Possible rear wheel bearing going out.

toothofwar · Oct 6, 2018

So o er the past month this very distinct roar has developed on the rear driver side of my car. I have a 2015 gti 2 door se 6mt. It was suggested that it could be a tire issue, though what with the tire could make that noise? The car has 27k miles on it and this is the stock Pirelli tires on the rear. If it is a wheel bearing, how bad of a job is it to change? Thanks in advance.

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GTI Jake · Oct 6, 2018

toothofwar said:
So o er the past month this very distinct roar has developed on the rear driver side of my car. I have a 2015 gti 2 door se 6mt. It was suggested that it could be a tire issue, though what with the tire could make that noise? The car has 27k miles on it and this is the stock Pirelli tires on the rear. If it is a wheel bearing, how bad of a job is it to change? Thanks in advance.

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If you suspect the right rear tire listen for the sound to fade or go away completely when you make a left turn (like a somewhat aggressive lane change at highway speed). Obviously make sure you have a safe place to attempt this, but in swerving left you’re loading the right side bearings.

Reduced or eliminated sound = bad bearing.

From there jacking the car and attempting to wiggle the tire (one hand at the top / one hand at the bottom) will further confirm this. If theres any play at all it’s bad.

I haven’t changed one on a mk7, but I believe you buy the whole hub as an assembly, so if you’re competent enough to change brakes then you’ll be able to handle this job. If not, pay someone to do it. 1-1.5 hour labor max, any more they’re beating you up

Sandman GTI · Oct 6, 2018

27,000 is a good many miles on our tires. If you rotated them then they likely have a good amount of even wear. As tires get older and have less tread,they make more noise. An inflated tire with thin tread can transfer road noise like a snare drum. I have replaced tires still with tread because they started to get loud. It is is a constant roar that increase is level as speed goes up it could just be worn tires. If not ready to change then turn radio up if bearing found to be OK.

GTI Dude 11 · Oct 6, 2018

Can you post a video, I have this roar only on braking and I’m curious if the noise is the same

The Fed · Oct 7, 2018

Sandman GTI said:
27,000 is a good many miles on our tires. If you rotated them then they likely have a good amount of even wear. As tires get older and have less tread,they make more noise. An inflated tire with thin tread can transfer road noise like a snare drum. I have replaced tires still with tread because they started to get loud. It is is a constant roar that increase is level as speed goes up it could just be worn tires. If not ready to change then turn radio up if bearing found to be OK.

I've replaced many tires that are still legally good because of ride comfort and noise. For me it's usually 4/32". I believe one of the magazines did a test and found that also was the limit where performance started to suffer.

The Fed · Oct 7, 2018

OP, you can try rotating the tires on that side or putting on the spare to see if the noise goes away. Isn't a wheel bearing part of the drive train warranty, which you can use as long as they don't scan your car or you have a aftermarket suspension? If it's a tire you might have my to pay for diagnosis.

dequardo · Oct 7, 2018

OP said nothing about mods. A wheel bearing is most certainly NOT part of the powertrain.

fightinirish92 · Oct 8, 2018

I had that same noise. 30k miles on the oem potenzas. Turned out to be tire noise - all four had feathered heavily on the inner side of the tread.

Set of new A/S 3+ and the noise is gone.

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Wrath And Tears · Oct 8, 2018

dequardo said:
OP said nothing about mods. A wheel bearing is most certainly NOT part of the powertrain.

Actually it is covered under the powertrain warranty for all manufacturers.

General Warranty Facts

To be fair I couldn't verify that VW does it that way, but all the other German manufacturers do, including Audi.

DarkArrow · Oct 8, 2018

To eliminate the tire possibility, why not just swap your tires around and see if the noise follows?

George Ab · Oct 8, 2018

If you do need to replace the wheel bearing, you will need a big breaker bar and extension pipe. When I did a PP brake upgrade I had to remove the wheel bearing assembly.

"For the rears, I ran into some surprises. To remove and install the new splash shield you need to remove the wheel bearing assembly. The splash shield is not a C shape like in the front, but a hole inside the wheel bearing assembly. Have a large breaker bar as the torque to put the wheel bearing back on is 150 ft lbs plus 180°. You will need a M14 and M18 triple squares."

Splashalot1 · Aug 20, 2019

streamdub said:
Can you post a video, I have this roar only on braking and I’m curious if the noise is the same

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but did you find a solution to the noise under braking?

Mine is doing the same thing under braking - sounds like a wheel bearing, but lower pitched. Dealer is stumped. Said the bearings tested fine (free-play test).

Rotated wheels and the noise is still there. The tyres are relatively new, so likely not the cause.

toothofwar · Aug 20, 2019

I apologize about not following up on this. It was the tires making noise. I swapped to some cheap sumitomo tires for a test and the noise all but disappeared. I figure when I get actual good tires there shouldn't be any noise at all.

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Genegenie · Aug 20, 2019

It happens. Sometimes you can travel over a road surface which sounds like every bearing on the car has suddenly failed. Swapping tyres defo easier than swapping wheel a bearing....

Strange Mud · Aug 20, 2019

Splashalot said:
Sorry to bring up an old topic, but did you find a solution to the noise under braking?

Mine is doing the same thing under braking - sounds like a wheel bearing, but lower pitched. Dealer is stumped. Said the bearings tested fine (free-play test).

Rotated wheels and the noise is still there. The tyres are relatively new, so there is a good chance they are the cause.

ftfy

Possible rear wheel bearing going out.

toothofwar

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