I'm not from the area so I can't really say but struts on these is a pretty straightforward job and any competent shop should be able to handle the repair.

As far as your struts being bad at 42k.. well I don't know if I believe all that. Dealerships are not exempt from the state of the economy and as a result are "stretching things" just as bad (if not more so) than other repair places. It's important to understand that a little bit of seepage is normal and not necessarily indicative of needing to replace the struts.

In other words you may not really need struts.

Also if you're happy with how the vehicle rides and not hearing any strange suspension noises then there may no reason to rush into replacing these.. it's not like it's going to cause a wheel to fall off.

Definitely get a second opinion about your struts and take things from there.

**NOTE: I just noticed that you posted about your Camry in the Corolla forum but the same advice still applies. Don't be surprised when your post gets moved.

 

First of all...just because they are leaking doesn't necessarily mean they automatically have to be replaced. As long as they are still dampening the spring motion effectively then ride with them for a while longer.

Second of all...40-50K miles is considered normal lifespan for struts...which are a wear-item. In other words, they will wear out...just like tires or brake pads, etc. Some people may get more mileage...some people may get less...depending on the road conditions that the car is driven on.

Thirdly...recalls are issued due to some safety related problem. No one is going to "recall" worn out struts on a 5 year old car with 40K+ miles.

 

If you plan on keeping your car forever, Toyota may be OK. They offer lifetime warranty including labor. I bought a muffler and Toyota replaced it for free 3 more times.
My 2007 Camry had leaking front struts at 24,000 miles. Toyota would only replace one saying the other strut isn't leaking bad enough. Now at 55,000 miles the unreplaced strut is leaking real bad. I bet Toyota will want to install 2 new struts now but under warranty only the real bad leaking strut was replaced. I am considering letting Toyota replace the one bad on. In the future I will replace the other one.
As for the comment about stuts needing replaced , My old 1985 Camry went around 125,000 miles before struts needed replace.

 

I had my front right strut blow out and replaced on warranty just before it expired at 60000 Kms (37282 miles). Toyota doesn't also cover for the subsequently required alignment, so they had me leave that way without any concern, but I do my own alignments and it was of course found to be way off after they replaced the strut.
My struts usually last about 50000-60000 miles. I replaced all 4 struts last year again with lifetime waranteed Monroe SensaTrac at 25% off from Canadian Tire, and then got $80 cash back from Monroe's Shocktoberfest deal. That was a total of $448 for all 4 struts, plus a pair of front strut bellows (boots), and I did it all myself using a set of coil spring compressors for a grand total of under $500... KYB GR2 and Monroe OESpectrum are also good replacement struts with lifetime warranty. You can get them from most auto parts dealers.
That's a 2007 Camry 2.4 (4 cylinder)? I never heard of Sensen, but they also have a lifetime warranty. Always replace struts in pairs (both fronts, both rears), and ideally all 4 at once.

Struts: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,c...,carcode,1433263,parttype,7584,a,www.google.ca+Search+for+2007+TOYOTA+CAMRY+LE+

Shock mounting kit (Support with integrated bellow):

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,c...,carcode,1433263,parttype,7568,a,www.google.ca+Search+for+2007+TOYOTA+CAMRY+LE+

 

http://www.deansautomotive.com/http://www.deansautomotive.com/http://www.deansautomotive.com/

http://www.sfcarservices.com/

 

Thanks everyone for the reply.
I forgot to mention that

->First set of tires worn out around 34K and next set of Michelin tires in the one year of use are around 7/32 threads. All the driving has been city/highway. I haven't noticed much difference in smoothness of the ride.
->Dealer said that leakage is at Level 2.

From the replies it seems that I should get a second opinion and then go from there. Any suggestion for the


Thanks
Alex

 

Are these common replacement Items on corolla's too? I got 82,500K on my 05 Corolla S and ever since I got my tires changed at 50K it has rode like crap. They aren't leaking as far as I can tell. Asking the Rolla owners what is the average miles when you changed struts.

 

From what I've seen over the last decade or so Corolla struts are good to about 100-120k. They usually don't leak but will start clunking and making noise (and developing play in the shaft) around that time.

Camry struts do seem to fail more often - usually by about 70k or 80k but instead of making noise they just leak out fluid and allow for a looser ride. Usually this happens gradually over time and the driver doesn't even notice the ride difference... that is until you finally talk them into new ones and then they are like "Holy Cow! It's like a brand new car!"

Regardless while I wouldn't be surprised that 42k struts would be bad I still think that is a bit premature, ESPECIALLY for what they cost to replace - but it's not the end of the world or even all that dangerous for someone to put the repair off for a bit.. at least get through the holiday season unless the money isn't an issue.

I see many Camrys (actually toyotas in general) around here with over 200k on the struts and they just keep driving around like that.

I bought a '95 escort several years back that had a blown LF strut. At 115k all four struts were still original. I had a '91 Mazda 323 with 90k come in with original struts but its RF was blown. I ended up putting her old LF strut on my Escort! (same part number) and it has been driving around ever since with three original struts and one older than original strut! hah! It seems to handle pretty well!

 

From what I've seen over the last decade or so Corolla struts are good to about 100-120k. They usually don't leak but will start clunking and making noise (and developing play in the shaft) around that time.

Camry struts do seem to fail more often - usually by about 70k or 80k but instead of making noise they just leak out fluid and allow for a looser ride. Usually this happens gradually over time and the driver doesn't even notice the ride difference... that is until you finally talk them into new ones and then they are like "Holy Cow! It's like a brand new car!"

Regardless while I wouldn't be surprised that 42k struts would be bad I still think that is a bit premature, ESPECIALLY for what they cost to replace - but it's not the end of the world or even all that dangerous for someone to put the repair off for a bit.. at least get through the holiday season unless the money isn't an issue.

I see many Camrys (actually toyotas in general) around here with over 200k on the struts and they just keep driving around like that.

I bought a '95 escort several years back that had a blown LF strut. At 115k all four struts were still original. I had a '91 Mazda 323 with 90k come in with original struts but its RF was blown. I ended up putting her old LF strut on my Escort! (same part number) and it has been driving around ever since with three original struts and one older than original strut! hah! It seems to handle pretty well!

Thanks. They aren't clunking its just the ride quality ain't what it use to be. I know the suspension has broken in by now. This spring I have a buddy with jacks and I will get under the car and make a good inspection. 1400.00 Dollars for struts installed scares the crap out of me.

 

Yeah well that's dealer pricing. Total labor for all four struts is 4.8 hours.. or $450-$600 in labor!

The biggest reason labor is so high is accessing the tops of the rear struts but even so it's not a big deal. I can literally do all four in less than an hour!

If you go with aftermarket parts the struts are about $100 each and the strut mounts are about $50 each. You might not even need the mounts (the OP shouldn't at 42k).. so retail pricing for this job at an aftermarket shop would be about $1200 including the alignment. I would do it for $800 just to get your business and still make a healthy profit.

If you can work on cars you can do it yourself - even if you have to pay a shop to compress the springs and swap the struts out. You can get aftermarket parts (four struts and four mounts) for under $500 and for about $60-80 I'm sure just about any repair shop would be happy to swap the springs over for you. All you would have to do is unbolt the assemblies from your car and take it up there.

Or you can purchase your own spring compressor for about $50 and do it yourself... just be careful as this gets a little dangerous.

Once done you'll need to pay a shop to align the car.. but still you can save at least $600-700 by doing it yourself.