On the 11th-gen Civic the front wheel bearing lives inside the aluminium steering knuckle rather than bolting on as a simple flanged cartridge, so this is a full teardown job: axle nut, caliper, rotor, tie rod, ball joint and strut bolts all have to come apart before you can get at the bearing. From there you either drop the knuckle and use a shop press, or leave it on the car and use a hub tamer style puller kit. Both work; the press gives a cleaner, squarer install, the puller kit saves you separating the strut.
The one thing people get wrong is the ABS encoder ring. It is a magnetic strip built into the inboard seal of the bearing, and it is easy to nick with a punch, scrape on the bench, or install facing the wrong way. The result is a car that drives fine but lights up ABS, VSA, hill-start assist and sometimes the EPB, and you get to do the whole job twice. The second most common mistake is reusing the staked axle nut — buy a new one with the bearing.
| Item | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Floor jack 2 ton minimum Raise the front of the car at the front jack point. | Required | shop |
| Jack stands 3 ton pair Support the car on the pinch-weld points while the wheel is off. | Safety | shop |
| Lug wrench or impact socket 19 mm, 1/2 in drive Remove the front wheel; loosen lugs before lifting. | Required | shop |
| Axle nut socket 32 mm, 6-point, 1/2 in drive Removes the front driveshaft spindle nut (verify 32 mm on your car before buying). | Required | shop |
| Breaker bar 1/2 in drive, 24 in The spindle nut is staked and torqued near 180 ft-lb. | Required | shop |
| Punch and hammer 3-4 mm pin punch, 2 lb hammer Un-stake the collar of the spindle nut before loosening it. | Required | shop |
| Socket set 10, 12, 14, 17, 19 mm, 3/8 and 1/2 in drive Caliper slide bolts (12 mm), ABS sensor bolt (10 mm), sway bar link (14 mm), caliper bracket and knuckle hardware (17/19 mm). | Required | shop |
| Combination wrenches 14, 17, 19 mm Hold the nut side of the strut-to-knuckle and ball joint bolts while turning the head. | Required | shop |
| Hex key set 6 mm Holds the stabilizer link stud from spinning while the 14 mm nut turns. | Recommended | shop |
| Impact driver or JIS screwdriver JIS #3 / Phillips #3 Backs out the two rotor retaining screws, which are usually seized. | Recommended | shop |
| Bungee cord or wire hook Hang the brake caliper so the flexible hose is not loaded. | Required | shop |
| Tie rod / ball joint separator Pickle fork or 2-jaw puller-type separator Pops the outer tie rod end and lower ball joint out of the knuckle. | Required | shop |
| Cotter pin / split pin New pins for ball joint and tie rod castle nuts Honda castle nuts use one-time-use cotter pins. | Consumables | shop |
| Hydraulic shop press 12-20 ton with bearing plates Presses the hub out of the bearing and the new bearing into the knuckle (off-car method). | Required | shop |
| Bearing/hub puller kit On-car FWD hub tamer / bearing removal kit Alternative to a press; pulls the bearing in and out with the knuckle still on the car. | Required | shop |
| Bearing driver / press adapter set Set covering 60-90 mm outer diameter Press only on the bearing outer race when installing, never on the inner race. | Required | shop |
| Snap ring pliers Internal, heavy-duty, straight and bent tips Removes and refits the snap ring that retains the bearing in the knuckle. | Required | shop |
| Slide hammer with hub puller 3-bolt / 5-lug hub adapter Pulls a stuck hub flange out of the bearing if the press method leaves the inner race behind. | Recommended | shop |
| Bearing separator / splitter 2-4 in jaw Removes the inner race left on the hub flange after pressing the hub out. | Recommended | shop |
| Torque wrench 1/2 in drive, 30-250 ft-lb Spindle nut, caliper bracket, knuckle and lug torques. | Required | shop |
| Torque wrench 3/8 in drive, 10-80 ft-lb Caliper slide bolts, ABS sensor bolt, smaller fasteners. | Recommended | shop |
| Penetrating oil Free the rotor screws, axle nut and ball joint tapers. | Consumables | shop |
| Wire brush and brake cleaner Clean the knuckle bore and hub flange so the new bearing seats square. | Consumables | shop |
| Anti-seize or bearing mounting compound Thin film, aluminium-safe Light coat on the knuckle bore only, to ease installation and prevent future seizing. | Consumables | shop |
| Front wheel hub bearing assembly 11th-gen Civic front, with magnetic ABS encoder ring The replacement bearing; check whether your parts number is a press-in bearing plus hub or a bolt-on flanged unit. | Parts | shop |
| Spindle (axle) nut New self-staking nut The staked nut is one-time-use and must be replaced. | Parts | shop |
| Nitrile gloves and safety glasses Press work throws metal chips; brake dust and penetrant are messy. | Safety | shop |
Tool sizes are the same across the whole 11th-gen range: the 2.0L K20C2 (LX/Sport) and 1.5L L15B7 turbo (EX/Touring/Si) share the same front knuckle, hub bearing, 32 mm axle nut, 19 mm lug nuts and 12/17 mm caliper hardware. Si and Sport Touring hatch cars have larger front rotors and a different caliper bracket, but the bracket bolt size and the bearing itself are unchanged. Wheel bolt pattern is 5x114.3 on all 11th-gen Civics.
| Wheel lug nuts (19 mm) | 80 ft-lb (108 Nm) |
| Front spindle/axle nut | 181 ft-lb (245 Nm) — verify in the service manual |
| Brake caliper bracket bolts to knuckle | verify in the service manual |
| Caliper slide (guide) bolts | verify in the service manual |
| Strut-to-knuckle bolts/nuts | verify in the service manual |
| Lower ball joint castle nut | verify in the service manual (tighten then advance to next slot for cotter pin) |
| Tie rod end castle nut | verify in the service manual |
| Stabilizer link nut | verify in the service manual |
| ABS wheel speed sensor bolt | verify in the service manual |
Lug nuts (19 mm), caliper slide (12 mm), caliper bracket (17 mm) and the general strut/ball joint hardware sizes are reliable for the 11th-gen Civic, but confirm the axle nut size (32 mm on most Honda applications, some are 36 mm) and all torque values against the Honda service manual for your exact year and trim before final assembly.
No, but you need something equivalent. A hub tamer / FWD bearing puller kit lets you pull the hub and bearing with the knuckle still on the car. Without either a press or that kit, you cannot do this job — the bearing is an interference fit in the knuckle.
It is a 32 mm, 6-point, one-time-use staked nut on the common applications, torqued around 181 ft-lb (245 Nm). Confirm the size on your car before buying the socket, since a few Honda applications use 36 mm.
Almost always a damaged or reversed magnetic encoder ring on the inboard bearing seal, or a speed sensor that was knocked or left with a gap. Scan for a wheel speed sensor code, confirm the dark encoder seal faces inboard, and check the sensor bolt is tight and the bore is clean.
You can replace just the bearing — the hub flange and knuckle are reusable if the bore is not scored and the flange splines and studs are good. Buying a loaded knuckle assembly is a shortcut some people take to avoid press work, but it costs considerably more.