Please Help with 1999 Avalon

[avalon2011]

Greetings, my daughter stopped by our local Toyota service center after school this afternoon to have her 1999 Avalon aligned. Vehicle has a slight shimmy in frontend when excelerating, around 35-45mph. You can also feel it ever so slightly at higher speeds. Shop says vehicle needs right & left CV Axel's and both lower control arms replaced. Vehicle has 104K miles and has NOT been driven hard. Vehicle was my father in laws until he passed away, vehicle mostly set in the garage, and our daughter bought the car. He had a hell of time keeping tires on the vehicle as has our daughter. Frontend chewed up a set of Michilen's in 15k miles timeframe.

Is it normal for a vehicle like this to require this much frontend work at 104K miles? Shop want's just under 2K to do the work with a 12 month 12K mile warranty. Any suggestions from the experts?

[BonzoGonzo]

i didn't see any experts... rofl

check the brakes. these cars have a knack for the pads sticking in the mounts, heating up the rotors, and causing then to warp. replace rotors. be CERTAIN new pads go all the way through the clips on the cast iron mounts with very little resistance. use ceramic pads. use the correct lube on the pins that allow the calipers to slide - make sure they move freely by assembling the brakes without the pads, then moving the calipers back and forth. check calipers. they should retract with very little effort.

i seriously doubt axles @c102k, but anything's possible. go to a big, empty parking lot. turn wheel all the way left. drive around in a tight circle. if you hear clicking, try to discern which side is making the noise. turn the wheel all the way the other way. repeat the process. if no clicking, cv axles are OK.

most of the horror stories we hear about tires are due to wild toe settings. the rest of the front end alignment is virtually fixed - it takes special parts to change it and this should not be necessary. is your wheel straight? does the car go straight if you let go of the wheel? if not, check the alignment.

hope this helps...

[fourwheeler]

With the tire shimmy at various speeds I would also suspect a slightly bent wheel. Try rotating the wheels (front to back) and see if the shimmy is now in the back or goes away. I would also have the tires balanced. I have 184K on my car and am pretty sure have the OEM control arms yet.

Good Luck!