$1400 for front struts?! Questions galore...

[Lewis&Clark]

So I brought Lewis, my '08 Ltd to my local Toyota dealer to have the turn signal bulb replaced on the driver side. Tried to do it myself, but couldn't get the bulb out. Figured it was just that the battery was in the way, but then the dealer couldn't get it out either. Turns out whomever had the car before me managed to install it incorrectly. So it literally melted the headlamp casing so much so that they can't even remove the old bulb. $320 plus labor. I could've found an OEM headlamp assembly online for $260ish, or an aftermarket for $75-120, but needed it done now so I told them to just do it.

They did a courtesy check and found my front struts are leaking badly; in the red. They quoted me $1,400 for parts, labor, and taxes. Seriously...$1400 for front struts???

I know it's a dealer and prices there will be higher than elsewhere, but that still surprises me.

Does this seem like a reasonable amount of money? How much should I expect a non-dealer mechanic to be for the same job?

I'm not having Toyota do it. I'll price shop or have a mechanic friend help me with it. And parts shop. In fact, as long as I'm going to have to replace them, what aftermarket struts should I consider if I want improved performance and better offroading (but still a good ride on the cement; it's a daily driver)?

If it matters, it's an '08 Limited 4x4 V8, no xreas. About 98000 miles, and I've made no suspension or mechanical mods to it yet -- just some electrical and aesthetic mods.

 

[yosh2000]

bilstein 5100 front for $200. used FJ springs for $100 on CL. labor to install $300...out the door for $600 vs $1,400 for crap OEM stuff.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Google: "Camelback Toyota Online Parts"

Call them. Write down the part numbers. Go on their website and order the parts (not over the phone).

Then take the parts to a local mechanic. Any decent mechanic can replace the front suspension.

You can keep your setup with real Toyota parts and probably shave off near 40% to HALF the cost.



---

4th gen section .... How did I get here?

 

[nevada]

So I brought Lewis, my '08 Ltd to my local Toyota dealer to have the turn signal bulb replaced on the driver side. Tried to do it myself, but couldn't get the bulb out. Figured it was just that the battery was in the way, but then the dealer couldn't get it out either. Turns out whomever had the car before me managed to install it incorrectly. So it literally melted the headlamp casing so much so that they can't even remove the old bulb. $320 plus labor. I could've found an OEM headlamp assembly online for $260ish, or an aftermarket for $75-120, but needed it done now so I told them to just do it.

They did a courtesy check and found my front struts are leaking badly; in the red. They quoted me $1,400 for parts, labor, and taxes. Seriously...$1400 for front struts???

I know it's a dealer and prices there will be higher than elsewhere, but that still surprises me.

Does this seem like a reasonable amount of money? How much should I expect a non-dealer mechanic to be for the same job?

I'm not having Toyota do it. I'll price shop or have a mechanic friend help me with it. And parts shop. In fact, as long as I'm going to have to replace them, what aftermarket struts should I consider if I want improved performance and better offroading (but still a good ride on the cement; it's a daily driver)?

If it matters, it's an '08 Limited 4x4 V8, no xreas. About 98000 miles, and I've made no suspension or mechanical mods to it yet -- just some electrical and aesthetic mods.

i just looked it up, if we were doing it here at the shop, using quality aftermarket parts(KYB) it would be $550 ish installed for the 2 front struts.

$1400 is ridiculous, even for the dealer.

 

[Lewis&Clark]

bilstein 5100 front for $200. used FJ springs for $100 on CL. labor to install $300...out the door for $600 vs $1,400 for crap OEM stuff.

Which 5100s would you recommend? There's a Steering Damper version, a Ride Height Adjustable, and a Lifted Light Truck/SUV.

Also, I have not lifted my 4R yet, but probably will early next year before I hit the road to Alaska. If I don't get the Lifted Light Truck/SUV one, will I need to replace the struts again with that version whenever I do lift it?

 

[Lewis&Clark]

i just looked it up, if we were doing it here at the shop, using quality aftermarket parts(KYB) it would be $550 ish installed for the 2 front struts.

$1400 is ridiculous, even for the dealer.

Unreal. It's seriously almost unbelievable. I'm used to high dealer markups, especially here in otherwise massively overpriced California, but this is absurd. I wonder if the service adviser just made a mistake and tallied it up wrong.

Hmm. Or maybe that's just giving them too much benefit of the doubt...

 

[TORCH]

I probably wouldn't return to that dealership and I would love to see this bulb that is melted so badly it cannot be removed.

 

[m85476585]

I can't remember how much my dealer wanted for the job, but it was less than that.

I bought a set of four Toyota shocks on ebay for less than $300. I installed them myself in a few hours, but a mechanic should be able to do it for a few hundred dollars.

I didn't use the rears, so I have them listed in the classified section for cheap.

 

[Lewis&Clark]

I can't remember how much my dealer wanted for the job, but it was less than that.

I bought a set of four Toyota shocks on ebay for less than $300. I installed them myself in a few hours, but a mechanic should be able to do it for a few hundred dollars.

I didn't use the rears, so I have them listed in the classified section for cheap.

Forgive my ignorance...I'm new to this stuff. Is a shock the same thing as a strut?

 

[having fun]

Functions yes. Design-no.

 

[the great him]

well for $1400 id put Icon suspension in it. $1400 will buy you almost top of the line 2.5" fully adjustable coil overs, 0-3" of lift so you get to chose exsactly how much lift you want, then wait a little and spend like $5-600 on a nice rear set up.

ride will be as smooth as factory with much more ability to soak up bumps and deal with extra weight.

honestly while that price i do agree is kinda crazy its about right. considering they are gonna have to remove each strut, then each coil from its strut, then do it all back to geather, then do an alignment... they go buy book time, not actual time.

it sucks but you will only ever have to do suspension one time with the icons

 

[Lewis&Clark]

So yeah, I asked the dealer for a breakdown of the exact parts and costs involved in their $1400 quote. Here's what he gave me:

P/N 48530-80089 (Absorber Assembly, Shock):
$389.72

P/N 48540-39445 (Absorber Assembly, Shock):
$389.72

Labor:
$620.00

I know they go by book estimates of labor involved / fixed-price quotes rather than charging you for actual costs incurred. But WOW. Seriously. WOW.

Meanwhile, I talked to 2 different mechanics and told them the quoted price. They couldn't stop laughing.

Talked to Toyota's actual mechanic too, bypassing the service advisor. As it happens, they're not leaking nearly as bad as the advisor made it sound like on the phone with me. On their 1 to 5 scale (1 being replace it NOW), it's a 3. At a 3, you wouldn't even likely see a performance degradation or changes to the ride quality. Which would explain why it still feels to me like it always has.

So forget all that. I'll start shopping some Bilsteins and replace them this year sometime. Now, just need to understand which Bilsteins I need...


dt

 

[m85476585]

Forgive my ignorance...I'm new to this stuff. Is a shock the same thing as a strut?

Close enough. What is the Difference Between Shocks and Struts- Shockwarehouse.com - Shockwarehouse.com

The fronts are technically struts, and the rears are shocks. Personally I refer to the shock absorber part as a shock either way, and if it's assembled with a spring and top hat I would call it a strut. Often mechanics are lazy, so they put in "Quick Struts" that are cheap struts that come preassembled with springs and top hats. They are more expensive than replacing only the shock inside (with an equivalent low-end shock from the quick strut), but it's less work, so it may end up being cheaper if you are paying for labor. If the dealer was quoting you for complete struts with OEM parts then the price might make sense. Also, I think shops use both to make a high price sound more reasonable, because when they tell you that you need shocks and struts it sounds like they are doing more work, even though it's just shocks on the rear and struts on the front.

 

[The end]

I paid $100 for a pair of barely used 5100s with springs.

For $1400 you can do ome or toytec and have money left over.

I have a pair of stock ones I could give you but they were off a v6, idk if that matters but it probably does.

 

[Jeremy556]

The fronts are technically struts

Technically, no, they are not struts. It is a coilover shock, and while a strut also uses a coilover shock design, a strut has no upper control arm or upper ball joint. A strut rotates with the steering knuckle and supports horizontal load (hence a strut), we have upper control arms that support the horizontal load.

Strut:

Not a strut:

 

[yosh2000]

Which 5100s would you recommend? There's a Steering Damper version, a Ride Height Adjustable, and a Lifted Light Truck/SUV.

Also, I have not lifted my 4R yet, but probably will early next year before I hit the road to Alaska. If I don't get the Lifted Light Truck/SUV one, will I need to replace the struts again with that version whenever I do lift it?

Downsouthmotorsports.Com will have what you need for the 5100s. Sonny is a great guy to deal with and has the best prices out there.