Not sure if all Toyota models have strut issues or if the issue stopped after a certain year.

If you can remove a tire, you can check for leakage yourself.

Toyota issued a service bulletin that has a list of increasing worse leakage conditions and when a strut needs replacing.

The link below provides one service bulletin, don't know if it applies to you but gives an idea of the leakage issue and what to look for.

http://www.etimago.com/yaris/TSB/TS-...ment%20%29.pdf

If the car is covered under warranty and you have cause to think the struts are leaking, have the dealer look at it. Make sure they ask for your approval before doing repairs so you don't end up like the member with 2 bad struts, the dealer wanting 1500 to replace the other 2. If this is the case, shop around for prices.

One issue when going to service shops and asking are my struts OK or they seem to be leaking is the shop may take this as a way to sell you new struts no matter if you need them or not.

 

I went for a state inspection at a local shop and found out that all the four struts are leaking. I have been complaining about knocking noises and stiff suspension to the dealer for the last 2years from the time the car was around 10,000 miles. Everytime the dealer said that it is normal and the complaint has been documented. I did all Toyota recommended services including 15k service and 30k service.
I took the car back to Toyota dealer where I had just done my 30k mile service and finally they accepted that one of the strut is leaking and the other three are fine. I am not sure if this true. Toyota said they will reimburse the cost of the one strut as a Goodwill since my warranty expired. I have to leave my car at the dealer tomorrow. The car still has unsteady acceleration even after the recall.

I really regret buying this car. Now I am stuck with it.

 

Per Toyota some strut leakage is normal.

Toyota has a service bulletin describing in detail what leakage is normal and what requires replacing the strut.

If you look around the internet you should be able to find a copy.

Per Toyota, a strut could be leaking but the leakage "acceptable" and the strut safe.

The dealer is doing what seems to now be typical for Toyota. Instead of replacing both struts as most mechanics recommend to maintain road handling, they only replace the one strut. Perhaps thinking you will pay for the other replacement or replacing the other three.

They may also be pushing off the final decision on if a strut is bad until after warranty to force the owner to pay for the repairs and make more profit

Dealers do get reimbursed for warranty work. They make no profit off parts and don't receive the same amount of labor money they would if paid by the car owner. $$$$$$

If Toyota and the Toyota dealer state the other 3 struts are leaking but still OK. Have the dealer write this up in their service sheet they give you. Take it back to the inspection place and ask to speak to someone in charge.

With the replacement of the "bad" strut, the Toyota Corp via the dealer has stated the struts are now OK and safe. Tell this to whomever is in charge at the inspection place.

There may also be some kind of appeal process for the inspection.

Replacing all the struts at the dealer is going to cost around $500 per strut.

 

Thanks toyomoho.
So I went to the dealer and they replaced the shock assembly on the front passenger side and charged me $270.00(would be reimbursed by Toyota in 4-6weeks). As per my understanding camry uses the Mac Phearson strut suspension system which has the shock embedded in it. So the strut and shock is one unit. So people say strut leak or shock leak. Correct me if I am wrong.

Now I am not hearing any knocking noises coming from the passenger side but still hearing it at the driver side suspension. The car pulls to the left and find it annoying to drive. This clearly tells me that driver side shock is also in a really bad state. I am taking the car back to the dealer next week.

 

Yes, the shock is incorporated into the strut body, it is one piece. Some earlier models of Camry had shocks that could be removed from the strut body for replacement.

Struts themselves typically do not make noise. Most likely the problem is a bad upper strut mount. This is one of the parts of the strut assy. The shock piston rod attaches to this mount which also retains the upper portion of the suspension spring. The mount bolts to the chassis. There is a rubber material in the mount that can fail over time. This failure will NOT result in the strut failing but a knocking noise typically when going over bumps.

Or the sway bar bushings or sway bar links could be failing.

Toyota has had trouble with the upper mounts, most likely there is a service bulletin out on this.

Camry also had a problem with the car pulling to one side, forget which years. There is a service bulletin out on this.

The dealer given the VIN number can pull up any service bulletins applicable to this car. Keep in mind dealer will only act on a bulletin if they receive a complaint from the cars owner that is covered by a bulletin. Some bulletin repairs come with an extended warranty period for the problem covered.

 

Well, you'll always have to face those small issues, if you're driving a camry. So, it's always better late than never! Take an extended warranty today, and I'm sure you'd end up saving a good deal of money over the next 2-3years!

 

Hello Rajesh,

How are you able to getting the cost reimbursed?

I am having 2007 Toyota Camry. I am the second owner (bought this toyota camry 5 months before). It is now having 54500 Mileage, and no warranty.

When i got checked my car, 2 days before, i was told, all the 4 struts are leaking and have to replaced as soon as possible. When i contacted Sunnyvale, Toyota dealer, they checked and mentioned the same. When i mentioned that several 2007 Toyota camrys are having this problem, and asked them bout replacing them (as this seem to be happening because of the faulty parts), they mentioned Toyota cannot do anything, and i need to spend 1500$ for replacing them. They told at the most they can give 20% discount, which makes it 1200$. I really feel, this is too much, and for no fault of us, we are having to spend such a large amount for struts replacing. The person who sold me the car seem to have not got the car serviced in Toyota for the last 15K miles, which they are telling is also one reason, why cannot assist beyond that 20%.

What should i be doing now? I did call "Toyota Motors" and complained, all they said is, they took my complaint, gave me a case reference number and said, they cannot do anything.

Do I have any options? How can I make Toyota replace them all?




thanks and regards,
sudheer

 

Hi camryfreak,
How much the extended warranty cost? and do extended warranty is as good as the warranty that we get first 3 years?

sudheer

 

Sudheer41in:

If the car is out of warranty most likely you are out of luck on having Toyota pick up the costs.

A dealer has broad authority on warranty or good faith (out of warranty) repairs. If you read all the posts in this tread, some owners with cars out of warranty are getting free struts, others not.

There are also degrees of leakage for the struts. Just because a strut is leaking does not mean it is a hazard.

Suggest you wait until you get the final word from Toyota, then shop independent shops for price.

 

The only reason why Toyota is reimbursing this is becuase I had complained about knocking noises from the all four suspension several times in the last 2years of my warranty. Toyota has a database with all my complaints.
Check with any Toyota dealer. They may be able to pull up the Customer complaints from the previous owner. If the customer has complained about this during warranty you may be able to get some help.