How to Tell If Your Shocks or Struts Are Bad

It’s hard to know when to replace shocks and struts. These hard-to-inspect parts often go bad so slowly that you might not notice the reduced ride comfort and road control. Plus, there’s no set time or mileage when aging shocks or struts are due for replacement. Thankfully, there are ways to know when it might be time to get your shocks and struts checked at Les Schwab.

What Are Shocks and Struts?

Every car and truck is suspended by a combination of springs, shocks, and struts. If you look behind any of your four wheels, you’ll see these hard-working parts that move up and down, up to 1,900 times every mile. By the time you put 50,000 miles on your vehicle, your shocks and struts will have done their job 75-million times, working in tandem with your brakes, steering, suspension, tires, and your modern crash-avoidance systems to keep you in control and traveling safely on the road.

What Do Shocks and Struts Do?

Shocks and struts in good condition help your car handle bumps, debris, sudden stops, swerving, potholes, wind gusts or sharp turns. They control the side-to-side, front-to-back and up-and-down shifts of the car’s weight to keep your tires in contact with the road and you in control of your vehicle.

They also:

• Maintain your tire’s contact with the road.
• Prevent your tires and wheels from moving up and down too much.
• Contribute to stability as you accelerate, stop and turn.
• Add to ride comfort by absorbing jolts and bumpiness from irregular road surfaces.
• Help control a vehicle’s body movement (side-to-side roll, bouncing).
• Promote even wear for longer tire life.

Contrary to popular belief, shocks and struts do not typically support your vehicle’s weight or any loads your truck or vehicle might be carrying. The springs do that job. However, worn-out shocks and struts put more strain on the springs as well as other essential suspension parts. Without the control that a good shock or strut provides, these other parts get overworked, causing fatigue and premature wear.

Signs Your Shocks or Struts Are Worn

Properly working shocks and struts add to your safety on the road and help reduce damage to other parts of your vehicle. Look for these signs that indicate it might be time to get your shocks and struts checked and replaced.

• Unusual tire wear (including cupping). If you spot cupping (as seen in the image below) or other unusual tire wear you may have issues with your shocks or struts, which is throwing off your alignment. This can be especially important to notice if a rotation was performed but abnormal wear is still occurring.

  

• Rubber shock covers that are cracking, peeling or off-center. These covers can be found at the top and bottom of the shocks.

• Leaking fluid. If you find clear or light brown fluid on the outside of the shocks or struts, it could indicate a broken seal.

• Ride issues. If your vehicle dives when braking, bottoms out (scrapes loudly) when going over a speed bump, the rear-end squats when accelerating, or your vehicle bounces more than usual after going over a bump, it could be signs of bad shocks or struts.

• Braking issues. You might notice that your vehicle takes longer to stop than usual.

• Swaying. This can be especially noticeable after a turn, lane change, or in cross winds.

• Unusual noises. As the shocks or struts wear, they can fail to do their job. This can cause many different sounds, including knocking and banging.

See our shock and strut service repair FAQs.

What Will Happen If I Drive on Worn or Damaged Shocks and Struts

It’s important to maintain contact with the road, especially when going over bumps or keeping up with highway traffic. Your vehicle’s suspension system, including shocks and/or struts, is great at that job when every part is working properly.

Over time, those parts will wear out. You might not even notice as it gradually degrades. When they’re not working properly, it can reduce your control and safety. It can also cause added wear to other parts of your vehicle, including your tires.

Replacing worn parts before they get bad can help keep your vehicle’s electronic systems and suspension working properly, extending your vehicle’s life — and keeping you safer on the road.

Shocks and Struts Aren’t Just About a Smooth Ride

Today’s vehicles have highly engineered electronic safety systems (vehicle stability systems, ABS (anti-lock brakes), traction control, collision prevention control and automated braking). These all work together to keep tires in proper contact with the road and provide the most stability.

When you have an unexpected hard stop or swerve, your vehicle’s crash avoidance systems send instant electronic signals to the brakes and other critical components. If ride control parts like shocks and struts are worn, they might not properly respond. Additionally, stopping distances might increase and brakes and tires could wear more quickly. Plus, there could be added strain on the springs.

How Long Do They Last (When Should I Replace Them)?

That all depends on the amount of wear and tear the shocks and struts get, the quality of roads you drive, if you haul heavy loads, and how aggressive you are behind the wheel. That’s why periodic inspections are important.

Get yours checked annually (or 12,000 miles) with every alignment, tire rotation, if you feel any ride-control issues, or anytime you buy new tires.

Les Schwab Can Help

We’re your suspension inspection experts. Our service professionals know what to look for and how to get your car or truck back to its original control and handling. Stop by or schedule an appointment today.

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Lowering Suspension: Pros and Cons

Lowering your car or truck so it’s closer to the ground is a popular way to customize your ride. Done right, it’s a great look that also boosts handling performance. Done wrong, it could compromise handling, drivability and traction, reduce tire tread life and even damage parts.

Pluses and Minuses of Lowering Suspension

Benefits

More Road Feel
A lowered suspension helps a driver be highly attuned to how their vehicle acts on different pavement as more of the vibrations from imperfections in the road surface come through the steering wheel.

Stiffer Ride
With this setup, you have to have more rigid springs so the front or back of your vehicle won’t bottom out over bumps or depressions. This is the driving experience many prefer, versus a cushier ride from, say, a luxury sedan.

Less Lean in Corners
The lean of a vehicle around a sharp turn is greatly reduced because the shift of weight is less due to the lower center of gravity. The part of the vehicle on the outside of a turn stays more level with the inside. This lets a car settle more quickly into a turn and act more responsively.

Better Handling
Another effect of being closer to the ground is improved responsiveness, more stability, and grip at speed. Because lowering means getting stiffer springs, there is less weight transfer when you hit the gas or brake hard. This means you’ll enjoy faster acceleration and quicker stops.

Less Air Drag
Lowered vehicles are more aerodynamic. There’s less air hitting the wheels and tires (that are not streamlined shapes). This makes these cars faster. Some owners of low-stance vehicles also notice improved gas mileage. BUT, lowering a car too much will actually increase wind drag.

Less Rollover Risk
Lowered vehicles have a lower center of gravity, which decreases rollover risk when cornering.

Improved Traction
Lowering generally means you’ll put a plus-sized tire and wheel package on the vehicle. Such tires have shorter sidewalls, a larger contact patch (that keeps more rubber in contact with the road) and less roll around corners.

Good Looks
Cars and trucks that have been lowered with custom wheels are attention-getters. It’s a more aggressive and performance-oriented look that stands out in a crowd.

Drawbacks

Less Ride Comfort
If you and your passengers are accustomed to a softer suspension that cushions impacts like bumps and potholes, you may think less of the ride comfort of a lower suspension. You may also notice increased road noise since you’re closer to the pavement.

No Go on Rough Roads
The lower clearance will not be your friend on rutted, rocky, washboard and potholed roads.

Uneven or Accelerated Tire Wear
Lowering changes the geometry of your wheel-tire fitment. If it’s done improperly, your car may have an alignment problem that results in premature or extreme wear patterns.

Bottoming Out
Even an inch-and-a-half lower suspension can cause problems around corners, with slight potholes or on speed bumps. Traveling over the lip of a parking garage or starting up a driveway or ramp could cause the front of your vehicle to hit the pavement. Contact with the ground can cause serious damage to components underneath the car, like the exhaust system and oil pan.

If you ever need a tow truck, you may require a flat bed. Otherwise, there could be a problem with the back body of the vehicle dragging on the ground.

Potential Rubbing on Parts or Tires
Poorly done or extreme lowering can cause suspension and steering parts to contact each other, the wheels or the tires. It could also cause tires to rub the body during turns or going over bumps.

Can’t Use a Standard Jack
If you get a flat tire, you may find out at an inconvenient time that there’s not enough clearance to get the unit under the vehicle’s frame.

Cost
Quality components and keeping correct alignment can get pricey. The lower you go, the more chance you’ll need additional parts. For example, if coilovers (meaning coil spring over shock) are part of your new setup, you’re likely looking at an outlay of $1,000 or more.

Warranty Issues
You should check both your owner’s manual and any manufacturer’s or aftermarket warranty to determine if 1) the manufacturer advises against lowering your car, or 2) if lowering your car will void or adversely affect any warranty coverage you currently have.

Know This Before You Modify Your Suspension

Here’s what to know before you go low.

1. If it’s higher performance you’re after, you may need to lower a lot less than you think. It’s easy to miss the mark and actually make your suspension worse. To be sure that components like struts and springs can do the work of keeping tires at the right angles, get expert help.


2. Don’t cut corners when it comes to shocks, struts or other components. You’re making changes to the structure and balance of your vehicle. You don’t want to risk failing parts.


3. If you modify your vehicle in ways that aren’t road legal, your insurer may not pay a claim for damage. Talk to your agent before you customize your ride and ask if your premiums will go up or policy terms change.


4. Installing extreme aftermarket wheel-tire setups or suspension changes can result in steering, suspension or drivetrain problems that won’t be covered by your vehicle warranty. Check to see if the modifications you’re planning will result in denied warranty claims BEFORE installation.


5. Get an alignment after you lower to ensure the best handling and tire life.


6. Take care while you get accustomed to how your new setup performs. With the much stiffer suspension, your vehicle may steer a little differently and won’t absorb road shocks as well. A sudden hard brake or tight turn on a bumpy road could cause a loss of traction.

Any time you change your vehicle’s OE (original equipment) suspension, you should be sure that you’re not creating a setup that is either unsafe or is going to cause problems with other car functions. Like with many aftermarket customizations, it’s about finding the right balance of safety, performance, looks, cost, and drivability. Stop by your local Les Schwab for help.

Shock and Strut Service and Repair FAQ

The Basics on Shocks & Struts

What do shocks and struts do?

Shocks and struts help the tires maintain traction, by keeping the car from bouncing or the tires from losing contact with the road when you hit a bump or apply the brakes. As part of the suspension system, they help control car motion and keep the weight of your vehicle balanced even around sharp curves, so you have better stability and a more comfortable ride.

A shock or a strut operates the same but mounts differently. Each of the four tires has either a shock or strut connected to that corner’s suspension and vehicle body or frame. These hydraulic cylinders provide motion damping by restricting fluid flow through a series of internal valves. As the wheel and suspension move up and down, the shock valving slows and stabilizes these movements.

How are shocks and struts related to control behind the wheel?

Shock absorber or strut failures can be a driving safety hazard. Along with tires, shocks and struts are key factors in ride control. Ride control is how well a car handles whatever comes at you on or off road — bumps, debris, sudden stops, swerving, potholes, wind gusts, sharp turns. The ability to control your vehicle is reduced when shocks and struts aren’t properly controlling the side-to-side, front-to-back, and up-and-down shifts of the car’s weight that come with everyday driving. This is an even larger concern when the road is slippery, wet or rough.

How do I know I need new shock absorbers or struts?

Shock absorbers and struts that are working well mean more stable driving in every condition. When these components are worn, you may notice a rougher ride, longer quick-stopping distance, nose-diving when you apply the brakes, dripping fluid, tires that are cupping, excessive bounce after a bump, or swaying after a turn or stop.

Monotube, gas charged, foam cell — how do I know which shock is right for my vehicle?

With so many choices, selecting the proper shock can be confusing. Just stop by and we’ll give you our best advice, based on your vehicle and how and where you drive it.

Use our Store Locator to find the Les Schwab nearest you.

How often should I have shocks or struts checked?

Even on well-paved roads, shock absorbers or struts can move up or down 1,500 to 1,900 times every mile. Because handling performance tends to decrease gradually, a driver doesn’t always realize how much ride control has been lost. If you notice abnormal tire wear, or more vehicle movement than in the past when cornering, accelerating and stopping, pay Les Schwab a visit. It is a good idea to have your suspension checked on a regular basis, and when you get new tires.