It obviously is a defect on some, but a pretty minor deal. Same part is shared by 2015 and newer CRV and HRV, also known for a bit of premature failure, and with common vehicles like that it means aftermarkets will be available for relatively cheap. It takes maybe 2 hours to replace max, any independent shop can do it and most do this sort of thing almost daily. Even after these vehicles are out of warranty, this will be an inexpensive occasional repair people will pay out of pocket, like any other car. Video below of typical process for most any front wheel drive Honda for those curious. I’m sure Clarity is almost identical: slightly different process from others I’ve done that are bolted on (usually rears are bolted on and don’t require press, but fronts are often much like this and do require a press to DIY).
@craze1cars - One of my greatest fears is the lack of aftermarket parts for such a unique car with limited production. You have just identified something that is music to my ears (some commonality with high-production vehicles). Questions - 1. How did you identify that this part is common with other vehicles? 2. Whatever your method, could it produce a cross-reference of all 'common' parts? 3. A quick check of Autozone and Advance Auto showed mixed results... One lists a [Clarity] Wheel Hub and Bearing, the other nothing. I did not expect much commonality, but it is nice to know there is [some]. What is your opinion and advice as to how to seek out and confirm whether comonality exists when seeking a particular part?
It takes some effort and it's not real easy, but can almost always be done -- I have many years of practice cross-referencing parts for a living, beating down high dealer repair prices and part prices for insurance company payouts. It's MUCH easier within a parts store or with access to $1,000/year database subscriptions I was provided to use by the insurance companies, but Google can often get you there in many cases, with some interpolation of info it provides. The #1 key is to ALWAYS start with the Honda part number you need. This website gives Honda part numbers...: https://www.hondapartsnow.com/oem-honda-clarity_plug_in_hybrid-wheel_bearing.html 44300-TLA-A51 for bearing Now I can type in the part numbers into a Google Search and get to this page: https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~brg~assy~fr~hub~44300-tla-a51.html Note how it shows cross references to CR-V and Honda Accords and Clarities, for the same part number for the bearing...now we're getting somewhere. And if I get to this exact same part number on the same website thru yet another Google suggestion...it's shows fitments for HR-V https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~bearing~fr~hub~44300-tfa-t51.html That's enough for me...now I know for a fact this is a common part. Lets find it elsewhere: Now you need to recognize it takes many years for aftermarket suppliers to update their website, especially for low volume vehicles. Autozone/Advance and such are always the slowest. Rock Auto is pretty good and pretty quick. Now that we know for example that a 2016-2018 HR-V is a pretty high volume, older vehicle, and it has a identical Honda bearing part number to 2018 Honda Clarity, let's go to RockAuto and try to find a bearing for a 2016-2018 HR-V: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/honda,2018,hr-v,1.8l+l4+sohc,3439957,brake+&+wheel+hub,wheel+bearing,1672 Lookie there are SEVEN bearings made to fit this vehicle from $26 to $48. And they will all fit the Clarity...How do I know? Because they will all fit the HR-V. We established this because Honda gives them the exact same part number. But even Rock Auto is behind. If you go up and look for a front wheel bearing for a Honda Clarity, you'll only get TWO options: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/honda,2018,clarity,1.5l+l4+electric/gas,3441908,brake+&+wheel+hub But notice how those 2 part numbers are identical to 2 of the 7 alternatives for the HR-V? That's just cuz nobody much cares yet about the Clarity cross-references. A few people here care, but you're not giving them any money yet. Not a single soul on earth has likely purchased a part from Rock Auto for a Clarity, cuz these cars are all still under warranty and everyone who owns one blindly runs back to dealer for everything. This is typical for any new car for a few years. Eventually they might straighten this all out but it will take some time for people to stop going to their dealers for every little thing, for warranties to expire, etc. And then over time the sites will gradually improve and update, and RockAuto will recognize they actually have some holes in their cross-references due to customer complaints or whatever. And they'll fix 'em. It's always a royal pain with newer/low volume vehicles because cross-references and reprogramming of websites and catalogs are so delayed. But my experience knows that parts such as bearings are almost always extremely generic and fit many cars. So when you need a part that is typically generic, I just start digging and I figure it out. Hubs are indeed different from Clarity to other vehicles, but hubs never go bad if you don't wreck them because they just hard cast non-moving parts...just the bearings fail. Dealers that are replacing hubs in conjunction with bearings are just being lazy -- it's 10 minutes easier because they don't have to cut the old bearing races out of the original hub. And they can charge warranty to Honda without having to justify their silly price to an individual out-of-pocket payer, so they do it with the more expensive/less time spent method. But this same bearing is pressed into many hubs on many different models...I likely only scratched the surface here on the number of vehicles this particular part number bearing fits. So speaking for myself only...if my Clarity bearing starts grumbling, and I don't want to mess with Honda warranty or if my car is out of warranty? I will probably buy a $35 bearing from Rock Auto and spend 2 hours in my shop and press it into my old hub myself (I do have a 20 ton press and I've done these repairs on other cars before.) And ANY independent shop can do the same, as would be required for most Clarity owners who don't have the confidence in doing such a repair, nor would most own the press. So for all of you, the independent shop will typically mark up the part for profit and charge 2 hours labor. In my world at an independent shop that's about a $60 part price plus $170 labor = $230 repair plus some tax, with a high quality aftermarket part that might even be better quality than Honda's original bearing. Sounds quite a bit better than the $450-ish numbers people are seeing from their dealers to put yet another Honda possibly defective bearing in place, plus a new and unnecessary hub, right? And that's one tiny example of how an insurance company can sometimes get an equal quality repair done to a car for half the price of the dealer quote. Such savings found justified my job with insurance companies for decades. Individuals can do the same... Hope that's all as clear as mud? And certainly no individual will ever be able to find cross references or ALL common parts of any particular car. Give up that dream, and just do this reactively for the particular part you need someday. Everyone seems excited about front wheel bearings here for some reason, so I did it for the front wheel bearing. That type of reactive lookup attempt is your best bet.
@craze1cars - Thanks for the detailed description... The guy in the video presses the hub out first (and along with the hub comes the outer bearing race - hence the need to cut it off if re-using the hub). Then, he removes the snap ring and dust cover before pressing the bearing out of the knuckle. Given the fact that he is using a new hub anyway, couldn't he have just removed the snap ring / dust cover and pressed out the old bearing / hub in one operation? You indicate that hubs are different, but following your methodology, the front hub is 44600-T0B-A00. When I google this, I find that this part DOES seem to share a 'fitment' with the CRV's and HRV's: https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~hub~assy~front~44600-t0b-a00.html This is also good news because even the DIY operation could choose to be lazy like the dealer and not bother trying to saw off the bearing race. Furthermore, it looks like you can buy a bearing / hub assembly which I assume comes with the bearing already pressed onto the hub. You would then press the whole mess into the knuckle in one operation. Do you agree with my assessment that there is indeed commonality with the front hubs too? Now, for the bad news... If you look at the rear (P/N 42200-TRN-H61), it seems like a different scenario. This part is called a "Bearing Assy., RR. Hub Unit". It does not show separate parts for the bearing and the hub. I assume this means the parts are not available / sold separately? And, if you try to look for this part, there seem to be no other 'fitments' implying that this assembly is Clarity-unique. Do you think there is a chance that these rear hubs / bearings are also common with another vehicle, but we just can't infer what the part numbers are because they are not listed separately? Or, is it just not possible to assemble and disassemble the rear bearings outside of the factory? As you say... Very complicated. I am glad that at least the front ones are somewhat generic.
All could be correct. I’m frankly not expecting to have time for the next week or two to dig anymore into this...almost impossible on a phone and I rarely find time to sit at a computer anymore where I can do this efficiently. Maybe hubs are the same I thought I found a different part number but I was moving quickly and may have misread something. If you’re seeing same part numbers for both cars, then yes they’re the same part...it is generally that simple. As for the press questions there is always more than one way to get the same result, but every method requires at least ONE press operation. Either you have a press or you don’t. Most don’t, so most can’t DIY this no matter how you skin it. But if a hub and bearing assembly is available from the aftermarket yes that would save one press operation of putting the bearing into the hub. I do NOT know if you can get the bearing out of the hub while the hub is still pressed into the knuckle. All depends on access and unwieldiness if the part on the press, orientation of snap ring, etc. would have to hold the whole mess in my hands to answer that. I never even looked into the rear...I’m unaware of any rear bearings failing. Indeed most rear bearings on FWD cars are sold as hub and bearing assemblies, which are bolted into place via 4 flange bolts, not pressed. These can often be done DIY with no press (but many require a slide hammer to bust them off the car after bolts are removed between the tight fit and corrosion,) and you simply don’t mess with replacing the bearing only. Don’t intend to be short I apologize for some speculative answers, but I’m hitting a busy time with my new career and some personal stuff now, and may be kinda absentee here for a while.
I also found the wheel bearing replacement video interesting because of the way he disengaged the ball-joints / tie-rod ends. I have always used the fork-style tool, and it is a pain in the neck to get the right angle, and it often damages the rubber seals. It was surprising how 'easily' they came loose with his method. Maybe this is well known to most seasoned mechanics, but as a very serious DIY'er, it was new to me. Need to watch more YouTube videos !!
