I have a 2007 Toyota Camry, well cared for and only 25,000 miles. I took it to the local Toyota dealer the other day for a routine servicing. They told me all 4 struts are leaking. It is 6 weeks past expiry of the warranty. The service guy said he had no explanation and was “very surprised”. What should I do? Is this a generic problem with this model?
How do they define leaking? Softer cushier ride or are they saying the struts have oil blotches around the upper tube junction.
It would be highly unusual for 4 struts to fail on an '07 car with only 25k miles on it unless there is a history behind the car. (purchased used, wrecked, flooded, seen a lot of standing water or rough roads, etc.)
Unless there is a story behind this car or it’s experiencing abnormal tire wear, bouncy ride, etc. then you should take this diagnosis with a grain of salt at this point.
Google “leaking shock absorber scam” and similar wording for more. A cheater mechanic can use an oil can to squirt a dollop of oil on your struts or shock absorbers to visually “prove” to you that they are leaking.
Call Toyota’s customer service number listed in your owners manual, they really don’t like their dealers pulling this type of scam. If the dealer is honest and this really did happen, then they may be very interested in how it happened and may make a deal for you.
I had a female colleague some years back that took her car to a chain muffler shop and saw one of the employees squirt oil on the shock absorbers. She didn’t say a word until the manager came into the waiting room to to take her out to the service area and show her that her shock absorbers were bad. “If the shock absorbers are bad, why did your mechanic go to the trouble of oiling them?” she asked. The manager didn’t say another word about the shock absorbers.
Given the 6 weeks past warranty and low mileage to boot and at a dealer, contact Toyota customer care. They will more than likely cover the repair. They need all the happy customers they can get…
It would be extremely unusual for all 4 to leak, doubly so at 25k. Here’s another discussion about the same problem, there Toyota replaced them all.
http://camryforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5003&highlight=struts