spxChrome

I'd like to get peoples opinions on what just happened at my dealership.

About 4 months ago I took my 99 ES in to have something else worked on and asked the dealership to see why there was a knocking coming out of the glove box. The dealership fixed the problem and upon pickup he told me the knocking was that I needed a new strut mount. Said it was cost about $600, I asked him if I could wait to get this fixed(will it hurt anything else) since I just dropped a good chunk on the current fix. He said it would not hurt anything else to wait. He said the knocking would just get louder.

Well yesterday I took the car in to get the mount replaced. He called back and said that now I needed Front Ball Joint, both control arms and both struts and mounts needing the replacing. He said the struts were leaking and the control arm I could probally wait on but it would need to be replaced soon. Now he says the bill will be $2000.

What is going on? First he says it won't hurt anything now the whole frontend need to be replaced? Anyone shed any light on this situation? Struts leaking on a 99 model? Control Arm and Ball Joint? I thought these hardly ever need replacing?

Thanks in advance for anyone who has an opinion on whats going on here,

trukn1

Having gone thru a similar issue with my 92 LS I know your frustration. Seems as though as soon as you replace 1 part, the rest of the related seem to get jealous and say "that's it, I'm done!" LOL!!! Seriously, it is not uncommon to have to replace the mounts along with the struts themselves, infact I would advise it. Depending on how badly the struts were leaking, your ball joint will also have to be replaced as well,, not unusual,, it happened to me as well. There is extra wear and tear on these parts when all are not working together as a unit. Control arms,, not too sure of. Mine were replaced b/c they were extremely old, however the arms are where the ball joints are housed as well. Sounds like the problems are relavent however, the major factor here is, just how badly the parts deteriorated to bring you to this situation now. The worse the deterioration, the more that needs replace. Essentially,, the struts will just about kill everything if they are not working properly and you continue to operate. Without them, the other parts are having to work harder to compensate for the work that the struts are not doing, ,and really were nto designed for.

Pheonix

Because suspension pieces generally use some form of rubber either as mounting, or for bushings.

You don't know the condition of such pieces until you take them off, or get a REAL good look at them. Even a trained eye has trouble spotting splitting rubber. It's not something that's easy to check.



It's a giving that by the time struts blow, and springs are sagging, and engine mounts are broken. That everything else is getting bad. Strut mounts, any mounting bushings (Sway bar), end-links, the control arm links, etc.

spxChrome

Is it common for all that to blow, the car is a 99 and is not driven hard. And you have me curious now that they asked to replace all those parts just by looking at the car under a lift.

charley240

iTrader: (6)

there are so many factors to these things. how hard you drive, how much, weather, etc. there are no guarantee for how long rubber/bushings are going to last. well, goodluck. id personally find a shop that works on toyotas and bring it there. lexus is expensive.
Goodluck\
Charley

SC4Hundred

I replaced those both control arms and both struts and mounts on my 98; but Lexus dealership is expensive, find an independent shop to do it for half of the price lol.

Pheonix

Doesn't matter how you drive it. Doesn't matter what vehicle & who makes it. You get about 10 years out of a suspension before it's just junk.
Oh and SC's right. You've got a ****ing v6 Camry. Be glad & go to a Toyota dealer LMAO! Or find an Independant mechanic.


You're abit early for a new suspension, but it's not something that shocking.