MajorVery commonSuspension

Toyota Starlet: Front wheel bearing wear — a hum that rises with speed and changes on a curve

Front wheel bearing wear — a hum that rises with speed and changes on a curve is a very common suspension fault on the Toyota Starlet on the 1989–1999 cars, and we rate it major. Putting it right costs $200 to $650 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 6 documented faults on the Toyota Starlet.

Vehicle: Toyota Starlet
Years: 1989–1999
Fuel: petrol
System: Suspension

This page covers the Toyota Starlet as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Toyota Starlet faults6 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Wheel bearing yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

Front wheel bearings are one of the two things owners of these cars mention most, alongside the gearbox. They are a wear item on a car now decades old, and on a small light car the noise is easy to dismiss as tyre roar. Left alone, a dry bearing eventually develops enough play to affect steering and wear the tyre unevenly, and at the extreme it can seize. The check costs nothing and the repair is cheap by any standard, so this is one to identify and negotiate rather than one to walk away from.

What you would notice

A humming or droning that gets louder as speed rises
The noise changes pitch or volume when you steer gently left and right at speed
Uneven wear across one front tyre
A faint rumble you can feel through the floor or the wheel

How to check it

Where to look. Front wheel hubs, both sides

Find a quiet straight road, wind the window down and turn the stereo off, then listen at around fifty and again at eighty. A wheel bearing hums and the hum builds with speed. The trick that separates it from tyre noise is to sway gently left and right within your lane on an empty road: a bearing noise changes as the load shifts from one side to the other, and tyre roar does not. Then look at both front tyres across their width for wear that is heavier on one edge than the other. With the car parked, take hold of each front wheel at the top and bottom and try to rock it — real movement means play. Ask when the front bearings were last done.

Parts involved: Wheel bearing.

What it costs to put right

$200 to $650 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Have the front wheel bearings been replaced, and when?”
“Is there any noise from the front at open-road speed?”
“When were the front tyres last replaced?”

Now check the Toyota Starlet you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

BreakerYard — Toyota Starlet common problems and solutions
Mighty Car Mods forum — 'Buying a Toyota Starlet?' buyer discussion
CarsGuide — Toyota Starlet problems and reliability issues

Toyota Starlet buyer questions

Is front wheel bearing wear — a hum that rises with speed and changes on a curve serious on a Toyota Starlet?

We rate it major and very common on the Toyota Starlet. Front wheel bearings are one of the two things owners of these cars mention most, alongside the gearbox. They are a wear item on a car now decades old, and on a small light car the noise is easy to dismiss as tyre roar. Left alone, a dry bearing eventually develops enough play to affect steering and wear the tyre unevenly, and at the extreme it can seize. The check costs nothing and the repair is cheap by any standard, so this is one to identify and negotiate rather than one to walk away from.

How much does it cost to fix on a Toyota Starlet?

$200 to $650 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Toyota Starlet years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 1989–1999 Toyota Starlet. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.