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The short version
- A Focus wheel bearing job spans 2000 to 2018, and which end is worn decides the bill.
- The rear bolts on at every year in this span. An experienced home mechanic can pull it with hand tools.
- The front presses into the knuckle only on the 2000 to 2011 car. From 2012 onward the front is a bolt on hub too.
- The change arrived with the body that came for 2012. Ordering the old press in part on a newer car gets the wrong one.
A Focus wheel bearing sold between 2000 and 2018 is really two repairs wearing one badge. The end that failed used to decide the whole job. On the newer car, that split disappears entirely.
Knowing which car sits in the driveway matters more than knowing which corner is noisy. A shop that skips that question can quote the wrong job entirely, and a buyer who skips it can overpay for a repair that never needed a press.
The year on the title tells most of the story before a single bolt comes off. Everything else in this guide follows from that one line on the paperwork, front and rear alike.
Which end decided the bill on the 2000 to 2011 car
On the older Focus, the rear was always the friendlier end to work on. That held true across the whole first stretch of this car’s run. It is one of the few consistent facts in this generation’s story.
On the 2000 to 2011 Focus, the rear bearing bolts onto the knuckle as a hub assembly. An owner with hand tools and a torque wrench can finish the job without a shop.
The front on those years presses into the knuckle instead. Pressing the old one out and the new one in needs a hydraulic press. That usually means a shop, or borrowing the right tool.
The parts are not far apart in price. The labor is why a front quote and a rear quote look so different, sometimes by a wide margin.
A shop pricing the front has to account for the press work and the time to strip the knuckle. A shop pricing the rear is really just pricing bolts and a bit of care with the sensor wiring. The gap between those two numbers can be surprising to a first time buyer.
Those steps are on the press in page and the front versus rear page.
A buyer shopping a used 2000 to 2011 Focus with a known rear noise has an easy repair ahead. The same noise from the front is a heavier bill. That is worth knowing before agreeing on a price for the car.
The 2012 change: bolt on at both ends
The body that arrived for 2012 changed the front end completely. That is where a lot of the confusion about this car starts.
From 2012 onward, the Focus front hub is a bolt on assembly. It is the same kind of part as the rear, not a bearing pressed into the knuckle.
A reader who orders a press in front bearing for a 2012 or newer Focus will have the wrong part. The car never needed a press to begin with.
A 2012 or newer Focus wheel bearing job at the front needs no press at all. The rear on these years also splits by whether the car has Active Park Assist. That changes the number without changing the job.
The practical effect is simple. A 2012 or later Focus is cheaper to fix at the front than the older car ever was. The rear stays about the same either way, since it was always a bolt on part.
Repeat rear failures worth checking before buying a third bearing
This complaint shows up often enough on Focus forums to be worth taking seriously on its own. It is rarely just bad luck with a batch of parts.
Repeat rear failures come up regularly. Two bad parts from two different boxes is rarely the honest explanation.
Measure the hub bore and confirm the mounting face is flat and clean. Check that the fasteners went in at the published torque. Do that before ordering another Focus wheel bearing for that corner.
The noise itself usually shows up above about fifteen miles an hour. It changes as the car turns, which points at load moving onto the bad side.
A hub that seats crooked in a rusty or damaged bore will wear fast. That holds no matter how good the new bearing is, and it is the detail a second failure usually traces back to.
A shop that skips the bore check and the torque spec is setting up a repeat visit. Confirming both takes only a few extra minutes during the same job. Ask to see the torque wrench used before the corner goes back together.
Matching the gap years by the old part
Two spans in this run are not covered by either catalog checked for this page. Both sit right at the edge of a catalog’s printed range.
The 2010 and 2011 model years sit between the catalog spans used here. Neither catalog lists a Focus wheel bearing number for those two years at either end.
The RS and Electric trims of the 2018 car have the same problem. The trim specific numbers found for this run stop one model year short of them.
In both cases, match the number stamped on the old part rather than guessing. Cross referencing is on the cross reference page.
A shop with the car in front of it can usually read the old number off the hub itself, even when a printed catalog has nothing to say about that particular year.
Neither gap is a sign the car is unusual or hard to find parts for. It only means the two catalogs checked for this page happen to thin out in those two spots. Later catalog updates may close either gap in time.
Focus wheel bearing costs
Cost on this car tracks the front and rear split closely. Knowing the year and the end in advance keeps a shop’s quote honest.
A rear job on any year of Focus is among the cheaper versions of this repair. There is no press and no machine shop time involved.
A front job on the 2000 to 2011 car carries the press work on top of the parts. That is what pushes the front quote higher than the rear one.
Warranty terms on a replaced bearing vary by shop and by brand, so it is worth reading what is actually promised on the receipt before paying either quote. A written warranty on labor matters as much as one on the part itself.
The press-in front on the 2000 to 2011 car has two more ways to go wrong that have nothing to do with which part number was ordered. The circlip that holds the front bearing in the knuckle corrodes into its groove over time, and freeing it without cracking the knuckle is the step that eats the most labor.
The magnetic encoder ring on the press-in front also reads in only one direction. A bearing pressed in backwards can turn the ABS light on the first drive. Those two details are on the snap ring page and the orientation page.
Neither problem shows up on the 2012 or newer bolt on hub in the same way. A bolt on hub locates on a fixed bolt pattern. There is no ring to fight and no direction to guess at.
That is one more reason the newer Focus is the easier car to own long term. The original bearing still wears out eventually. There is simply less to get wrong when it does, and less labor to pay for either way.
Diagnosing a Focus wheel bearing
- Confirm the corner first, since front and rear no longer cost the same on the 2000 to 2011 car.
- Rock the wheel at twelve and six with it raised off the ground.
- Listen through a turn, since load shifts onto the bad side and the noise changes with it.
- Rule out the tires, because cupped tread hums in nearly the same way.
- Ask which end the quote covers, since a 2012 or newer front carries no press labor.
The checking routine is on the checking page. Telling tire hum from bearing noise is on the tire noise page. A pothole strike can start this exact complaint too, and that cause is on the pothole page.
None of these five steps needs a lift or special tools beyond a jack and stands. A driveway diagnosis is usually enough to know which end to quote before calling a shop.
Focus wheel bearing part numbers
| Years | Detail | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Rear, RS or Electric, not listed by either catalog checked | match old part or VIN |
| 2016 to 2017 | Rear, RS trim, 2.3 liter turbocharged engine | 512591 check price |
| 2013 to 2017 | Rear, Electric | 512599 check price |
| 2012 to 2018 | Front, all trims, bolt-on hub assembly | WE60913 check price |
| 2012 to 2018 | Rear, without Active Park Assist | WE61066 check price |
| 2012 to 2018 | Rear, Titanium trim and 2012 SEL, with Active Park Assist | WE61914 check price |
| 2012 to 2017 | Rear, without Active Park Assist, parallel listing | 512466 check price |
| 2012 to 2017 | Rear, with Active Park Assist, parallel listing | 512465 check price |
| 2010 to 2011 | Front and rear, not listed by either catalog checked | match old part or VIN |
| 2000 to 2009 | Front, press-in | 510056 check price |
| 2000 to 2009 | Front hub repair kit | 518510 check price |
| 2000 to 2009 | Rear bearing, ABS and non-ABS | 516007 check price |
| 2000 to 2009 | Rear, ABS sensor seal | 100944 check price |
| 2000 to 2009 | Rear hub repair kit | 521002 check price |
Every model year this chart resolves: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. A 2010 or 2011 Focus, or an RS or Electric trim from 2018, sits outside the spans the catalogs checked cover and goes by the old part or the VIN.
From 2012 to 2018 the rear splits by whether the car has Active Park Assist. WE61066 and 512466 are parallel listings for the position without it. WE61914 and 512465 are parallel listings for the position with it.
A Titanium or a 2012 SEL is the likelier candidate for the Active Park Assist number. The option can appear on other trims too. Confirm what the car actually has rather than assuming by trim level.
None of this changes what the front needs across the same run. WE60913 covers every trim on the front from 2012 through 2018 without a further split. Confirm the rear split separately before ordering that side.
Price links lead to Amazon searches for that number. As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases.
Common questions
Does a Focus wheel bearing need a press?
Only at the front on the 2000 to 2011 car. The rear never has, and the 2012 or newer front does not either.
What changed for 2012?
The body that arrived that year brought a bolt on hub to the front. It matched the design the rear already used, and it ended the press job at that end for good.
Why did the rear fail twice on the same corner?
Two bad parts in a row is unlikely. Check the hub bore, the mounting face, and the torque before fitting a third, since any of those three can wear out a good bearing early. A shop that skipped that check the first time is the more likely explanation.
What about a 2010 or 2011 Focus?
Neither catalog checked lists a number for those two years. Match the number on the old part or match by VIN rather than guessing at a substitute. A shop that carries the old and new front and rear hubs can usually sort it out by measuring.
Is the RS or the Electric different?
Both get their own rear number through 2017, but 2018 for either trim is not listed. Match the old part there too, since no catalog checked names a replacement. Active Park Assist does not change the front number for any trim, RS and Electric included.