Wheel bearing · 2026
Audi A5 wheel bearing cost
A wheel bearing replacement on a Audi A5 typically costs £106–£356 per wheel fitted at a UK independent garage. Every A5 uses bolt-on sealed hub units front and rear — the model launched after Audi's switch away from press-in bearings. The catch on quattro cars: driveshafts at all four corners mean high-torque single-use axle bolts at every wheel.
Front vs rear: what's the Audi A5's bearing design?
The design decides the bill. A bolt-on hub unit is a dearer part but a quick fit; a press-in bearing is cheap but needs dismantling and a hydraulic press. Here's how the A5 is built:
| Position | Design | What that means |
|---|---|---|
Front | Bolt-on hub unit | The B8 (2007–16) holds the hub/bearing assembly with four single-use bolts plus a high-torque centre axle bolt; the B9/F5 (2016 on) continues the bolted-assembly design shared with the B9 A4. |
Rear | Bolt-on hub unit | Bolt-on sealed hub unit at the rear too — the same bearing/hub kit is sold for front or rear across the B8 A4/A5 platform, bolted to the rear upright. |
Audi A5 wheel bearing replacement cost
A single wheel bearing on a Audi A5 typically costs £106–£356 per wheel fitted at a UK independent garage. Sealed hub units cost more in parts but less in labour; press-in bearings the reverse — the total lands in a similar band. Main dealers charge 30–50% more, and London and the South East sit at the top of the range.
Key things to know
- All fixings are single-use stretch bolts — the centre axle bolt (loosened with the car on the ground) and the four hub-assembly bolts must be renewed.
- Many UK A5s are quattro, with driveshafts at all four corners — on those cars rear bearing replacement involves the same high-torque axle-bolt work as the front.
- Failures present as speed-dependent droning; no A5-specific defect pattern is documented beyond normal platform wear.
- Replacement kits include the hub unit with integrated ABS encoder, a new axle bolt and new mounting bolts.
Good question
Questions Okay gets asked a lot
How much does a wheel bearing cost for a Audi A5?
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Expect £106–£356 per wheel fitted at a UK independent garage in 2026, covering the bearing or hub unit plus labour. On the A5 the front is a bolt-on hub unit — dearer part, quicker fit and the rear is a bolt-on hub unit — dearer part, quicker fit, so quotes can differ front to rear. Main dealers charge more; use our cost calculator to adjust for your region.
Does quattro make an Audi A5 wheel bearing job more expensive?
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Slightly, at the rear. On a quattro A5 every corner has a driveshaft, so a rear bearing job includes cracking and renewing the same high-torque single-use centre axle bolt as the front — work a front-wheel-drive car's rear axle avoids entirely. The bearing itself is the same bolt-on hub unit all round, so the difference is modest, but it's why quattro rear quotes come in a touch higher.
What does a worn wheel bearing sound like on a Audi A5?
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The classic sign is a humming, droning or growling noise that rises with road speed and often changes when cornering — louder turning one way, quieter the other. On the A5 the same noise is regularly confused with tyre wear, so have the wheels spun and checked for play before paying for a bearing. A bearing with noticeable play or roughness is an MOT failure, so don't leave it once it's audible.
Get a price for your Audi A5
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