damn, thats strange.
you are on the TRD struts, right?
you are on the TRD struts, right?
Strut Problems
Has anyone had problems with any of their struts, specifically those on the front? I was on vacation in VA Beach when my front-right strut busted (blew is the term service department used)... had it towed to a dealership their, and they did a jurry rig fix so I could make it back down here for the permanent solution. Got a nice paper trail saying it's covered by warranty, what they did to fix it, and if their are any problems in that area it is probably due to their temporary solution and should still be covered by warranty (and billed to them).
lo bux, any ideas on what would cause this?
lo bux, any ideas on what would cause this?
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TRD shocks, springs, and rear sway bar.
*EDIT* What is even more bizarre is that I haven't really pushed the car that hard within recent time, hit any potholes, and never curbed it...
*EDIT* What is even more bizarre is that I haven't really pushed the car that hard within recent time, hit any potholes, and never curbed it...
hmmm... thats a bit odd. i am no LoBux, but i will certainly check into that and see if any of my boys know what might have caused it. faulty seal? did they elaborate on what "blew"?
Just got a call from the dealer (after having to escalate to the service department manager)... will have a rental car brought to me in ~15mins. Just to be on the safe side I am doing some research into alabama lemon laws since they will have my baby for two weeks
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Hopefully this fixes the problem, but just in case I'm starting to save all of the documentation.
Nothing at all on what exactly the problem was... just that it did and they had to do a temporary fix. The official paper that I have from the dealership in VA says that the entire strut needs to be replaced, possibly the shock as well. Says to have the service department here contact them if there are any further questions, and that it is indeed covered by my warranty.Originally posted by inevitablegod@Jul 6 2005, 01:18 PM
hmmm... thats a bit odd. i am no LoBux, but i will certainly check into that and see if any of my boys know what might have caused it. faulty seal? did they elaborate on what "blew"?
alright - keep us posted. i know i said i would look into it, but i just got the call from the girlfriend - she took my wife to the hospital and they admitted her for at least a night's stay. i am on my way there.
Hope everything is alright!Originally posted by inevitablegod@Jul 6 2005, 01:23 PM
alright - keep us posted. i know i said i would look into it, but i just got the call from the girlfriend - she took my wife to the hospital and they admitted her for at least a night's stay. i am on my way there.
A strut "blowing" usually means the seal failed. There should be oil all over the strut. There is no distinction between a strut and a shock, and you surely don't have both unless you are talking about the strut in the front and the shock in the rear (which would be accurate).
There are other failure modes for struts (top bearing fails - VERY rare, internal valving fails - also very rare; body cracks, mount breaks, etc) but I'm curious what let you know it failed? Did the corner sag? Did the ride suddenly get bouncy? What let you know there was a problem?
Oh, what happened to your OEM stuff? If you still have it, why not have them put it on until the repair parts show up?
There are other failure modes for struts (top bearing fails - VERY rare, internal valving fails - also very rare; body cracks, mount breaks, etc) but I'm curious what let you know it failed? Did the corner sag? Did the ride suddenly get bouncy? What let you know there was a problem?
Oh, what happened to your OEM stuff? If you still have it, why not have them put it on until the repair parts show up?
Ah, thanks for clearing that up lo bux... I was just repeating what the service tech said in Virginia (I don't know much about it, but I'm learning so I can figure it out).Originally posted by lo bux racer@Jul 6 2005, 03:35 PM
A strut "blowing" usually means the seal failed. There should be oil all over the strut. There is no distinction between a strut and a shock, and you surely don't have both unless you are talking about the strut in the front and the shock in the rear (which would be accurate).
There are other failure modes for struts (top bearing fails - VERY rare, internal valving fails - also very rare; body cracks, mount breaks, etc) but I'm curious what let you know it failed? Did the corner sag? Did the ride suddenly get bouncy? What let you know there was a problem?
Oh, what happened to your OEM stuff? If you still have it, why not have them put it on until the repair parts show up?
There is oil all over the strut, and after I pulled into a parking lot I looked underneath the car and saw a clear, odorless oil dripping down (typical of strut oil). I knew it went bad because I literally heard a popping noise, followed by a sound that sounded like a deflating tire. When I heard it I pulled over and checked all my tires (which were inflated properly and none were going flat), so I started to look more closely when I saw oil all over the spring. I then pulled into a parking lot (all along the way I heard a grinding noise, ride quality was terrible) and did an even more thorough inspection. Called up one of my friends who will be doing some work to my car and he helped me diagnose the actual problem. After that I located the nearest dealer and had them look at it. There one of the service techs "explained" to me that the shock and spring absorb road bumps, but the strut will blow when the shock and the spring just can't take it. I had him draw me a picture and he distinctly showed a difference between spring, shock, and strut.
Terminology aside, I have no idea what the temporary "fix" was at the dealership in VA. The stock shocks are in Auburn and there is no way for me to make it down there to get those parts (as I have to work and have deadlines). Now that I know that the shock/strut are the same in this case, I have a clearer picture of what is going on.
see what's funny here (to me) is that a shock and a strut are the same thing.. just a different size and slightly different mounting.. but there is only one shock/strut per wheel.. doesn't sound like that emergency dealer was that good of a place..
There are some pretty significant design differences between shocks and struts, but your analysis is fundamentally correct. A strut is just a very heavy duty shock with a very fat rod and a stout bearing system to allow the rod to rotate in the shock body without destroying itself or the rest of the assembly. Other than this difference, they are functionally identical. I always laugh at guys who try to tell me the struts are bad on their MkIV Supras. They don't have struts anywhere on the car, it has a real suspension (like Miatas, and they are also strut-less).
The guy "explaining" there is a shock and a strut doesn't grasp the fundamentals very well. I've known a scary number of guys like him.
The guy "explaining" there is a shock and a strut doesn't grasp the fundamentals very well. I've known a scary number of guys like him.
Bah, just got a call from the dealership. They realize that not only did they order the wrong part (they didn't get the TRD shocks), but they also got the wrong location entirely (back-left instead of front-right). This dealership is really inept >_>. They are claiming the part will arrive tonight and that I will be back on the road in my car by tomorrow @ noon... with how they've been I'm skeptical.
The main pain has been trying to get in touch with their service department... I've gotten in touch with someone but they always claim they will call back (which never happens). I'm having to try and contact my "service representative" directly in order to get any information whatsoever... and he never seems to check his voicemail or be near his phone.
Why am I not by your dealer Damon?
The main pain has been trying to get in touch with their service department... I've gotten in touch with someone but they always claim they will call back (which never happens). I'm having to try and contact my "service representative" directly in order to get any information whatsoever... and he never seems to check his voicemail or be near his phone.
Why am I not by your dealer Damon?
Took me a year to "teach" my local dealer common customer service principles, but now they know who I am, know that I don't like leaving the car with them, know that they are not supposed to scratch body and interior parts, know that my car is lowered and that they have to be careful putting it on the lift.
They consider me one of their best customers, though I haven't spent a penny there - did not even buy a car from them. All it took was communication.
They consider me one of their best customers, though I haven't spent a penny there - did not even buy a car from them. All it took was communication.
Holy crap! Did the short bus offload at their service department or something?! Jesus!
This time they got the right location but they ordered the OEM shock... they didn't notice until _AFTER_ they installed the new shock and lowered it down and noticed that it was leaning... NO &*%(@#&%*& SHERLOCK!
So I told them that they better have the new part by Friday. If not they are paying to have me go to Auburn, pick up my OEM shocks and springs, they will install those on the car, and then when they get the RIGHT PART in I will bring it back and they will then again install the TRD shocks/springs and provide me with my OEM parts again.
Oddly enough... if I have to resort to that I can technically declare it a lemon under alabama law =/
This time they got the right location but they ordered the OEM shock... they didn't notice until _AFTER_ they installed the new shock and lowered it down and noticed that it was leaning... NO &*%(@#&%*& SHERLOCK!
So I told them that they better have the new part by Friday. If not they are paying to have me go to Auburn, pick up my OEM shocks and springs, they will install those on the car, and then when they get the RIGHT PART in I will bring it back and they will then again install the TRD shocks/springs and provide me with my OEM parts again.
Oddly enough... if I have to resort to that I can technically declare it a lemon under alabama law =/
^^^ wow... That's terrible.
I hope you get it worked out!
-K
I hope you get it worked out!
-K
Neither do I... they better get their butt in gear. When I get a customer service survey I am definately giving them bad marks.Originally posted by k_splay@Jul 13 2005, 01:42 PM
^^^ wow... That's terrible.
I hope you get it worked out!
-K
Since a lot of ppl commented on this, i guess i'll throw in my 2 cents. I've blown about 5 different shocks/struts in my day. Two different cars, with different suspensions. However, when all of mine blew, hence that's how the shop worded it to me as well, i never felt any kind grinding or obscure driving conditions. In fact, each time they blew, i never knew it until i brought it in for service for something different. So what happen to urs, I beleive, is that u had a faulty strut to begin with. Granted, the fronts are usually the first to go, cause they take more of the impact than the rear, plus shocks in the rear are more powerful than struts in the front in terms of "taking a hit".
What we need to know, is how long u've been riding on that suspension. If it's like 30,000 mi. or something, then I'm not surprised, it's prbably normal wear and tear. But after 5,000 mi. it should never happen. U said u didn't hit many big bumps, yet maybe u were always going too fast to realize the size of what u may have hit. Remember the faster u go, the less u feel and the more stress is on ur suspension, go slow over every bump so the strut/shock does not have to compress - decompress so quickly. That's how they wind up eventually blowing.
I may be completely wrong about all this, but i'm just saying cause it happened to me so many times. Anyone who agrees, let us all know what u think. Good luck to ya getting it fixed, sounds like a real pain in the buttox. Let us now how it works out... latrs
What we need to know, is how long u've been riding on that suspension. If it's like 30,000 mi. or something, then I'm not surprised, it's prbably normal wear and tear. But after 5,000 mi. it should never happen. U said u didn't hit many big bumps, yet maybe u were always going too fast to realize the size of what u may have hit. Remember the faster u go, the less u feel and the more stress is on ur suspension, go slow over every bump so the strut/shock does not have to compress - decompress so quickly. That's how they wind up eventually blowing.
I may be completely wrong about all this, but i'm just saying cause it happened to me so many times. Anyone who agrees, let us all know what u think. Good luck to ya getting it fixed, sounds like a real pain in the buttox. Let us now how it works out... latrs
Was driving on that suspension for maybe 10k miles. When it blew I was in 1st gear and hadn't even reached 3000RPMs.Originally posted by PeteyP@Jul 13 2005, 02:50 PM
Since a lot of ppl commented on this, i guess i'll throw in my 2 cents. I've blown about 5 different shocks/struts in my day. Two different cars, with different suspensions. However, when all of mine blew, hence that's how the shop worded it to me as well, i never felt any kind grinding or obscure driving conditions. In fact, each time they blew, i never knew it until i brought it in for service for something different. So what happen to urs, I beleive, is that u had a faulty strut to begin with. Granted, the fronts are usually the first to go, cause they take more of the impact than the rear, plus shocks in the rear are more powerful than struts in the front in terms of "taking a hit".
What we need to know, is how long u've been riding on that suspension. If it's like 30,000 mi. or something, then I'm not surprised, it's prbably normal wear and tear. But after 5,000 mi. it should never happen. U said u didn't hit many big bumps, yet maybe u were always going too fast to realize the size of what u may have hit. Remember the faster u go, the less u feel and the more stress is on ur suspension, go slow over every bump so the strut/shock does not have to compress - decompress so quickly. That's how they wind up eventually blowing.
I may be completely wrong about all this, but i'm just saying cause it happened to me so many times. Anyone who agrees, let us all know what u think. Good luck to ya getting it fixed, sounds like a real pain in the buttox. Let us now how it works out... latrs
yep...sounds like a fauly shock...maybe something punctured it, or it just wasn't tested right from Toyota...I wouldn't sweat it.. i don't think it was ur fault. The way u described it, sounds like it was an external problem out of ur control. The warranty will cover it up to 36,000 anyways...it's Toyota...good luck to ya...
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