2003 Tahoe ABS Light And Bearing Loose

Around April this year the ABS light lit up on a Saturday and by Monday the right front tire was wobbling badly. An internet search didn’t say anything about bearings. I remember my dad saying a loose wheel is usually bad bearings. I replaced the right hub for $138 vs the dealer’s $500 for the part. Everything was great.

Now here in October the light is back on but the tires are firm. I don’t have a ABS scanner. I took it to the dealer. After keeping it all day he said both hubs are bad and the master cylinder has a slow leak too. Help please?

ANSWER: It’s quite possible you could have both hub bearings bad. The wheel speed sensor is built into the hub assembly as I’m sure you saw when you changed the one a while back. It doesn’t have to be loose to have an ABS problem. It could just be the sensor wiring, but usually they are difficult to remove and break, so an entire hub is necessary. Aftermarket parts never last in my opinion, so definitely go with the parts from the dealership!! As for the master cylinder leak, you can always have them show you the leak so you can see for yourself if it needs replacement.

Gracias! Just an update from fixing it this weekend. A family member who’s a mechanic and has an ABS scanner said it was just the right front ABS Hub. Swapped it out under warranty, upgraded to a better quality hub with a 3 year warranty. ABS light is out and the Tahoe is running fine. Master cylinder was cleaned and inspected without any problems. Seems the dealer just wanted to pad his pockets.

Thanks again.