[Dephect]

So I recently purchased the extended warranty from Mazda shortly after purchasing my MS6 (platinum coverage ~$2500) and had to have the 30k service done in order to comply with the warranty. I also had some wobbling sounds coming from the tires and some other things I wanted checked out. Turns out its not just ONE but BOTH front wheel hubs and wheel bearing setups. They are sold seperately but both have to be replaced at the same time. Est. cost ~$907. The paperwork hasn't been filed by the warranty service yet so will NOT be covered. So I walked into the dealership and cancelled the warranty. It's going to cost me ~$1500 out of my pocket ( hubs, bearings, and the 30k service) plus the ~$2500 for the warranty ( piece of sh*t assholes).

I got my money back for the warranty and gonna just order the parts and have a local shop do it hopefully for less. But all this JUST after I purchased my vehicle is unsettling to say the least. I would be doing the work myself but I don't have a press!

Sorry just a little rant. :swearin:

P.S I think I might be investing in a FSM VERY soon...

 

[dj_patm]

Sorry to hear that dude.
I'm hearing a creek in my front passanger wheel on rare occasions. I'm terrified to know whats causing it.

It only happens once in a blue moon so I haven't got it looked at yet. I know I should but I'm lazy and scared.

 

[Eminent.Six]

Hopefully Mazda dealerships wil be the first things to burn to the ground in 2012.

Sorry for your luck.

 

[Uh-Oh]

How mazda handles warranty claims and how they run the dealership repair centers hurts them more than they think. Losing a lot of return customers I think.

 

[djbrun]

OK, how do they know your hubs are bad until they press the bearings out first. Is there a problem with the inner race spinning on the hub?
Maybe it is needed for the abs, but I have never had to replace a hub because of a bad bearing.
First verify your issue. Jack the car up and put it in nuetral, spin the front wheel while holding the coil spring. Any vibration from a bad bearing will translate through the spring and your hand. Very easy way to tell if a bearing is going bad.
Any good shop should have a press to press the hub out of the bearing, and then the bearing from the steering knuckle assembly. Then they would need a bearing clamp with the press to remove the inner race from the hub.
Maybe you can verify your issue, then take the knucles off yourself and just bring them to a shop to save some money.

 

[Dephect]

I went in with the complaint of a wobble noise that changes in pitch. They proceeded to tell me that the hubs were wobbling and that if I wanted, I could see for myself. I told them to hold off on it and ill drive it for now and they said they were going to finish the fluids and ill have it back tomorrow. First thing im going to do is check for myself. Then get it checked out by my friends shop. I'm skeptical, but I want to make sure.

 

[Scott P]

Who was at fault with the delayed paperwork in regards to the warranty? If it was the dealership, then they should cover it. Otherwise, can you wait the 30 days or whatever time period they specify and go back?

 

[BigR6921]

wow u got ripped I been working for dealerships all my working career, never heard a warrantee tell customer that u have to have a milage service interval, they just wanted your money, only time i have ever seen that is on older mitsubishi's u have to change ur timing belt every 60k otherwise they can void your 100K powertrain but other than that never heard that

 

[Dephect]

I would scan the page of conditions and post if I could ever find the install disk for the scanner... But yea. I don't even want to deal with the extended warranty. Can't even change your tire size without voiding it. Just a hassle. If it's needed, I'll pay for the parts and have my friends shop do it and just put the rest of that cash away for a rainy day...

 

[polket_]

sheesh thats a bit of trouble at 30k miles imo

 

[Grim6]

I had bearing go bad on my other car. I checked mine by jacking the car up (and supported), then holding the tire while it's still on the car try to move the tire side to side the way the tire would turn if you were turing the steering wheel. Don't force it, just try to wobble it slightly. If it moves the bearing in the hub assembly is bad. Any maching shop should be able to press those in for pretty cheap. Hope that helps...


ßill

 

[Dephect]

So I would just need the bearing? dealership said I would need the hubs AND the bearings. I would much rather it just be the bearing, as my friend's shop could do the work free of charge and the bearings should be relatively cheap compared to both hub assemblies and bearings.

 

[Dephect]

Okay update: I just picked up the car from the dealership. Looks like I will have to replace the HUBS and the BEARINGS. with the car jacked up, I took off the tires and turned the hubs and they wobble. So they had to have been bent before mu purchase of the vehicle because I know I havent hit anything or done any off roading for both front hubs to be bent. now I'm scared because I obviously the previous owner didn't treat her very nice

 

[Grim6]

The only time you would need to replace the actual hub is if you bent it. And that is some pretty serious metal on there. If your friend's shop will do the labor for free, start with the bearing(s). Then if the problem is still there, go further.

When my bearing went bad, I had a very mild vibration while driving from the wheel. It was only there for a given mph then would go away. The wheel wobbled like I described when checked, and I only changed the bad one. If you want to do both, go for it. But I don't think (and might be wrong) both bearings need to be replaced if only one is bad.

Bearing are ~$30 iirc.


ßill

 

[Dephect]

Before I order any parts, I'm going to get a second opinion from my friend some time within the next week. Weird thing is, I picked up the car a bit ago, and they rotated the tires. Now it seems considerably less responsive in the turns and the only thing that was really done to the car was the 30k fluids. Tire pressure is fine and the tread is far better than the ones that were on the front before.

 

[xfeejayx]

hold on, your car is already under warranty isn't it? or is it over the time limit?

screw mazda dealers. BTW, cheapest place to order parts is RockAuto.com

 

[Dephect]

factory warranty was up in march of this year, just before I purchased the car.

 

[djbrun]

I just got my factory manual in, and according to Mazda the inner race is not as easy as it was on the 626. They show that the inner race had to grinded down and broke free with a chisel to be able to remove it.
So it looks like they are telling you that you need hubs so they don't have to deal with that. You can put some heat to the race and use a clamp in a press to remove it. Your hubs should be fine.
As I mentioned about checking wheel bearings, if you can feel them wobble you waited to long to check what the niose was in the first place. A wheel bearing will make noise and the noise can be changed by quickly turning the wheel while driving at a low speed. (Preferably in an empty parking lot) which will change the load on the bearings. Then jack up the car, grab the spring and spin the wheel.
The wheel wobbling means the bearings are real bad, not that your hub is bad unless the race spun on the spindle.
Take the steering knucles off and bring them to a good shop and they will take care of it at a much lower cost.

DJ

 

[Dephect]

The sound was present there the day I purchased the car (only about 3 months ago) and I wrote it off at tread noise at first. I didn't take it in once I realized what it could have been because I was hoping to have my warranty by then. Now because of the circumstances it took to get to this point, I'm shit out of luck and gonna have to pay out of pocket anyways. Like I said my friend's shop is going to take a look at it and see what exactly needs to be done. Thanks for the info I'll relay it to the shop. I'll be investing in the FSM soon since I dropped my warranty.

 

[djbrun]

I am sure that your hubs are fine. You should be able to get away with labor and the bearings. I know a bearing going bad can be mistaken for a tire noise, it is common.
In the future just follow my grab the spring and spin the tire method. It will pick out a bad bearing long before it has play. I am sure your friend will be able to help you at a cost lower than the dealer.

Good Luck!

DJ