95 Toyota Corolla, 270K miles, mostly highway driven, warm climate. Original shocks / struts. Will I eventually need to replace them (ie soon)? (Or should I have already)? I ask because major maintenance is coming up soon (timing belt) and if I’ll need to replace the shocks/struts, maybe I shoul…

I agree with @texases . I have a '93 MR2 on original suspension. I keep waiting for it to die, but it never does so I just keep driving. If you need to replace your shocks, you’ll know.

I have the o.e. shocks on my…1979 !

If you start to feel “floating”, sense that the wheels keep bouncing after going over bumps, and/or begin to see choppy wear on your tires, it’s time. Timing belts and struts/shocks are normal wear items. If the car is otherwise in good shape, it would make more sense to get the work done and keep …

How long they last depends upon road conditions, environmental conditions, etc. Some people drive around forever with faulty shocks or struts and never know it because they became acclimated to it over time. It’s like being kicked in the shin several times a day. It may hurt at first but given enou…

When they fail, they usually leak and lose fluid…This leakage is easy enough to detect…I’m SURE the car would benefit from new suspension, the springs are suspect too, but putting a lot of money into a 20 year old car with 270K miles on it makes little sense…It probably needs lots of things like pai…

Someone experienced with diagnosing suspension problems can simply push down hard one at a time on all four corners and watch how much the car bounces. If you can find the right person, you’d get a pretty good assessment of the condition of the shocks in about 5 minutes time.

Generally, if a shock or strut isn’t leaking, it isn’t in need of replacement. I have to disagree with my esteemed poster, GeorgeSanJose, the bounce test doesn’t really work very well on cars like yours. Your Corolla has 4 struts that have enough internal friction to damp that manual bounce test rig…

I’ve seen more than a few cars with about 100K miles whose seemingly fine struts were replaced. The owners were thrilled which how much better the cars rode afterwards.

Generally, if a shock or strut isn't leaking, it isn't in need of replacement. Unfortunately that’s not true. I’ve had Monroe replacement shocks on a couple trucks…and the shocks never leaked…but after a couple years the ride was horrible. Replaced shocks and all was well.

How long do shocks/struts last?

Maintenance/Repairs

MikeInNH May 14, 2015, 4:41pm 14

AM Well Mike, your first problem was that they were Monroes..... ;-)

Can't agree more. Never had a problem with their car shocks...just their shocks for trucks.

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How long do shocks/struts last?

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