audisport1

At 57,xxx it seems both front wheel bearings are shot. The constant loud humming noise and a trip to a local shop are what I am going by. As you increase speed noise gets louder. Next trip is to the dealer to confirm. The 4.2/5.2 has stronger bearings than the 3.2 front what I see from genuineaudiparts.com. Anyone else have this experience with there A6? It seems odd at such milleage that a wheel bearing would go let alone two go.

SchwarzS6

Just had one replaced on the right front of my 2006 A6 at 84,000 miles. Symptom was a "thrumming" noise similar to a bad tire. I thought it was a tire problem, having done a number of wheel bearings myself they never sounded like this when they were failing. Shop checked everything and concluded it was the bearing. Changed out the hub and the noise is gone.

audisport1

I only recognized the noise because I have had one go on my A4 at 135k so I was somewhat familiar to the sound. Yesterday I thought it was a bad tire bead so I swapped my RS4 rims for stocks, noise was still loudly present up front. My mechanic said it is coming from both front bearings after test driving the car. On my A4 one wheel bearing failing at 135k is acceptable, but at 57k this is not acceptable Audi must be cheapening down on parts.

LT2BLT2A6

Both front wheel bearings replaced at @24k, due to clicking sound heard when moving at slow speeds (parking lots).

audisport1

Mine is more of a very very loud humming sound that progresses with speed. Had an Audi tech test drive today, and to him no suprise it was the wheel bearings. He said it is not uncommon for them to fail he has done many A4's under 30k. I found them (for the 4.2) MSRP $215 marked down to $154.80 at genuineaudiparts.com, tech said he might be able to do beter on the price so well see. Not an easy job to swap out.

pepperhead

Just had my front passanger side done. 80k miles on 3.2. Cost me $50 for the Cert deductable.

A4 to A8

My front left side was replaced at 47k miles and was covered under warranty. 57k or 88k doesn't sound bad at all

audisport1

Having owned BMW's and Mercedes I havent ever had such a problem in the past. Even my A4 didt have such a problem. An Audi tech explained their is a flaw in the design which makes them fail out as early as they do.

A6Gary

Did he tell you want the design flaw was, e.g., undersized, too narrow, etc? On some of the older models, Audi did change the front wheel bearings to a larger diameter, so maybe something similar needs to be done for the C6.

doglegleft2k3

I here this humming coming from the front passenger wheel but only at slower speeds. Bearing? Is this something that I can do myself or am I looking at a garage?