5th & 6th Generation (2002-2006 & 2007-2011)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 2002-2006 & 2007-2011
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
I have just had both the front and rear struts replaced, originals finally went out, I was bottoming out over speed bump, and have just bad handling all together. Well I took it to the dealership and was told I need new front and rear struts, but they wanted to charge me a ton of money, said no and took my business elsewhere. I took it to a smaller shop in town that does nothing but Toyota. Well I'm starting to regret that move. I had just the rear struts replaced at first, they told me I only need the rears. Great repair done, well as soon as I got on the freeway coming home, I thought I was going to have to pull over I was so seasick. The ride was bone jarring, it was so stiff it felt like the car was bouncing down the road. So I took it back and they told me I should have the front struts replaced in order to eliminate the problem... wrong again! The car is now even worse than before. The ride is so rough it is almost like I have no cushioning at all... it feels like it is just bouncing all over the road, air pressure in tires is good, newer tires only about 10k miles on them. But even the smallest of bumps in the road seem to just throw the car off. I am going to call the shop up again tomorrow and tell them to fix it, but I didn't know if anyone else had this problem, or is it just me? Any feedback at all would be great.
did you purchase the car new or used? maybe you are just not used to fresh struts? i dont understand how it can be both bouncy and rough,feeling all the bumps, at the same time
I bought it used, but I have driven other Camrys new, and they feel nothing like this. The best way to describe it is, when you hit a bump or dip in the road, the only way I can really explain it is, it feels like being on an airplane in the worst turbulence imaginable. I would have never bought a camry had the ride felt like this when I test drove the car. I mean I was expecting a stiffer ride, but not this stiff.
well they definitely have them in right, could something be wrong with the bump stops? or can struts be softened? In other words if they are just new and thats how they ride, I don't want to have to drive 10k miles just to get them to soften up.
Sounds wrong...did you do the most simple checking aka looked at the installed struts/suspension or tried to bounce the car with your hand pushing it on a corner down and release etc? If it is that bad it got to be easily detectable....
The are going to check it out again, and do a test drive on the freeway at some, I asked them if they could adjust them a little to make them a little softer too, don't really know if anything will help. Already have a headache today just from driving the car back to them this morning.
I also got a much stiffer & harsher ride when i replaced my stock struts with KYB's. You'll eventually get used to it and they will eventually soften a little bit. It took me a few months to get to the point where i don't feel harshness anymore. Unless you feel like spending a ton of cash and replacing them with oem(very expensive) or monroe's, i would just keep driving it till u get used to it.
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