1st MOT and a wheel bearing advisory! 17k miles...

Lumeycom · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:39

Car is due to go into the dealers for its 3rd service and I had the MOT done at a known 3rd party garage just in case there were any issues..

Turns out one of the front wheel bearing has some play in it, apparently very minor but its apparent.

Now the question I have is should that be covered under warranty? Personally I wouldn't expect a wheel bearing to be on its way out with just 17k and 3 years on it. I'll ask the question of course but just putting feelers out. The warranty expires at the 3 year point which is the end of this month.

The car is a Seat Ibiza FR that rarely see's more than 10mile trips (hence the low mileage).

helpimcrap · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:46

Wear and tear item. Won't be covered. Check the warranty.

Wheel bearings life vary as it depends how you drive, how often you go over speed bumps and how fast etc.

Mine lasted 97,000miles. But I always slow right down etc and drive like a grandad.

[TW]Fox · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:47

helpimcrap said:
Wear and tear item. Won't be covered. Check the warranty.

Rubbish. This is a sub 3 year old car covered by new car factory warranty. A failed wheel bearing at 17k should be covered.

helpimcrap · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:48

Alternatively get a 2nd opinion. Jack the wheel up and grab top and bottom of wheel, then try to shake. If you can feel a notchy movement it's knackered.

helpimcrap · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:49

[TW]Fox;30184109 said:
Rubbish. This is a sub 3 year old car covered by new car factory warranty. A failed wheel bearing at 17k should be covered.

Never had a new car. I'm just going off knowledge that wear and tear like tyres and brakes etc are not normally covered. I bow to superior knowledge.

Dangerous Dave · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:50

My wife's Mini had one replaced under warranty recently with no issues at around 20k , I suspect it was damaged when she kerbed her alloy.

Jokester · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:51

I've known Audi replace wheel bearings under warranty due to premature failure.

delta0 · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:53

helpimcrap said:
Alternatively get a 2nd opinion. Jack the wheel up and grab top and bottom of wheel, then try to shake. If you can feel a notchy movement it's knackered.

That's a completely broken wheel bearing when it does that. You can detect them earlier by spinning the wheel and listening for a scratchy sound. Unless there is damage to other parts of the suspension suggesting it has had an impact this should be covered at least as good will. Way too early to fail.

Iceman · 6 Nov 2016 at 19:55

It will be covered simple as that.

Lumeycom · 6 Nov 2016 at 20:04

You can feel movement whilst holding the top and bottom of the wheel and rocking it on that axis, its very minor but its there.

I'll see what they say on Wednesday I'm just hoping it wont be an issue

delta0 · 6 Nov 2016 at 20:24

Lumeycom said:
You can feel movement whilst holding the top and bottom of the wheel and rocking it on that axis, its very minor but its there.

I'll see what they say on Wednesday I'm just hoping it wont be an issue

That's well gone then. Not safe to drive on it either when it's moving.

helpimcrap · 6 Nov 2016 at 20:30

Lumeycom said:
You can feel movement whilst holding the top and bottom of the wheel and rocking it on that axis, its very minor but its there.

I'll see what they say on Wednesday I'm just hoping it wont be an issue

That's gone - avoid driving. Should be zero movement. When you are driving you can hear an increase in noise meaning it's on its way out.

Most people who don't know just turn the stereo up and assume it's road noise. Mine sounded like a helicopter taking off before I changed it lol. No movement though.

adolf hamster · 6 Nov 2016 at 20:48

take it to em for warrenty, worst is you'll be in the same position where you started of a dying bearing needing done.

that's impressive for such a low miler, i've only had one wheel bearing go on me and that was after adding 20k to an already 80k car....

Scania · 6 Nov 2016 at 21:00

We've had Scania change a wheel bearing - under warranty - at 340k mikes because the truck was less than four years old and they expected it to last longer(!)

realscot · 7 Nov 2016 at 20:02

The quality of parts on new cars now is heading back to what it was like in the 70's, ok well not the bodywork. Every day i'm surprised by the faults I find at the first MOT on low mileage cars. Broken springs, leaking shock absorbers, failed bushes (seperated from their metal mountings) the list goes on and on. Also, the ones with the most problems are the ones with low miles.
I dunno if they are just cost saving using cheaper materials or if they are now designing them to fail after shorter periods of time to make money in the workship. Things are getting worse, not better, and don't get me started on automotive electrics!

adolf hamster · 7 Nov 2016 at 20:09

Probably cost saving and min/maxing in the engineering, with more advanced engineering and materials knowledge they can design and make stuff just barely good enough, rather than having to over-engineer it because your not sure.

Electrics is another thing, you'd wonder how much lighter new cars would be without all that wiring....

The automotive sector, like any other sector, only gives a damn about the warranty period, if its outside of that then they'd rather it failed safely and needed one of their own dealer garages to fix it.