Q&A

 Rookie

My 2003 Highlander has 109,000 miles on it and I've noticed a considerable change in the ride and handling of the car in the last year. At speeds above 35 mph it sways when I hit bumps and generally feels sloppy and sometimes out of control when simultaneously hitting a bump and driving on a tight curve such as a highway exit ramp. My Toyota dealership mechanic said to restore the ride,I would need to replace the shocks and struts but when I took it back in to replace they told me it did not need it. I even test drove with a service manager who assured me that the ride was not like new but that I did not need new shocks and struts. He did not test drive it above 30 mph however. How do I determine if the ride quality is due to struts and shocks and why would the dealership be so hesitant to replace them?
Thank you.