Q&A

 Master

Hello, there is no "set" mileage that shock absorbers must be replaced at. It seems that some franchise repair shops seem to be stuck with the metaity that cars are like they were in the 1960s. A lot of big old heavy American cars in the 1960s and 1970's had poor road handling and befitted greatly from shock absorber replacement. Shock replacement at 40,000 miles was common.
Modern cars are lighter, handling and steering is superb. To maintain this balance the suspension (shock absorbers) play an important part. Shock absorbers life will depend on the the driving conditions your car experiences. If you travel on rough roads and encounter a lot of speed bumps and pot holes your shocks will have to work harder and may wear out prematurely. Shocks need to be replaced when thy no longer function correctly. They can be tested by the traditional "bounce test", the shocks are inspected for leakage, and another condition under which hocks may need to be replaced is if you experience rattles from the shocks when driving. On Camry's I have seen the top strut mounts in the front fail , the front struts have to be removed to replace the upper mounts.

 Master

Hello, there is no "set" mileage that shock absorbers must be replaced at. It seems that some franchise repair shops seem to be stuck with the metaity that cars are like they were in the 1960s. A lot of big old heavy American cars in the 1960s and 1970's had poor road handling and befitted greatly from shock absorber replacement. Shock replacement at 40,000 miles was common.
Modern cars are lighter, handling and steering is superb. To maintain this balance the suspension (shock absorbers) play an important part. Shock absorbers life will depend on the the driving conditions your car experiences. If you travel on rough roads and encounter a lot of speed bumps and pot holes your shocks will have to work harder and may wear out prematurely. Shocks need to be replaced when thy no longer function correctly. They can be tested by the traditional "bounce test", the shocks are inspected for leakage, and another condition under which hocks may need to be replaced is if you experience rattles from the shocks when driving. On Camry's I have seen the top strut mounts in the front fail , the front struts have to be removed to replace the upper mounts.

 Rookie

I have a 2001 Camry with 101000 miles that has gone without a struts job. 50,000 is nowhere near what a light-weight car like Camry can take - you can do a couple of tests yourself to see if you need new struts:
1. Does your car bounce around when you ride over potholes? If yes, maybe you need new struts.
2. Does your car feel very low, do you always feel your tires need more air, even though they have the recommended psi?
2. Do they leak oil? - if yes, certainly you need new struts.

And don't let the auto shop foool you, you can get Monroe Quick Struts from some one like strutmasters.com or rockauto.com for a very good price. And installing those will not take more than 1-1/2 to 2 hours max.

 Rookie

I went into Sears Auto to get my car serviced just to get an alignment (so I thought it was). Turns out that I needed my brakes fixed in the back, and the front was not well fixed by another mechanic I went to when it needed to be serviced(tires made clanging noises when I went over bumps). Anyway, the cost all added up to $334. Now the mechanics are saying that my struts need to be fixed (all I guess) and it will cost me $995. It has 135,000 miles on it and it is a 2000 toyota highlander. Never gave me any problems until now. Is this the right price for struts?? Please help.