Ride Quality Deterioration on a 2010 Camry LE -- Replace Struts?

ShoogyBee
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 08:38:30 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Greetings,

I’m the second owner of a CPO 2010 camry LE 4-cyl. I’ve had it for slightly more than two years. It had 30K miles on the odometer when I first bought it and now has just under 60K miles.

When I first bought the Camry, it had a smooth and absorbent ride, which is something that the Camry is known for and the primary reason why I bought the car to begin with. Over the past several months, however, I felt that the ride isn’t as smooth as it once was. Suspension travel and bump absorption on rougher roads is lacking. Driving over expansion joints, frost heaves, manhole covers, etc. transmits more shock than it should. At times it feels as if the tires aren’t absorbing the shock at all; they seem as if they’re filled with cement. What should be a muted thud comes across as a crash or bang instead. My Camry isn’t floating or bouncing up and down when I drive on rougher roads, however.

I live in the greater Milwaukee area and my daily commute is around 20 miles each way. It consists of a mix of newer suburban roads, broken and fractured freeways, and lunar-like city streets. Last weekend I drove my mother’s 2010 Elantra GLS (with 67K miles and Cooper CS4 Touring tires) on similar roads and I only heard the minor pavement imperfections, but I didn’t really feel them - whereas on my Camry I both hear and feel them. Structurally the Elantra felt more solid and composed tham my Camry.

I had a set of V-rated Michelin Primacy MXV4s on the Camry until a few months ago, when I replaced them with a set of Continental Pure Contacts with Eco Plus Technology. The new tires helped slightly at first, but not for long.

I recently came across postings in various online forums regarding leaking struts on the 2007-2011 Camry, at anywhere between 30-60K miles. However, it seemed that owners were unaware of any problems or symptoms until dealers had informed them during regular maintenance appointments. I came across few owners mentioning any issues regarding ride quality or handling up until the discovery of the leaking struts.

I plan to have my Camry looked at in the coming days, but I am wondering if any other owners have noted a deterioration in the ride quality of their 2007-2011 Camrys and if strut replacement made a significant improvement. I’ve read that replacing the OEM struts at a Toyota dealer can cost $1400-1700, so I’d like to hear about alternative strut brands as well.

My intention was to hold on to this Camry for the long haul, but if I cannot improve the ride quality to what it once was, I might consider getting rid of the car altogether.

Thanks in advance for any insight you all might have.

PS - Tire pressure is at the factory recommended spec, 34 psi.

15 posts - 11 participants