Hi, I'm a semi-regular lurker who has gotten a ton of good info from this forum (Thanks!), and I've read a lot about the strut issue which is a popular topic here.

I have a '99 ES w/ 175k miles and I've had noise in my suspension for the last 50-60k. I do want to keep the car for a while and do reasonable repairs to have the car run right, but I want to pace the rate that I repair parts on the vehicle.

Could anyone comment on the risks of my ignoring the suspension noise which I really only hear at low speeds (over speed bumps/potholes) or on cold mornings? Is there any catastrophic things that I should be concerned about that might occur if I never swap the struts?

Thanks in advance.

 

well prob the best and most important thing you can do is to jack your car in the air and inspect how the suspension looks especially if it has 175k and has not had it changed in that long then more than likely your shocks and struts are worn and are prob showing visible signs of wear and tear. then you would really be able to tell you self if you should be replacing them anytime soon or not but that is just my opinion because when i purchased my 92 es i noticed visible wear and tear on my shocks and struts. hope this helps

 

Yes, I don't mean to be a ****, but a car accident can be catastrophic.A bad suspension component affects the way a car handles and this can be dangerous, especially in an emergency situation. By your description, it sounds like you're in need of new strut mounts. However, with that mileage you probably need new struts also.

 

Essentially, you will experience more body roll.

 

i couldn't bear it on mine anymore

Had those **** struts for over a month, and she was all over the road and the clanking noise would make me cringe! 130k on it too.

Honestly, man, drop the 600$ on the quickstruts by monroe and be done with it.

But with that said, and the mileage, it can lead to more necessary replacements.

 

Replace the struts and mounts. ]

 

LOL, yes I would agree that a car accident would be catastrophic.

I talked to a mechanic about it a year ago and they pretty much blew the issue off and told me to take care of it when I was really bothered by the noise.

In terms of performance on the road, the car has handled my 100mi/day commute well and I don't feel unsafe during maneuvers nor does it feel like the roll is excessive. I fully admit however that I may have just gotten used to the deterioration in performance over time. It's a Lexus ES so I don't really expect it to feel sporty.

Got some new tires a couple months ago (Yokohama AVID S) which really improved the ride a lot and deadened the suspension noise so I suppose that too has pushed the strut issue to the back of my mind...

Judging from the responses however, it sounds like since I intend to keep the car for a few years more, I should drop the $$ and bite the bullet.

Thanks for the responses.

 

Maybe this might be helpful to you:
Two years ago I had a similar issue: a front end (RH side) clunk/rattle when going over speed bumps/potholes on cold mornings. Following an old Lexus TSB (applicable to 1997-2000 ES300 models), I had the RH strut mount replaced with a new unit (#48603-330121) and the noise was gone. Toyota changed the rubber shape in the front strut mounts to address this front end noise.

 

X2, on the above poster. It sounds like you need strut mounts.

If it's the strut mounts that you need, than don't worry the car is safe to drive. The strut mounts won't result in a catastrophic accident. Anything else can be more dangerous.

 

Thanks for providing some confirmation that if the problem is the mounts it won't be something to worry about at the moment. Gotta save up for those quick struts so it might take a little bit before I can make that repair.