds like your driving a semi you probably ought to park it"... GREAT!... Stokes Chevrolet in Clanton Alabama... you SUCK!... Danny... service manager... do you get this...!!! How many times have I been in there... treated like an idiot... hung up on... and your boss is on a hunting trip... lol...

 

[diesel]

I complained about front end noise at about 50K and the dealership excused it as tire noise... after an engine replacement and trans service I again told them about it... now at 105K, out of warranty, I brought it to an independent shop who confirmed it WAS the wheel bearings ... only aboutr $1K I don't have... he said "when it sounds like your driving a semi you probably ought to park it"... GREAT!... Stokes Chevrolet in Clanton Alabama... you SUCK!... Danny... service manager... do you get this...!!! How many times have I been in there... treated like an idiot... hung up on... and your boss is on a hunting trip... lol...

Wouldn't have been covered anyway. It's a 3/36 item. Been there done that. Mine went out at 60K and I had to pay out of pocket. They specifically excluded wheel bearings from the powertrain warranty.