Just bought 2016 Expedition Limited with 62,000 miles. Body is in great shape, got dealer to put new tires on, however our our mechanic says it also needs new struts and rotors may be warped. Gave a quote of $2,500 for new struts for all four. 1- is an extended warranty needed or is this the only major issue I (hopefully) run into. 2- anything else I can do preventative maintenance?
I doubt this is correct. Have him show you if they are leaking. If they aren’t leaking, they are most likely just fine. If the SUV isn’t bouncing all over the road when you drive country lanes, the struts are fine. If he says factory struts are all worn out at 50,000 miles, thank him, leave the shop, and never return, he is a crook and has a boat payment due.
As for the rotors, if you don’t feel pulsing in the brake pedal when you brake, they are fine, too. The brake pads may need replacing since the SUV has 62,000 miles and replacing rotors at the same time is usually a good idea. If the car brakes smoothly and you see no leaks from the struts. I’d strongly suspect your mechanic is ripping you off.
If you disagree, get a second opinion from a better mechanic. One recommended by friends, family and Yelp. They can see the SUV up close where I cannot.
And neither of these repairs falls into the “major repair” category. when needed, this is maintenance. I always recommend against extended warranties. They are very profitable to the seller and they generally won’t cover maintenance items anyway. Those that do are a HUGE rip-off.
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Follow Mustangman advice. Very unusual to have struts replaced this early.
As far as anything else— your vehicle should have an oil life monitor, I prefer to change mine when it gets to 20% life remaining. Ford has rather extended intervals, like transmission at 100K, most people on this site will do theirs at 30K. Ford says 30K for air filter, I visually check mine much more often.
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I mostly agree with you, but not 100%
If you had said “If you don’t feel pulsing in the brake pedal when you brake at freeway speeds, they are fine, too.” . . . I would have agreed with you 100%
I’ve worked on plenty of vehicles with warped rotors that felt fine when braking at 35mph, but they were definitely not okay at 65mph
That is why I try to include some freeway driving on all of my road tests at work
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No way to tell what repair issues will arise, maybe no more, maybe lots more. But you know you’ve got routine maintenance expenses with any vehicle, including this one. Don’t skimp on those jobs, get them done according to the owners manual schedule. Besides that, the more gentle your driving style, the longer it will be between repairs. Avoiding rapid starts, rapid stops, high speed cornering, and going too fast over bumps will help keep your Ford on the road and your money in your pocket.
I had been a customer in an independent shop for more than 20 years. All was well until the management changed. Suddenly, I would get a call about things that needed to be fixed. I was told on one of my vehicles that I needed new struts.
I went to my independent tire shop which does suspension work and was told the struts were fine. The Toyota dealer also said that the struts were fine. The independent shop where I had been doing business lost a customer.
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$2500 for new struts, brake pads, and rotors is beyond absurd. If this vehicle really requires such costly brake and suspension parts, then it wasn’t such a good buy.
A quick check on RockAuto shows that if you have the standard suspension, brand name shocks and struts can be had for about $400 for the set. If you have the “continuous control” suspension, a set will cost about $1500 for parts alone. A professional mechanic would typically charge twice the RockAuto price or more for the parts.
I guess the question is which suspension type do you have, and if you do have the air suspension, do you want to turn it into a regular suspension if/when it fails?
I have replaced struts (more accurately they were coil-over shocks) that cost $2500 each for parts and labor.
Well possibly more but with $800 for struts and 8 hours labor plus $100 for the wheel alignment this accounts for most of the $2500 estimate.
The question however is does this vehicle need four new shocks/struts? The good independent finds one leaking unit and it is an opportunity to sell a complete set. When a customer with a leaking shock or strut comes in for a warranty repair only the failed unit is replaced.
Thank you all for your help! I just took the vehicle to another mechanic who said struts are fine and wont need any attention until 75-80k miles! Much different story than “our” mechanic who said it needed struts now at 62k miles for $2,500 (20k miles is a huge difference in my opinion!). Only thing second opinion recommended was machining the rotors, which are out of round and I do feel at highway speeds. I will just replace them with brand new for the extra $200 (quote of $5-$600 total for new), just not with the original mechanic!
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