2009 Camry needs new shocks?!?!

[ToyotaNoob2009]

Hi ToyotaNation,
So I took my car into my normal auto shop (which I deemed pretty reliable and they don't try to upsell) and they told me I might need new shocks.

They mechanic found uneven tire wear on my back right tire and said the back right shock was all messed up. They also said my front left shock was leaking. They recommended that I replace all four since shocks should be replaced in pairs.

Now ToyotaNation, I am going to see my car later, what signs should I look for for damaged/needs replacement shocks? Could the uneven wear on my back right tire be due to something else?

Thanks for any information you have!

[Zembonez]

Many things can cause tire wear. Hard to tell without seeing what they saw. A leaking shock is a dead shock though and yes, they should be replaced in pairs.

How many miles on this car?

[ToyotaNoob2009]

50k. This was for the 50k check up

[Zembonez]

It's not at all rare for a factory shock to be done at 50K. Many people continue to drive on worn out shocks without even knowing it. The slow decay of the shock's performance as the car ages makes them unaware of how bad they really are. New shocks can really make a car feel new again!

That said... I'm sure someone will chime in here and tell us how their 200K Camry is on the original shocks and they are like new. That never fails here.

[cocoLatte]

aren't the GEN6 shock's known for wearing out?

[tengiday]

Originally Posted by cocoLatte

aren't the GEN6 shock's known for wearing out?

I don't think so. I had my dealer check for the struts as my car was at ~40,000 miles, and they confirmed they were good. I'm running 18 wheels and TRD lowered springs.

[JoeRacer302]

When I bought my 2009 Camry last month my friend who is a master tech at a local repair shop said to keep an eye on the shocks as he's seen the 6th gen shocks go pretty early in some cases. That being said, you tend to hear more about stuff that fails than the cars that are still on stock shocks at 100k with no leaking. When my shocks let go I'll be swapping in coil overs

[arabianobsession]

I have heard as a general guideline to replace (or start thinking about replacing) shocks at 50k miles. I'm not horribly surprised that they'd be gone now, like it was said earlier, most people don't realize how bad their shocks were until they get replaced.

[fj62]

Toyota doesn't believe in replacing stuts in pairs unless you are paying. My wife's 2007 Camry had leaking struts at 25,000 miles. Toyota would replace only one of them saying the other one wasn't leaking bad enough to replace. At 50,000 miles I am thinking of replacing all 4 struts.