Symptoms of Bad Struts - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

XPS9000 · 01-06-2010, 10:33 PM

I noticed when i am driving over uneven road or bumps in the road there is a squeaky sound I hear from the rear wheels. Could it be worn struts? I installed TRD lowering springs back in February of 09. I don't know if that could of really worn out the struts but do you think my cars warranty will cover the struts if it is the problem. I called the dealership and they said 900 including labor to replace the struts.

Aldo1122 · 01-06-2010, 11:02 PM

What year is your car? I dont think warranty will cover it.. Dealership will charge you more no matter what also because they are going to install original ones but there are cheaper ones that are not bad and installation should not cost more than 200

***JohnGD*** · 01-06-2010, 11:05 PM

Most aftermarket struts carry lifetime warranty. However, some don't cover "normal wear and tear".

But since the spring is technically Toyota's, and if you 're within the 3/36 warranty period. I would think they should? Outside that warranty period you're basically on your own.

$900 for what struts? TRD? Why not get Tokicos?

Quote:

Originally Posted by XPS9000

I noticed when i am driving over uneven road or bumps in the road there is a squeaky sound I hear from the rear wheels. Could it be worn struts? I installed TRD lowering springs back in February of 09. I don't know if that could of really worn out the struts but do you think my cars warranty will cover the struts if it is the problem. I called the dealership and they said 900 including labor to replace the struts.

GT-R · 01-06-2010, 11:21 PM

Does your car bounce more than usual when going over speedbumps and such? Squeaks and other noise might be normal for lowered cars. I hear thumps / knocks when going over bumpy roads and speedbumps.

Redline_Me · 01-06-2010, 11:35 PM

The most common thing you will hear on blown struts is a popping sound coming from the suspension. It just sounds like everything is loose.

Aldo1122 · 01-06-2010, 11:49 PM

yeah I was geting that same sound sounded like I had loose boxes in the trunk with pots in them

Redline_Me · 01-07-2010, 04:18 AM

My gf car has blown struts in the front and it just sounds like the wheel is gonna fall off any second.

**PRINCESS PEACH** · 01-07-2010, 04:59 AM

in my experience, blown struts don't make much noise. instead, your ride is just garbage, but u don't notice it because it wears out slowly. even when my struts blew after running over a pothole (right side of the car), I still didn't know my struts were blown.

best way to test it is the bounce test.

XPS9000 · 01-07-2010, 09:39 AM

My car is an 2005 camry. Would 18" rims be affecting the ride quality as well? If the struts are the problem, I was thinking of getting the KYB struts. Do you guys think they are much better than OEM?

Aldo1122 · 01-07-2010, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRINCESS PEACH

in my experience, blown struts don't make much noise. instead, your ride is just garbage, but u don't notice it because it wears out slowly. even when my struts blew after running over a pothole (right side of the car), I still didn't know my struts were blown.

best way to test it is the bounce test.

yes true.. The bounce test is the best way to notice if the struts are blown. What happen with me was that I did not notice like you said it is not noise noticible but that was because I has stock springs once I installed lowering springs It not only had the horrible ride but also the noise started since the springs are shorter making it seem as everything was loose down there when hitting a bump

Aldo1122 · 01-07-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XPS9000

My car is an 2005 camry. Would 18" rims be affecting the ride quality as well? If the struts are the problem, I was thinking of getting the KYB struts. Do you guys think they are much better than OEM?

The bigger the rims the harder the ride but I dont think 18" should be that big of a deal. Yes kyb are a good choice not bad price I believe they are 350 with shipping included on ebay

LE05 · 01-07-2010, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XPS9000

My car is an 2005 camry. Would 18" rims be affecting the ride quality as well? If the struts are the problem, I was thinking of getting the KYB struts. Do you guys think they are much better than OEM?

before you think about getting new struts, have you checked your rear sway bar bushings? the sway bar will make lots of squeaking noises over uneven roads and bumps if the grease of the sway bar bushings is gone.

last year, i drove up to vermont in that big snowstorm, and drove around in the snow for several days up there. on my way back, my car squeaked over every single little bump... it was driving me crazy! when i got home, and checked the rear sway bar bushings, the snow and salt had washed all the grease out... so I would check that first before throwing parts at your car to fix a simple problem.

XPS9000 · 01-07-2010, 07:13 PM

I got back from the dealer after oil change and diagnosis. They said it was the lowering springs that were making the noise. So they sprayed silicon lubricant all over the springs "As Best As Possible" lol

Aldo1122 · 01-07-2010, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XPS9000

I got back from the dealer after oil change and diagnosis. They said it was the lowering springs that were making the noise. So they sprayed silicon lubricant all over the springs "As Best As Possible" lol

did it fix the problem?

XPS9000 · 01-07-2010, 10:49 PM

Surpisingly it did so far. I have to drive a bit more though to see if it eliminated it. When I first drove it, it felt smooth but then the bumps in the road was harsh because of the lowering springs. Which is normal right?

I asked the service adviser about the condition of my struts and he said that they are fine and they said they rarely change struts. He said they could go on till like 150K. Any truth to that?