I have a 97 Chrysler Concorde LXI. It overall has been good to me. However, I have had tire rods replaced on my car approximately two times and have bought a bushing kit. This has all been in the time frame of the last 3 years.
Recently my car has been making this awful, ear piercing, embarrassing squealing noise when I drive AND when I stop on the driver side. It sounds like it is coming from the tires and randomly goes away and then comes back in full force and with no reason. It doesn’t seem to matter the speed I drive either. I took the car to get looked at because I figured it had to be my brakes (which I had looked at year ago and was told they were in perfect condition). The shop told me I need loaded calibers for the front, rotors for the front, inner tire rods for the front, and an alignment after all that is done.
My question is how long are tire rods suppose to last? I’m tired of getting the same thing replaced over and over. Is my chain being pulled? Am I really wearing out my breaking system this drastically and this fast? I live in a small town in CO, with not a lot of options of shops to go to.
I don’t know how long tie rods (note spelling) should last, but the first thing you need to find is another mechanic. Use the Cartalk mechanic finder to find a trustworthy one in your area. The noise you describe sounds like the wear indicators on the brake pads, not a big deal. Have someone else check it out.
My experience is that tie rods get replaced once during the lifetime of the car. Keep in mind that you have more than one to require replacement, so they get replaced as they fail, generally. I suspect you got different tie rods replaced each time, not the same one.
Best thing to do on suspension parts is to demand a lifetime parts warranty, so that only labor is involved if the part fails and requires replacement. I also prefer after market parts, because they generally offer a better parts warranty than real OEM from a dealer.
The brake explanation sounds logical, and it is possible to require calipers and rotors at that age and estimated mileage on the car, particular if one or both of the calipers is not retracting correctly, but I would get a second opinion. I agree with texases that you need to find a differnt mechanic, or at least one who explains things a bit better.