struts - replace or not

That's silly. Go somewhere else and never see this dealer again.

I could use some too but mine went

I replaced mine at 240.000 km. I did the job myself. I paid about Euro 750,- for the 4 shock-absorbers, including new rubbers between springs and shock-absorbers. And new bearings including supporting plates for the front shock-absorbers.

I replaced 4 on my '93 in about 5 hours total --- with a borrowed manual spring compressor. The struts themselves (full struct not replacement cartidges) were $87 each. The dust boot/mounting seat were all dry rotted too so then were like $30 each (OEM cuz generic ones aren't the same). Ouch $1200 or even $700! I used Monroe Sensormatic - a premium gas shock with lifetime warrantee. They were vast improvement over worn OEM --- but hardly sporty. Struts affect safe handling and braking. They wear out slowly so you don't really notice. I replaced mine at 60k miles before the spring had a chance to break down. Wait too long and you could be faced with replacing springs too to restore original driv.

No. Not with only 62K miles on it. My Maxima has 147K miles on it and I have not replaced the struts and the car is fine. The dealer just wants your money. Use that $1,200 for a cruise or something.

Bill

I replaced the rear struts on my '99 V6 Camry at 59,800 miles due to loud and rough sounding noises in the 35 to 45 mph range. They appeared to the Toyota tech to be only slightly worn, but the new ones are infinitely smoother and quieter, I would point out that Toyota did not push this on me, I had been complaining for 15,000 miles about the rear end riding like a cheap 1/4 ton pickup. The front struts were replaced many years ago under the TSB. Those rear struts, and the mounts, are expensive and labor intensive so be prepared.

They can wear out at 62000 I replaced mine at 66 and it made a big difference. But 1200, that is a joke, an independant should be around

Struts provide damping for suspension movement. If they are not leaking oil, or failing to stop the movement of the vehicle after a bump or dip in the road, I would not replace them. Curiously, the replacment factory struts do, but the originals do not, carry a lifetime replacement warranty. So Toyota seems to believe struts are fairly durable.

I had mine fail as the ride was getting rougher they didnt leak or bounce noticably it just got worse.

Same here, no sign of any leakage and no bouncing or leaning like worn shock absorbers on American cars of the 1950s; the ride just became harsh and noisy as if it had solid (frozen?) rear struts in the 35 to 45 mph range.

I ve been told they get looser and leak when they get bad , but if they are bad wait till it gets near 0 you bounce as if they are frozen , which maybe the case, is it possible they get water in them ?