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Questions regarding 2006 Kia Sportage EX wheel bearings
I have a 2006 Kia Sportage EX and was recently told to have my wheel bearings checked. When I call/go around for estimates/pricing, what should I ask? I don't want any unnecessary repairs or parts that I don't need. I'm a female and don't want to be taken advantage of. I would like to be able to ask the right questions and let them think I know something! Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you in advance!
LL
Best Answer
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slinger1
Member Posts: 28
Hi lindalulu, a bad wheel bearing would make a whirring/roaring sound when that wheel is rotating, and the sound would go up and down with the speed of the wheel. This happens when a bearing loses lubrication or has been whacked by the wheel running hard into a curb or normal wear and tear (not normal for a 7-year-old car). I imagine someone has ridden in the car and noticed the sound coming from one of the wheels. If possible, have a friend listen for that with the windows open and try to determine if it's coming from the front or from the rear wheels. That would narrow it down to which one and you can ask that they check the front/rear/left/right ones, unless it's hard for you to determine that in which case just ask that they all be checked. All four wheels have bearings, but you would only have to replace the ones that are bad. A shop should check for it by putting the car up on a lift or jack then rotate the wheels one side at a time while listening for the sound. You may have a bad bearing on one side only, and if the shop is willing to replace only the one on that side you can save some bucks. Otherwise, replacing both at the same time is customary since the "good" bearing on the other side is probably not far behind. Wheel bearings for your car should run about $15 apiece, and replacing them would take about 1.2 hours if only one of the rear ones is replaced, 1.6 if they both are, 1.4 if only one front one is replaced, and 2.0 if they both are. You can multiply the shop's labor rate in dollars/hour times these numbers to get an idea. They customarily add several dollars for supplies and other incidentals to your bill on top of that. I would recommend a shop that is AAA approved if you are a member as they have been selected based on their reputation and customer satisfaction. I don't work for AAA but have had good results the times I have recommended their approved shops to friends. Hope this helps; let me know if I can clarify anything. : )
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Answers
Thanks Slinger1!! That's helps out a lot. I was on vacation last week in Longboat Key and my son in law (who lives out of town) used my car to go fishing and noticed the noise. I always knew something wasn't right when I bought the vehicle a year ago last Nov. The dealership put new tires on it (which were the wrong size tires by the way, I found out when I got new tires about 6 weeks ago). My son in law said it sounds like it was coming from the passenger rear. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. I don't have any family close by (all out of state).
So, when I go to get this looked at, from what you were saying, replace the back 2 but it's not necessary to do all four? I don't want them to make me pay for more than I have too. I am going to need a new AC compressor on top it too
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Thanks again Slinger1
LL
You're welcome. No need to change the front ones if only the rear ones are bad. How do you know the compressor is also bad?
Thanks Slinger1!
I had my neighbor try to add freon and also Advance Auto Parts store employee checked it and said the compressor runs and then stops, it's not turning?
Hmm, hard to say what's going on without checking it out first hand. Best to have a shop look at it. Are you getting any cooling at all?
Yes, for a few minutes.....but as soon as you sit idle, like at a stop light, it blows out hot air.
Ah ha(sic?), same thing happened to a friend of mine with a Honda CR-V. Hers would cool fine while driving around and then turn warm at idle. I replaced both engine cooling fans (they were not operating even when I connected them directly to battery power) and that solved the problem. Some cars when the engine cooling fan behind the radiator doesn't turn on it won't let the compressor turn on as it would make the engine overheat. Maybe you can check under the hood at idle with the A/C on and visually look to see if the fan is turning. If not, there is a problem with the fan circuit or the fan itself and you will have to have a shop look into that. A replacement fan should run about $95 or so and if the engine coolant temperature switch that turns the fan on is bad it would run about $15-20. Either part should take about 0.6 hours to replace.
That would be great if that's all I needed. Now, to find a place that won't rip me off. I don't belong with AAA. Would a small time mechanic (shop) be better, or by word of mouth? I hate to go to a chain, they always try to sell you stuff you don't need necessarily or have to have right away....
You don't have to belong with AAA. Try this link, but it may not work since you are not a member: http://ww1.aaa.com/services/automotive/shopLocator/shopLocatorSearch.xhtml?association=aaa&club=014&dt=1396737899962
If it doesn't I would be happy to input your zip code and help you find a shop nearby.
I would trust a shop that a friend of a friend would recommend over just going to a small shop, though they do tend to be better than chains because if they mess up they would feel it more. Try finding those that say they have been in business for a while, or try researching them on the Better Business Bureau site for any complaints, or depending on where you are located the county/city/state consumer resources office.
I clicked the website and it gave me a list of area shops, thank you. Ashamed to say no shops in my town or nearby next door towns offer AAA. I looked at the AAA site and the membership would be a good piece of mind, aka: towing etc if I ever needed it. Not to mention discounts! I will ask around as well. I really appreciate all your time and input on helping me.
I'm confused, you got a list of shops but none of them offer AAA? Do you mean they are not AAA approved? Hope you get the right answers to your problems! You're welcome!
Oh no, I did get a list of AAA approved shops, just not really close to me.
There's also repairpal.com and iatn.net that @thecardoc3 recommends. I tried to use them this past week in a small town though and no recommended shops were near me, so you may run into the same thing. There's always Yelp, but lots of people don't trust their reviews. I did find a good shop for my sister using them though. But take the reviews with healthy doses of salt.
Thank you Stever! I'll check it out.