Have your daily drives gone from smooth and comfortable to a rattling ordeal?
Along with the bouncy ride, does your car’s front sink when you brake?
Bad struts and shocks can be behind all this.
So, what should you do next?
Keep reading to learn more about the common bad strut symptoms, how they impact safety, and what you can do to maintain your struts and shocks.
This Article Contains:
- 7 Common Symptoms of Bad Struts You Shouldn’t Ignore
- Do Worn Shocks Cause the Same Symptoms as Bad Struts?
- Can You Drive with Bad Struts and Shocks?
- How to Diagnose Bad Struts?
- How Much Does a Strut or Shock Replacement Cost?
- 3 FAQs about the Struts and Shocks on Your Vehicle
7 Common Symptoms of Bad Struts You Shouldn’t Ignore
Ailing struts cause several concerning issues, including:
1. A Bumpy Ride
A strut is a crucial suspension component on your car and takes on a speed bump or any other irregularity on the road. Faulty struts on your vehicle won’t effectively absorb impacts from driving over a bumpy road, leading to a shaky and uncomfortable ride.
2. Nose Dive and Rear Squat
While some nose dive is inevitable from hard braking, a damaged front strut makes it more pronounced even when braking normally. Reason — a failing strut won’t resist the forces acting on it while braking, and your car’s front end will dip.
Similarly, when accelerating, your car’s weight shifts to its rear end. If its suspension system isn’t in good shape, your car’s rear can squat as you hit the gas pedal. You may also experience body roll while turning due to bad suspension parts.
3. Uneven Tire Wear
The strut assembly on your vehicle helps the tires maintain good contact with the road. Bad struts can make the tires bounce and cause uneven wear.
How?
A worn strut mount can affect your car’s wheel alignment and accelerate the wear of a tire’s inner or outer edge faster, termed “cupping.”
While regular tire rotation may counteract uneven tire wear, if you don’t fix your worn-out struts, you’ll eventually need a tire repair.
4. Steering Issues
The upper strut mount bearing allows the front wheels to turn according to the steering wheel input. A damaged strut mount bearing can make the steering wheel vibrate and hard to rotate. It may also not return to its center position after making a turn.
5. Vehicle Sways While Cornering
Worn shocks lose their ability to manage weight transfer when cornering. The lack of vehicle stability reduces your steering control, making it dangerous to drive.
6. Unusual Squeaking or Clunking Noises
You may hear unusual noises (knocking or clunking) while driving over a rough road due to metal-to-metal contact in a bad strut assembly. A worn strut bearing may also produce a squeaking sound while turning.
7. Fluid Leaks
Strut seals in the damping system can wear out, causing hydraulic fluid leaks. This reduces your car’s suspension system effectiveness and is known as a “blown strut.” You may notice oil or grime on the strut’s hydraulic cylinder due to a leak.
Now that you know what bad strut symptoms to look for, you can prevent them from causing bigger issues.
But here’s the tricky part:
The symptoms of bad shocks can seem pretty similar to those of worn struts.
Don’t worry — there is a way to tell them apart. Let’s explore how.
Do Worn Shocks Cause the Same Symptoms as Bad Struts?
A failing shock can also result in a rough ride on a bumpy road, uneven tire wear, unusual sounds, and fluid leaks. However, there are some differences:
- Issues with a bad shock won’t affect your vehicle’s suspension height.
- A worn shock doesn’t impact your steering ability as significantly as a bad strut.
- Bad struts cause loud clunking sounds, whereas a faulty shock absorber produces squeaking or creaking noises.
Wondering how dangerous these symptoms are?
Let’s discuss whether or not you should drive with a worn shock or strut.
Can You Drive with Bad Struts and Struts?
You shouldn’t drive your vehicle with a worn strut or faulty shock, as they cause steering and handling problems. This can compromise your safety on the road.
Driving with bad strut symptoms can also cause further damage to the suspension system, leading to expensive repairs. So get your car inspected by a professional mechanic ASAP.
Want to confirm if your struts have gone bad?
Read on.
How to Diagnose Bad Struts?
A few basic tests can determine whether a faulty strut mount or another suspension component is causing the issue.
A. Parked Level Test
Look at how your vehicle sits when parked. If the front appears to be sitting lower than it should, or if the front right end rests lower than the left or vice versa, it implies a failing strut.
You can also measure your vehicle’s suspension height from the top of the tire to the bottom of the fender well. The right and left wheels shouldn’t have a substantial height difference.
B. Bounce Test
This is what you have to do:
- Place your foot or knee on the bumper or hood of your car.
- Push the vehicle down.
- Take off your foot or knee abruptly and watch the car return to its original position. The vehicle should rise and stay there without bouncing much. If it keeps on bouncing, this indicates a broken strut.
If these elementary checks couldn’t help you decide if you need a new strut, get help from a dealership or professional service like AutoNation Mobile Service.
C. Professional Diagnosis
Here are the steps a mechanic will follow to diagnose a worn strut:
- Open the hood and locate the strut mounts.
- Check if each strut mount is appropriately secured in its place and its nuts and bolts aren’t rusted.
- Rotate the steering wheel from the lock-to-lock position and observe any unusual sound to check the upper strut bearing.
- Raise the car using a hoist or jack.
- Check the coil spring to ensure it’s not broken.
- Look for cracks or damage in the rubber seat of the upper and lower strut mount into which the coil spring attaches.
- Compress and release the coil spring to check excessive movement in the strut piston rod. If it exists, you may have a bad strut mount.
- Inspect the piston cylinder for hydraulic fluid leaks or a blown strut.
Depending on the diagnosis, the mechanic may suggest replacing the coil spring or strut mount or changing the whole strut assembly.
Note: During a strut replacement, get the wheel assembly and other suspension parts inspected for issues like bearing noise, a bad shock absorber, etc.
Now, let’s see how much a strut replacement will set you back.
How Much Does a Strut or Shock Replacement Cost?
The approximate cost for replacing a pair of struts can be around $400-$1200. A pair of strut assemblies may cost $300-$840, while the labor charges can vary from $100-$300.
It’s best to replace struts as a pair. Combining an old and new strut can cause uneven tire wear and balancing issues with your vehicle.
After replacing your struts, you’ll also need a wheel alignment, which costs approximately $170-$220. Luckily, this procedure isn’t necessary when getting new shocks, so you’ll only pay between $300 and $700 (including parts and labor).
Still have more questions about struts and shocks?
Let’s settle your curiosity.
3 FAQs about the Struts and Shocks on Your Vehicle
Here are answers to three common questions you may have:
1. How Do Struts Work?
A car strut acts as both a structural and dampening component of the suspension system to ensure vehicle stability. The spring in the car strut maintains the ride height and keeps the tire in contact with the road when the vehicle goes over a speed bump or pothole.
It absorbs the impact from the tire, which is then transferred to the hydraulic piston system in the strut. The hydraulic system dampens the “bounciness” that would have resulted from the spring to provide a smooth and comfortable ride.
2. How Long Do Struts Last?
Struts can last about 5-10 years or 50,000-100,000 miles, depending on the manufacturer, load, road conditions, and your driving habits.
3. How to Maintain Your Struts and Shocks?
There are several things you can do to prevent a broken strut or shock, including:
- Schedule regular inspections: A certified mechanic should inspect your suspension system at least once a year or every 12,000 miles.
- Properly inflate your tires: Incorrect tire inflation leads to uneven wear, which can potentially damage components of your vehicle’s suspension.
- Avoid potholes and bumps: The impact force from bumps and potholes can cause substantial damage to your struts and shocks.
- Avoid hard braking: Braking causes vertical movement that results in excessive wear. So slow down gradually and brake as smoothly as possible.
- Avoid exposure to corrosive elements: Water, salt, and road treatment chemicals can cause shocks and struts to corrode.
Say Goodbye to Bumpy Rides with AutoNation Mobile Service
Struts are an essential part of your suspension system. For optimal rough road driving, get them checked when you go for a scheduled car service or an engine repair job.
But if you notice the signs of a bad strut earlier, have your car inspected by a qualified mechanic like AutoNation Mobile Service.
We are a mobile auto repair service offering easy online booking and a 12-month | 12,000-mile warranty on all repairs.
Contact us for any automotive repair you need. Whether it’s a radiator repair, brake repair, or transmission repair, we’ll fix it right from your driveway!