What is the sound of a broken tire bearing? How to distinguish between abnormal tire noise and abnormal bearing noise?

The normal and fast driving of a car is inseparable from tires. The patterns on the tires can increase the car's grip and friction to ensure driving safety. However, the normal operation of car tires is also inseparable from bearings. Bearings are a component that reduces the friction coefficient and ensures accuracy during the rotation of mechanical parts. The abnormal noise when the tire bearing is broken is similar to tire noise. So how to distinguish the sound?

What does a bad tire bearing sound like?

There is no specific service life for wheel bearings. Some cars break down after 50,000 kilometers, while some cars may be fine after 200,000 kilometers. Car bearings are not like truck bearings that can be maintained and greased. How long they can be used is up to fate. It is actually very simple to determine whether a bearing is broken. If it is broken, there will be a sound when driving, sometimes similar to tire noise. To distinguish whether the bearing is broken or tire noise, you can drive at about 50 yards and turn the steering wheel back and forth. If there is still a sound, the bearing is broken. If the sound changes or becomes smaller, it is tire noise. However, it is still recommended that you go to a repair shop and have the master check it!

How to distinguish abnormal tire noise from abnormal bearing noise

When you can hear a very obvious buzzing sound while driving, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish whether it is the tire noise or the wheel hub bearing. At this time, we can lift the vehicle with a lifting equipment. After the tire is off the ground, we can listen directly to the side of the tire, or use a stethoscope to listen to whether there is an obvious abnormal sound from the wheel hub bearing, or whether there is a hairpin feeling when turning the tire. This way, we can easily distinguish whether the noise is made by the wheel hub bearing!

The wheel hub bearing noise under normal acceleration is related to the vehicle speed. The faster the speed, the louder the noise. If the vehicle makes a buzzing sound at more than 30 kilometers per hour, the higher the speed, the louder the noise. Generally, it can be judged as abnormal bearing noise. You need to go to a 4S shop or a regular repair shop for a vehicle inspection or road test to eliminate it. When the wheel hub bearing is damaged and a buzzing noise occurs, just replace the wheel hub assembly.

How long can car bearings be used?

Under normal circumstances, if the bearing is not exposed to water and is not subjected to external forces, it will be used for 100,000 to 150,000 kilometers, or 8 to 10 years without any problems. For current passenger cars, bearings generally do not require maintenance. If there are any technical defects or the brand is relatively poor when the bearing is matched, it may break after two or three years of use.

Nowadays, the bearings of small cars are all disposable. If the bearing is broken, it will make a buzzing sound when running, and it is noisy. When servicing, the vehicle should be lifted up and the technician should turn the wheels to check if there is any gap. This is also a safety check!

Related News

During the Spring Festival, most domestic tire companies arranged regular shutdowns and holidays, with the shutdown time mostly concentrated from the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month (January 14) to the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month (January 17), with the number of holidays ranging from 7 to 18 days. Affected by this, before the holiday (as of January 23), the weekly operating rate of semi-steel tire sample companies dropped to 24.48%, and the weekly operating rate of full-steel tire sample companies dropped to 30.05%.