Car shaking when accelerating >30mph. Bad strut/tire?

Steve_Ferguson
Tue, 07 Jan 2020 02:44:16 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Hi. I’m brand new to this forum (forums in general) so bear with me.

I have a 2010 Toyota Camry LE V6 with 160,000 miles. I live in Honolulu, so I myself don’t put a lot of miles on it (no big road trips). The previous owner was an uber driver. It was a great deal for me. I paid under $4000.

The car shakes when accelerating past 25mph. Shakes significantly at highways speeds. But only while accelerating, no shaking while coasting at 60mph. The shaking has gotten much worse since I started noticing it.

Uneven tread wear on front driver side tire. This tire must be replaced (probably wont pass inspection). Passenger side tire is fine though. Alignment done 6 months ago. Rear tires replaced 6 months ago-they are fine.

I recently brought this car to the shop. The shop was pretty busy and I don’t think they looked at my car very thoroughly. Quick test ride by mechanic–“You need a new tire”, shop owner–“need new struts”. They didn’t inspect under car. To be fair, they didn’t charge me for the quote.

Shop owner advised me (to save $) to buy complete strut assemblies online and bring them to shop–Shop would only charge me for installation.

I did go ahead and buy the front left strut replacement- KYB [SR4254]

So here are my questions for you…

1. Does it sound like a strut problem? CV joint? just the tire? A combination of these things?

2. Did the shop give good advice? They seem like good people, just were busy when I went.

3. Do I have to replace all 4 struts on a car of such high mileage? Or can I just do the front two?

4. I made a mistake. I accidentally ordered the strut replacement recommended for a SE 2010 Camry. My car is an LE. The part numbers for the SE and the LE front left struts are different. Could the strut I ordered still be compatible?
Also, I need to order the front right strut. Should I order the front right strut recommended for the LE? Or would it be wise to choose another SE part to match the left?

5. This might be unrelated, but it’s weird. I have to parallel park a lot. When I’m in reverse, with wheel turned all the way to either side, the car makes this long medium pitched squeak as I slowly swing myself into the stall. Any thoughts to what that is?

Perhaps I’m just overthinking all of this. However, I need help! Any and all insight would be much appreciated!

7 posts - 6 participants