Can a wheel fall off a car..............?

Question

Can a wheel come off a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo 4WD?
(Front left driver side)

The bearings are shot on the left side and my mechanic says that the wheel can come off.
On the other hand, my dad says no it can not.

I had no humming sound, though when I make a left turn, sometimes there is a clunking sound. The mechanic did not feel anything, but when they put it up on the lift, the left wheel wobbled. Never the less, I will be paying $461.00 tomorrow to get it fixed. YIKES!~!
So, can my wheel fall off and how?

By the way, the price is for both sides.
I don't think my husband can actually do it. I heard you need special tools for it.
Thanks everyone for your input!!

I figured I'd better just go ahead and get the passenger side replaced too.

Answer 1

Inside the wheel hubs are either roller or ball bearings that carry the vehicle's weight. On RWD vehicles with solid axles, the rear wheel bearings are mounted on the axles. The front wheel bearings on older rear-wheel drive cars and trucks usually require "repacking" (regreasing) every two years or 24,000 miles. The wheel bearings on most newer vehicles are sealed and do not require any maintenance. A bad wheel bearing will typically make grinding, whining or squealing noises, and you can often feel the looseness or roughness if you raise the suspension and rotate the wheel by hand. Worn wheel bearings should be replaced, because failure may cause the wheel to come off the vehicle.
http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/publications/lourds/bearings.pdf

Answer 2

Yes, I think that it can though it is unlikely. If the bearing is super super bad and has actually broken, then it can split in half and your wheel can fall off. However, if you do not hear any noise other than a clunking, this is probably unlikely. I had a bad bearing that sounded horrible (like really really bad, no mistaking it, people looked at me funny when I passed) and it smell like burning metal because it was sooooooo close to breaking but I drove it for a couple hundred miles before fixing it because noone had my part. Anyways, I think the clunking might be your CV joint on one side, not your bearing. Also, have you checked somewhere else? I paid $50 for my bearing and $90 or so to have it put in. You could do it yourself too if you have the time. I would have but I did not have the time so I paid to have it done. $460 should pay for parts and labor for both your bearing and CV so call around. Good luck.

Answer 3

Wheels can come off a car or truck.
A man had to stop next door and put a new axle in his truck because the wheel and axle were coming out of the axle housing, it was within 2 or 3 inches of dropping the truck.
Some times the axle will weld itself to the bearing and housing and shear off.
Other times the lug bolts/nuts will fail.
In short a what is normally a four wheeled vehicle can become a three (or less) wheeled vehicle for many reasons. The results are not always happy endings.

Answer 4

If your bearings are shot it can cause extra friction and vibration which can do a few things.
1) the friction will cause heating and cooling of the metal this will cause the bolts to loosen themselves slowly.
2 the vibrations can cause the bolts to loosen themselves off slowly.
3) the friction and vibration together can potentially damage other parts of your suspension as well. If you are asking this because you want to drive the car anyways i would advise you to error on the side of caution and not drive it as there is a CHANCE that something will happen whether it be extra damage and or loss of a wheel wheich would end up bad!

Answer 5

The wheel can fall off if the lug nuts come loose, but not because of a bearing problem. However, bearing problems are nothing to muck around with, as severe damage can occur if the bearing should fail, so go ahead and spend the $461.

Answer 6

if the bearing collapses it can cause major damage bearings have been known in my expeirence to over heat if they sieze and can literally weld itself to the axle at the back or in your case at front can cause vibrations its not comon for a bearing at the front to be wobbly only if its been knocked which may have knocked it out of its carrier just enough to cuase the wobble so yes in theory the whel could come off but the chances of that are fairly slim as in not just because of the bearing but dont take a chance i have to say im a little concerned that its the bearing is your mechaninc sure its not anything to do with the suspension ? did he take it out for a road test

Answer 7

Sure can, if the wheel is loose it can vibrate causing the nuts to come loose and eventually fall off, not that likely but possible, but why fool with it, you could get in an accident.

Answer 8

Yes, the vibration and shaking from the bad wheel bearing can cause the lug nuts that hold your wheel on to come loose or grind them from there holes. If this happens you will notice that the lug holes on the wheel were total misshapen, which will cause the 'bolts' that hold them on to break or be sheered off. And if there is nothing to hold the wheel on, obviously it will come off.

Answer 9

Yes- if the bearing completely fails. or if the spindle breaks because of the bearing failure

A more likely problem would be ruining the spindle and ahigher repair cost.

Is that for both wheels, sounds high?

Answer 10

Parts can break and seperate the wheel base from the car. You sure you want to see if that happens or not. Won't that be fun?