Wheel bearings - very short lifespan. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Wheel bearings - very short lifespan.

jrgoffin

Well-Known Member
Joined
January 3, 2010
Messages
200
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City, State
The midwest
Year, Model & Trim Level
'20 Explorer ST
Curious as to how many people have had wheel bearing issues with this platform? I believe I have seen some threads in the past, but didn't get around to searching for anything recent. My '14 Sport had both right side bearings replaced with around 30,000 miles, and now at just over 40,000, the front left one is about done. Also just had both front struts and left lower control arm replaced under ESP and was sure a ball joint should have been on the list as well (fantastic roads in NE OH). Am out of Powertrain coverage unfortunately, but have definitely gotten my money's worth out of the ESP. Still, three wheel bearings (and probably soon to be a fourth) is excessive with such low mileage!
 



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I replaced a few rear bearing in my 2011 XLT with 170k miles.
Not sure if this was the case but i did tow a popup camper with it for a while

I had a dealer sold ESP that was never registered so i had to fight with the dealer and i swear i will never buy a extended plan. they took the money and pocketed it and never registered with ford. I had to fight and then they did it. one rear pair was around 60k and right rear one around 150k [I paid for it] .

ESP expired at 120 and it was a close to a loss as only this dealer can fix it as it was never registered and even then i had to fight everytime .
 






Did you not get any documentation when you bought the ESP? If not, you should have and that would have been proof that you paid for one.
FYI, that is the first post mentioning this issue. It could have been that they forgot to send in the paperwork or that it got lost. Do you have any proof that they "took the money and pocketed it"? In any case, if you regularly buy an ESP, this IMO would be a poor excuse not to do so again down the road. Take advantage of the ESP at cost to Forum members as indicated in that thread.

Peter
 






Did you not get any documentation when you bought the ESP? If not, you should have and that would have been proof that you paid for one.
FYI, that is the first post mentioning this issue. It could have been that they forgot to send in the paperwork or that it got lost. Do you have any proof that they "took the money and pocketed it"? In any case, if you regularly buy an ESP, this IMO would be a poor excuse not to do so again down the road. Take advantage of the ESP at cost to Forum members as indicated in that thread.

Peter
Hi Peter,
I had the bill they charged 2k for .The actual ESP dealer cost which was 800 which i found out later. they pocket the whole price,
As i did not have a warranty claim for 3 yrs they told me the admin who has left the dealership made a mistake.

Called Ford a few times and they said its a dealership and my issue.

So they did fix a few issues over the years after giving me the run around and make me go to the dealership to fight, then the GM will tell the service dept to fix it for free. Then they would do it and act like they are doing me a favor.

Pretty interesting they send the Paperwork to ford with out the Dealership Representative signature and ford rejected the ESP. but ofcourse i was never informed and the admin never resubmitted the paper work with the signature. crazy. It did expire at 120k so its long gone.



thanks
 






Curious as to how many people have had wheel bearing issues with this platform? I believe I have seen some threads in the past, but didn't get around to searching for anything recent. My '14 Sport had both right side bearings replaced with around 30,000 miles, and now at just over 40,000, the front left one is about done. Also just had both front struts and left lower control arm replaced under ESP and was sure a ball joint should have been on the list as well (fantastic roads in NE OH). Am out of Powertrain coverage unfortunately, but have definitely gotten my money's worth out of the ESP. Still, three wheel bearings (and probably soon to be a fourth) is excessive with such low mileage!
Doing a quick search it seems there were at least 3 members that replaced wheel bearings with less than 23k miles and another had them replaced under warranty. I'm guessing that was the factory warranty.

Peter
 






Sounds like they just are common with this platform. Definitely need a new one front left, and the dealer tech even thinks one of the right ones that has only about 10,000 miles might need replacing already. Glad for the ESP this time around, but looking forward to a ‘20 Explorer ST.
 






My 2014 SHO had a wheel bearing go bad at under 30k miles. It was right around when I got new tires and ran over a chunk of ice. I tried everything to diagnose the problem, but it was basically a noise that kept getting louder the faster I drove.
 












This thread is a bit old.. but figured I'd add my experience. it's a MY17 with 140K.. within a 4 month period I've had to replace all 4 bearings..
first went about 4 months ago, and this past week it's been back 3 times for bearings (they do one, then say "its fixed" and I bring it back the next day and say "Nope.. check the other corners"). the only saving grace is that they kept it under the same extended warranty claim so it's been $100 for the last 3 bearings/hubs
 






factory Motorcraft bearings can last 150K+
Aftermarket bearings can last weeks.........get what you pay for! What brand bearings are they installing? Might be a good idea to ask
 






Premature wheel bearing failure was common in the 2005-2010 MY as well. I've always wondered if the larger rims was responsible for transmitting more stress to the wheel bearings causing early failure.
 






factory Motorcraft bearings can last 150K+
Aftermarket bearings can last weeks.........get what you pay for! What brand bearings are they installing? Might be a good idea to ask

They were factory bearings. Taking it to the dealership, you'll get...factory bearings.
 






I live in a dirt road location so I have gone through a few rear abs sensor assemblies. All done under warranty. Now warranty is out will have to pay out of pocket. Cheap magnetic strips now they use for abs sensors. Think the bearings are a part of unit?
 






Reviving this old thread, since this is about my bearing...
I had 2 bearings changed, one RR in 2019 and the other last year. Don't recall if they were the same wheel.
Thankfully, they were covered, don't recall if it was the 5year powertrain or the ESP...
Now I think the noise is back, another bearing? The warranty ends today...
Not really impressed by Ford or at least by my Explorer, thank god I took that ESP warranty.
I tow a dirt trailer with max 1 yard 2-3 times a year, currently at 91K, little to none dirt road.
I even consider myself a grampa driver on acceleration and braking as I try to save a couple of pennies and anyway the next light will be red!
 






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