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Last week my Grandfather stopped in to see me. He was asking about struts on his Honda Pilot and if he should consider replacing them since the vehicle has over 100,000 miles. After this discussion (with a man I’ve grown up thinking knows everything about everything), it made me realize that understanding the value of replacing your shocks and struts is a complicated issue.
Recently I was driving one of my loaner vehicles when the rear of the car seemed to kick sideways in the road. After checking it out and finding nothing loose, we replaced the struts and the problem was gone. A month or so later I was driving my sixteen year old step-daughter’s car, a 2008 Honda Civic with 131,000 miles on it. Driving along Rte.145 in one of the corners, I could feel the rear tires bouncing and losing traction, then the rear of the car nearly came around sideways. I thought about how dangerous this would be, especially in the winter. We changed the shocks and struts and it handled like a new car. She still went off the road in the same corner but for a different reason -- remember, she’s sixteen! The most extreme example happened just a couple weeks ago. We always test drive during state inspections. The technician came back stating the truck had come completely sideways after hitting potholes just north of here. The rear shocks were completely blown.
Shocks and struts control the tires’ contact with the road. When they become worn it leads to safety problems, rapid tire wear, premature suspension part failures and changes in the way the vehicle brakes due to incorrect weight transfer. Most drivers never notice them getting worn because it happens so slowly over time. Industry standard life cycle for shocks and struts is 50,000 miles. Most shock and strut manufacturers have a lifetime ride warranty. If you replace your shocks or struts once and can get them warranted for life you will never have to drive on worn out ones again. Bounce that idea around for a while.

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