Clunking noise on 2007 Honda Fit; dealer says struts are "locked"

asozicol
Mon, 22 May 2017 17:28:41 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

This January I had new front brake pads and rotors installed as well as an oil change and new battery for my 2007 Honda Fit Sport. Sometime after that I noticed clunking in the front end; particularly on the driver’s side and mostly when taking a turn or travelling at fairly low (below 30) speeds. I thought it might be a swaybar problem since that is an issue I had with my old Honda Civic.

I brought it back to the dealership to be looked at and per the tech the clunking is due to the struts being “locked.” The actual wording on my work order is “both front struts are binding.” Apparently in this model; the struts/swaybar/bushings some as a full assembly; so to repair the struts would run around $1,000 (more than I want to spend on a 10 year old car after putting almost $700 into it only a few months ago). They said that replacing it will not really affect its ability to pass inspection unless there is a leak, which there was not currently. So I have not done anything for the moment, though the clunking is really getting annoying.

I basically know nothing about cars so I am looking for any information or advice about this problem. The car has over 120k miles and I live in New England which really beats cars up (yay, salt brine). As far as I know, most components are original (I bought the car in 2010 with 45k miles).

Is anyone familiar with this issue? Does this seem reasonable for a car of this age?
If I don’t get the struts replaced will this damage my car or affect drivability?
What issues could this potentially cause?
Is there a way to get the struts unstuck?
Can I get out of this without spending $1,000 :-/?
Is this something they should have noticed back in January?

23 posts - 12 participants