Bad shock symptoms: How to spot worn shocks

Recognizing the Symptoms of Bad Shock Absorbers

Shock absorbers play a crucial role in your vehicle’s suspension system, ensuring a smooth ride and proper control. Typically, struts last between 80,000 and 120,000 miles, but their actual lifespan hinges on the condition of the roads you drive on. Rough roads riddled with potholes can wear out struts in as little as 50,000 miles. On well-maintained roads, struts can remain functional up to 100,000 miles, though by then, they’re usually compromised. The slow and gradual wear often goes unnoticed by drivers. In this article, I’ll discuss bad shock symptoms so you can recognize when it’s time to replace them.

How to Recognize Worn Struts

Here’s what to watch for:

• Excessive nose dive when braking.
• Uneven tire wear, particularly scalloping or cupping.
• Oil leaks running down the sides of the strut or shock.
• Poor lane stability, especially on curves.
• Oil leaking down the strut body.
• Cracked or deteriorated rubber bushings.
• Rust or pitting on the strut’s cylinder or chrome piston.

Bad shock symptom #1— You have less control and a bumpy ride

Struts are designed to dampen the spring oscillations caused by road bumps. When they wear out, their dampening ability diminishes, allowing the tire to bounce more and spend less time in contact with the road. This loss of contact leads to decreased control, particularly when navigating curves.

Bad shock symptom #2— You notice excessive nose dive when stopping and faster front brake wear

When you apply the brakes, the front of your car shouldn’t dip down or nose dive. If you notice the front end diving excessively during stops, it’s likely that your front shock absorbers are worn out and unable to control the weight transfer properly.

The rear end squats when you accelerate

If the rear of your vehicle noticeably squats or dips when you accelerate from a stop, that’s an indication that the rear shock absorbers are failing to manage the weight shift effectively

More wear on all your suspension components and tires

This one is pretty simple: more tire bounce means more suspension component movement. More movement means more wear. So you’re not saving any money by postponing shock replacement. Drive on worn shocks, and you’ll wear out your ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, and stabilizer end links much faster.

Tire damage

Every time an airborne tire returns to the pavement, the contact scrubs off additional rubber—kind of like airplane tires do when the aircraft lands. The “divots” created by the tire recontacting the pavement create “tire cupping,” which causes tire imbalance, more tire bounce, and rapid tire wear.

You notice fluid dripping down the side of the shocks

Shock absorbers contain oil, and if you notice oily residue on the exterior of the shock or strut, it’s a sign of a leak. This compromises the shock’s ability to function correctly and requires immediate attention.

Test for bad shocks

You can test your shocks with a bounce test. Press on the fender of your car several times until you get maximum up/down movement. Then stop. A good one will stop the up/down movement within 1 to 1-1/2 rebounds. A bad shock will allow the vehicle to continue rocking. If you see more movement than 1-1-1/2 it’s time to replace your bad shocks.

NOTE: This test only works with shocks, not struts. Struts are a whole different animal. Even a severely worn strut will pass the bounce test. For more information on how to test a strut, see this post.

©, 2022 Rick Muscoplat