KYB Strut-Plus Assemblies, front struts part #’s SR4119 (right) and SR4120 (left)

[RBLACAUSA]

TL;DR – They bottom out on every speed bump I take, and I take them at very slow speeds. Any large parking lot like Costco is just one of many examples of where and when it bottoms out, and that is unloaded with only one occupant (me). Would not recommend these struts!

I bought a L/R set of these via Rock Auto and had them professionally installed, and then alignment completed, a year ago. The bottoming out issue was immediate whenever I’d go over speedbumps, which I do at a very slow speed. This is for a 2006 2WD 4Runner V8 that is stock.

I purchased these because they came preassembled and with new coil springs. Before I bought, I (thought) I researched diligently, and I moved forward under the impression these would be comparable to OEM Toyota struts (although IIRC Toyota only sold the shock portion of the strut and one would have to move the coil springs from old to new prior to installing). Reviews looked good, some opined that KYB made the OEM struts, etc.
For reference sake, I have three 4th gens. I replaced the front struts (shock part only) with Toyota OEM 2.5 yrs ago on my stock 2003 2WD V8 4Runner and do not have these bottoming out issues when I drive that 4Runner over the same speedbumps under identical conditions. And that was with reusing the original 20 yr. old front coil springs.

I reached out to Rock Auto and I can warranty-exchange the KYB struts with an identical (same make/model) strut, which seems pointless as it’s a far inferior product IMO.So...I'm hosed with this product, I have low confidence in them and will likely replace in the not-to-distant future.

Hence, the reason for this post is that if anyone is researching replacing their OEM front struts with these KYB Strut-Plus products, think twice. I’m going to start looking for better front struts for a stock 2WD 4Runner. Hopefully Bilstein has a complete strut assembly (includes new front coils) in their product offerings.

 

[Hunter61]

I replaced my front struts a little over a year ago with the KYB SR4130 & SR4131 strut pluses and I'm happy with them. Don't know if it makes a difference but my 4runner is a 4WD.

 

[RBLACAUSA]

I replaced my front struts a little over a year ago with the KYB SR4130 & SR4131 strut pluses and I'm happy with them. Don't know if it makes a difference but my 4runner is a 4WD.

Interesting. Those are their Strut-Plus products, too. Curious as to the difference as I don't recall a stock 4WD having any noticable heighth diference over 2WD. Maybe stiffer springs/better rebound? That said, the vehicle selection tools on most suspension websites indicate I bought the "correct" strut for my application. Anyway, I reached out to KYB directly. Will update if I get anywhere w/them.

 

[MikeinNH67]

Some of us have installed used but newer OEM takeoffs from Gen 5 trucks that got lifted. Mine were 6 months old when I installed them, all I needed to do was trim the lower eyelet a bit to fit and they only cost $100-ish for the pair. I'm not sure if 2wd is different though.

 

[Hunter61]

Interesting. Those are their Strut-Plus products, too. Curious as to the difference as I don't recall a stock 4WD having any noticable heighth diference over 2WD. Maybe stiffer springs/better rebound? That said, the vehicle selection tools on most suspension websites indicate I bought the "correct" strut for my application. Anyway, I reached out to KYB directly. Will update if I get anywhere w/them.

Could be that the ones I posted are a bit more robust to support the added weight of the front differential & transfer case in the 4WD's.

 

[gaber6]

I've had kyb struts on my 2005 4x4 V6 for about 100k and they are an adequate replacement over stock even towing and very light off-road.

 

[RBLACAUSA]

Follow up from KYB as to them bowing out of troubleshooting this with me:

"I am happy to hear that RockAuto is willing to help you with your warranty.

I understand your frustrations, businesses can purchase our products from our authorized retailers; however, without them buying it from us we cannot guarantee authenticity.

This is why the warranty is not honored."

That implies that possibly my purchase from Rock Auto were knock-offs, which would be hard to imagine. However I did find a post from a few yrs back on another Toyota forum where someone had the exact same issue as me, same parts and purchased thru Rock Auto. The mystery continues...

 

[Hunter61]

Follow up from KYB as to them bowing out of troubleshooting this with me:

"I am happy to hear that RockAuto is willing to help you with your warranty.

I understand your frustrations, businesses can purchase our products from our authorized retailers; however, without them buying it from us we cannot guarantee authenticity.

This is why the warranty is not honored."

That implies that possibly my purchase from Rock Auto were knock-offs, which would be hard to imagine. However I did find a post from a few yrs back on another Toyota forum where someone had the exact same issue as me, same parts and purchased thru Rock Auto. The mystery continues...

I too bought my KYB struts through Rockauto. At the time, KYB was offering a $60.00 rebate which I need to get by by going through the KYB website. If I remember right, I had to take pic's of the bar codes on the boxes the struts came in and upload them to KYB along with a copy of the order confirmation from Rock auto.
Anyhow, KYB accepted it, sent me my rebate so I'm sure KYB was satisfied that they weren't knock-offs.

 

[4R005]

It’s possible your shocks were paired/assembled wrongly at the factory, i.e. right shocks but with lighter springs ( for 2WD and V6 ) ?.
Any chance you can check your new springs with one from a 4X4 V8. Their coil diameters and/or number of coils. If diameters are different there’s your root cause.

For my ’05 4R w/V8 I replaced the xreas suspension ( rust/leak ) with regular shocks but salvaged the OEM springs and installed over the new shocks. All good, no complains.