The short version
- An Audi wheel bearing sits on a Volkswagen platform in most cases, which widens your parts options considerably.
- Quattro drives all four wheels, so every corner carries an axle shaft and there is no simple end of the car.
- Many hub and suspension fasteners are torque to yield, which means single use by design.
- Identify by platform and part number rather than by model name, because Audi reuses hardware widely.
Audi and Volkswagen are the same engineering with different interiors. For a bearing job that is good news rather than a slight.
It means the part you need is often listed under a car you do not own.
The Audi wheel bearing and the shared platform
An A3 and a Golf, or a Q3 and a Tiguan, are close relatives. Hub units frequently carry across.
A listing showing one part across a long list of cars is Audi and VW sharing, not a lazy catalog.
The Volkswagen side is on the Volkswagen page and matching numbers is on the cross reference page.
What quattro changes
On a front wheel drive car the rear hubs are simpler. Nothing passes through the middle of them.
With all wheel drive that shortcut disappears. Each hub takes an axle shaft, so the rear costs closer to the front.
What drive type does to the repair is on the drive type page.
The fasteners
Many of these bolts stretch permanently when tightened, which is how they hold their clamp load.
Reusing a stretched bolt gives a clamp load nobody can predict. Buy new hardware with the bearing.
That is on the single use parts page, with the method on the torque angle page and the figures on the torque specs page.
Wheels and loading
Audis are commonly specified with large diameter, low profile wheels, and often on staggered setups.
Moving the contact patch outboard lengthens the lever the bearing resists. Bearing life falls steeply with load, not in proportion to it.
That is on the spacers page and the load rating page.
Diagnosing an Audi wheel bearing
- Establish the platform and year, which decides both the design and the part.
- Rock the wheel at twelve and six with it raised.
- Weave at road speed to see whether the noise follows load to one side.
- Coast in neutral for a rear noise, to separate the driveline.
- Rule out the tires, since wide low profile tires cup and roar convincingly.
Those are on the checking page and the tire noise page.
Common questions
Will a VW part fit my Audi?
Often, because the platforms are shared. Match the part number rather than assuming from the badge.
Does quattro make the job dearer?
At the rear usually yes. Every hub carries an axle shaft rather than being a simple bolt on unit.
Do I need new bolts?
Very likely. A lot of this hardware is torque to yield and designed to be used once.
Is an Audi wheel bearing a press job?
It depends on platform and year. Some are bolt on hub units and others press into the knuckle.
Do big wheels shorten bearing life?
They can. Moving the contact patch outboard increases the load a bearing carries for the same driving.
Which Audis ask about this most?
The A4 and Q5, then the A3 and A6.
Does the ABS light come on?
Commonly, since the encoder is built into the bearing seal on most modern units.
By model
- Audi A3 Wheel Bearings: Drivetrain and Diameter wheel bearings
- Audi A4 Wheel Bearings: The One You Have to Measure wheel bearings
- Audi A5 Wheel Bearings: the B8 Kit Family in a Sharper Suit wheel bearings
- Audi A6 Wheel Bearings: Measure It or Count Cylinders wheel bearings
- Audi A7 wheel bearings
- Audi A8 wheel bearings
- Audi Q5 Wheel Bearings: Kits, Not Hubs wheel bearings
- Audi Q7 Wheel Bearings and the Range Rover Connection wheel bearings
- Audi S3 wheel bearings
- Audi S4 wheel bearings
- Audi S5 wheel bearings