# Clunking noise on 2007 Honda Fit; dealer says struts are "locked" **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** struts, noises, honda\ **Created:** [May 22, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/clunking-noise-on-2007-honda-fit-dealer-says-struts-are-locked/104228 "2017-05-22T17:28:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/clunking-noise-on-2007-honda-fit-dealer-says-struts-are-locked/104228/21 "2017-05-24T01:59:13Z")
Mountainbike is correct in stating that the simple act of raising the wheels off the ground can cause a strut or shock issue once it’s back on the ground. I’ve seen this a number of times and yes, it is difficult to explain to someone why it was fine one minute and faulty the next. A few years ago I raised my Lincoln up at home one weekend to change the oil and look things over underneath. I lowered the car, finished up under the hood, and called it good. A few hours later I had to go somewhere and the Lincoln was bouncing like a ping-pong ball. I turned around, came home, and discovered the left front strut had totally given up. And those struts only had about 40k miles on them. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/clunking-noise-on-2007-honda-fit-dealer-says-struts-are-locked/104228/22 "2017-05-27T23:34:11Z")
The sway bar links connect to the struts so they get involved in strut work, but from what I can tell it is possible to just replace the strut. Appears to be done just like most strut-designed fwd cars. 2 hours labor plus parts for one strut I think. Wheel alignment extra. It may be that Honda (or that particular dealership) has determined based on experience that when a Fit strut requires replacement, the other strut should also be replaced, and the sway link should get replaced too when doing that job. I expect tho that if you go to the dealership parts department, you’ll find you can purchase just the strut by itself. > [@bing](#): > > using a lift can cause problems with worn struts. This was a pretty common problem w/certain cars in the 60’s & 70’s as I recall. Seemed like it was more the performance cars, not the econoboxes so much. If you had one of those types of cars, there was a gadget the shop was supposed to install when lifting the car to prevent the suspension from hyper-extending. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/clunking-noise-on-2007-honda-fit-dealer-says-struts-are-locked/104228/23 "2017-05-27T23:39:20Z")
> [@GeorgeSanJose](#): > > there was a gadget the shop was supposed to install when lifting the car to prevent the suspension from hyper-extending. It’d be super easy to hang the strut, just as you would hang a caliper when doing brakes to prevent damage to the flex line. But I’ve never seen anybody do so. I suppose most people feel that if the strut hangs up when extended it was on the way out anyway. I subscribe to this theory, even though I’ve never seen any analytical data to support it. The vehicle’s ten years old. The struts froze. No point in overthinking the problem. 😁 [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/clunking-noise-on-2007-honda-fit-dealer-says-struts-are-locked/104228.md?page=1)