Front Strut Replacement Under Warranty

[alan7467]

Hi folks,

I'm looking at a very low mileage used 2023 Supra right now. One thing that caught my eye on the VIN report is that the dealer just replaced the front struts. Any reason to be concerned with this? Perhaps the car is having some clunking noises I've heard of some people experiencing and they tried to address it with a strut replacement (when it probably just needs that EPS fix).

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[MYA90SUPRA]

Hi folks,

I'm looking at a very low mileage used 2023 Supra right now. One thing that caught my eye on the VIN report is that the dealer just replaced the front struts. Any reason to be concerned with this? Perhaps the car is having some clunking noises I've heard of some people experiencing and they tried to address it with a strut replacement (when it probably just needs that EPS fix).

Only issues I've heard of is people lowering them and the upper bearing failed due to improper install. Was the car in an accident?

 

[FuzzyRev]

That seems quite odd, unless they were chasing a noise or leaks, but even then I'm curious if they did one or both, because while the rule of thumb is to always do them in pairs, the new vehicle warranty will ONLY replace the bad part(s), often only doing the side that is needed...

 

[Mr. Jonathan]

Are you buying from a Toyota dealer? If not the report should say who performed the work. Best place to start running down the why.

edit: you refer to “the dealer”, they should tell you. If not or they side step the question, I would cautious.

 

[FuzzyRev]

Care to post the VIN?

 

[alan7467]

Are you buying from a Toyota dealer? If not the report should say who performed the work. Best place to start running down the why.

It's a BMW dealer with a sister Toyota dealer. The report shows that the sister dealer performed the replacement. The car is also 6 hours away from me, so this type of finding is giving me pause on pursuing it any further.

 

[Mr. Jonathan]

If it’s a good deal pursue it. They should have no problem providing clarity on the strut replacement. The fact that the dealer is hours away shouldn’t matter. A local dealer can lie just the same as one 6 hours away. I’m not sure what all comes on a VIN report, just make sure the car wasn’t designated a lemon at some point prior to the dealer taking action on repairs.

Best of luck

 

[alan7467]

Here's the carfax for anyone interested:

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHisto...HwFMUdJqOQwp0I2mE1Ogx2sZUN_PK95r0NE2C8QCOmsog

...it's a head scratcher for me showing as a two owner. Makes me wonder if the 2nd owner was technically the dealer and perhaps they used it as a dealer demo. I'll ask the dealer questions, but will take responses with a grain of salt.

 

[Kolme]

Perhaps the shipping spacers were left on and it caused some damage? Wouldn’t be the first time

 

[FuzzyRev]

Only the RIGHT FRONT was replaced, due to excessive fluid leaking past the shaft seal (enough to drip onto the ground). They determined the aftermarket lowering spring was not at fault for the issue, and the seal was defective out of the gate.

 

[alan7467]

Only the RIGHT FRONT was replaced, due to excessive fluid leaking past the shaft seal (enough to drip onto the ground). They determined the aftermarket lowering spring was not at fault for the issue, and the seal was defective out of the gate.

Thanks so much for looking that up. This also confirms my suspicion that this car has been modified (looks lowered in pictures). So I'll be walking away from this one.

 

[Mr. Jonathan]

Yeah best to be very cautious on that front. I was lied to about modifications regarding my 2020. Not that I’m complaining. Just a bit of hassle when it came to the crack recall.

 

[RaceReX]

I’m actually surprised that a dealer did warranty work and replaced the strut on a car that was modified.

bet that someone at the dealership owned the car.

 

[alan7467]

I’m actually surprised that a dealer did warranty work and replaced the strut on a car that was modified.

bet that someone at the dealership owned the car.

Could be. You can also see that they had the dealer install a bunch of the aftermarket parts.

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