navye9ret

My 2006 HHR LT has 53K miles.
She's a little noisy when hitting bumps like manhole covers and the like. The ride quality seems a little harsh.
Back in the day we used to check shocks and struts by pushing down on the bumper and checking rebound. If the car rebounded once the shocks/struts were considered to be good. Twice or more they needed replacement.
When I press down on the HHR there seems to be little or no compression and no rebound.
Under "normal" driving conditions how long should the shocks and struts last before needing replacement?
Thanks, JW

urbexHHR

In the HHR, who knows! People have had them replaced with 10k on them! My '06 needed them replaced at about 35k. They don't seem to be the best in the world, so there really is no set lifespan. You might luck out on some that last a long time, or not. The front sway bar links are another key area that goes bad and causes the front end to clunk...

BlackknighT

Welcome navy & enjoy the ride!

Rod Run

53k is a long life for a factory strut or shock on any car

Lucky

look at them if they are not leaking then they are fine. I would only replace them if they are leaking. my 2cents:

843de

Well first, welcome to the group! The bounce and rebound test doesn't work on struts like it used to since they've gone to gas filled units. The "industry" recommends replacement at 36,000 miles, but the make the struts so they have a vested interest. If you feel that the ride quality has decreased and you're not happy, change them. Some vehicles can go astronomical mileages on struts and shocks, other wear them out fairly quickly. With 53k on them I'd go ahead and change them out along with the sway bar end links that tend to give you clunks from the front end, and all will be smooth and quiet once more.

Rod Run

I'm sorry, but that's some bad information right there, almost dangerous.

urbexHHR

Dang, my Lumina is riding on the originals at 150k...

Lucky

struts are an big money maker in the repair industry. if the oil or the gas&oil inside a strut don't leak out the struts don't lose there damping ability. so unless its making noise,rusted out or the valves inside have broken which is very rare it should in no way be unsafe. I have seen lots of struts go for 100,000 mile plus and they are still going strong with no excess tire wear or danger. This is my opinion based on being an auto tech of 18 years. with that said if you have the money to send and you want peice of mine then by all means replace them as often as you like but I beleve that there money will better spent fixing the noise which is probably sway bar links and or bushing as was mentioned by 843de above.

THE BATMAN

My first struts lasted 32,000 miles. At 60,500 miles , I'm probally about due.