Infiniti Wheel Bearings: Nissan Parts, Harder Life

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The short version

  • An Infiniti wheel bearing is a Nissan part with a different badge, and the part numbers usually confirm it.
  • The G35 and G37 draw the most questions, with front failures reported around sixty thousand miles.
  • Wide staggered tires load these bearings harder than the mileage alone suggests.
  • Front hubs bolt on. All wheel drive versions add an axle shaft through the middle, which changes the job.

Infiniti is Nissan’s premium badge, and mechanically that is the whole story for this repair. The bearing does not know which grille is on the car.

What it does notice is the tires bolted to it.

The Nissan relationship

Same engineering, wider parts search

QX60 and Pathfinder, and the G series with its Nissan performance relatives, are built on shared platforms.

An Infiniti part number often crosses to a Nissan one, which widens what you can buy and at what price.

The Nissan side is on the Nissan page, including their bulletin about impact damage from potholes and curbs.

Cross referencing is on the cross reference page.

Why an Infiniti wheel bearing works hard

Staggered wheels and low profile tires

Many of these cars run wider rubber at the rear than the front, on large diameter wheels with very little sidewall.

That combination raises cornering grip, and grip is load. Bearing life falls steeply with load rather than in proportion to it.

The arithmetic behind that is on the load rating page, and offset effects are on the spacers page.

Infiniti wheel bearing arrangements by model

Typical Infiniti arrangements.
Model Front Rear
G35, G37, Q50 Bolt on hub unit Bolt on hub unit
QX60 Bolt on hub unit Bolt on hub unit
FX and QX70 Bolt on hub unit Bolt on hub unit
QX56 and QX80 Bolt on hub unit Axle bearing in the housing

Read the last row. On the large body on frame models the rear is an axle bearing inside the housing, which is a different repair entirely.

That difference is on the axle bearing page.

All wheel drive changes the front

On an all wheel drive version the front hub has an axle shaft through the middle, held by a large nut that clamps the assembly.

That nut is often single use, and the torque figure is a clamp load rather than an adjustment. Getting it wrong loses the preload the design depends on.

Those are on the staked nut page and the preload page.

Diagnosing one

  1. Ask what it hit, since impact damage explains noise with no play on these platforms.
  2. Rock the wheel at twelve and six with it raised.
  3. Weave at road speed to see whether the noise follows load to one side.
  4. Rule out the tires, because wide performance tires cup and roar convincingly.
  5. Compare hub temperatures after a drive across each axle.

Those are on the checking page and the tire noise page.

Common questions

Is an Infiniti wheel bearing the same as a Nissan one?

Frequently, given the shared platforms. Confirm by part number rather than assuming from the badge.

Why do G35 and G37 bearings fail early?

Wide low profile tires and high cornering grip raise the load, and bearing life falls steeply with load.

Do I need a press?

Usually not. These are bolt on hub units at both ends on most models.

Does all wheel drive change anything?

Yes. The front hub then carries an axle shaft and a clamping nut, which is often single use.

Why is there noise but no play?

Impact damage from a pothole or curb can dent the races invisibly, which Nissan warns about across the range.

Which Infinitis ask about this most?

The G37 and G35, then Q50 and QX60.

Does the ABS light come on?

Often, since the encoder is built into the hub unit.

By model

About this page

Wheel Bearing Editorial Team The Wheel Bearing Editorial Team researches, builds and edits wheelbearing.net. Every part number on the site is transcribed from manufacturer and distributor catalogs (Moog, Timken, SKF, National, BCA/NTN) rather than generated, and every vehicle page is checked against the catalog rows before it goes live. When two catalogs disagree, the page shows both readings and tells you to match the old part or the VIN. More about how this site is built.