Categories: ServiceTips & Tricks

Does my Car Use Struts or Shocks?

Every vehicle on the road has its own set of either struts or shocks. There are a few important things that these parts do for you and your vehicle, and a few ways to tell if you need to get them replaced. So you want to know how to tell if your car has struts or shocks? We’ll tell you that and more, so keep reading!

The first step in figuring out what your vehicle has, is understanding what the parts do. We see shocks on many different forms of transportation, but most visibly on bikes. The idea of cushioning the rider from bumps in the road is one of the most noticeable things that the shocks or struts do, however they also serve the purpose of keeping the vehicle from shifting horizontally while on the road.

So, on top of saving you from a bouncy and uncomfortable ride, the struts or shocks handle side-to-side motion, thus making the vehicle much safer on the road. Your vehicle’s stability is very important in tough road conditions and bad weather, so you have a lot of pressure on your strut or shocks.

So what’s the difference between them? It’s mostly a matter of how they look and where they are. Shocks are more easily picked out because they look a lot like what we see on bikes. They are big springs that are there to keep your car from bouncing around. They absorb the shocks from the road. A strut, on the other hand, is horizontal and harder to see. They are usually right inside the wheels and almost look like they are a part of the wheel itself.

Do you need to replace them? The general rule for replacing shocks or struts is every 50,000 miles, but there is a way to test them to see whether it’s time. Stand in front and push down on the vehicle’s bumper. If the vehicle comes back up and bounces more than twice, there’s a good chance that you need to replace your struts or shocks.

Not sure what you think about your shocks or struts? Give our service center a call or schedule an appointment to see us online. We would be happy to take a look at your vehicle and make sure that everything is running the way it should.