You and me both brother. I did the same on my ‘02 F150.. pulled the KYB’s off and threw on Bilsteins. Haven’t looked back!
KYB Strut Plus SUCK
- Thread starter Twisted1
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You and me both brother. I did the same on my ‘02 F150.. pulled the KYB’s off and threw on Bilsteins. Haven’t looked back!
Not surprised to see this thread. Quick struts are another garbage aftermarket part.
Half the time the ride height is not even correct.
Half the time the ride height is not even correct.
According to some in this forum it’s all the installer’s fault and quick struts are the bee’s-knee’s!
But when I assembled my OEM stuff in my garage there hasn’t been a single peep or creak from those units.. funny how that works..
Seems like a lot of work on a 23 year old car but who am I to judge.
My 2017 Tuscon had both rear struts making noise at 65k and after two accidents involving rear end collisions.
I noticed a world of difference replacing them with fully assembled rear kits with mounts and bushings from FCS. ($99 for the pair)
Put in by myself with a cordless impact in about an hour, and I am not a mechanic.
I don't think I can disassemble an assembly and rebuild it the same way a factory can, in China or not.
The OEM front shocks are probably not up to par, but they are not making noise and when they do I won't hesitate to throw a FCS quick strut at the front of it.
Most people don't do anything to the suspension of a car until something critical breaks, so you are doing a world more than most of the population.
My 2017 Tuscon had both rear struts making noise at 65k and after two accidents involving rear end collisions.
I noticed a world of difference replacing them with fully assembled rear kits with mounts and bushings from FCS. ($99 for the pair)
Put in by myself with a cordless impact in about an hour, and I am not a mechanic.
I don't think I can disassemble an assembly and rebuild it the same way a factory can, in China or not.
The OEM front shocks are probably not up to par, but they are not making noise and when they do I won't hesitate to throw a FCS quick strut at the front of it.
Most people don't do anything to the suspension of a car until something critical breaks, so you are doing a world more than most of the population.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had these problems with KYB. I put KYB quick struts on a family members 2007 Camry because the left front spring broke. They have been making all this noise just like OP described. I'm probably going to build new struts with Toyota OEM parts.
I can definitely respect the outlook on things about the car’s age. But to me an older car that is known to last a long time should receive the restoration it deserves.. The difference in price between Toyota OEM parts and after market is a margin of maybe $50-$70 dollars and the OEM won’t require me to do the job 2-3 times due to premature failure.. 1MZ-FE engines can go over half a million miles if not abused and kept up on regular maintenance and repairs. My other 2 vehicles have 2V 4.6 Modular motors which are also legendary and known for severe duty type of work. I’m not all too crazy about newer cars and especially not crazy about car payments.. I’d rather investment my money into something that won’t depreciate right off the shelf..
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Tomorrow is the last day for Toyota’s 15% off sale on all parts (when purchased online). It’s a good time to buy!
Bummed I found this thread. I was planning on getting the KYB + for a Civic I work on.
You can still go with KYB’s but reuse your original coil springs (retain factory spring rate) and buy OEM Honda top hats and components.
Problem is that the OEM springs are sagging after this long. I replaced the OEM struts with KYB back at 90,000 miles. The car is sitting about 1" too low and at 183,000 miles its time to think about replacing them again.
That’s understandable then… Do they tend to sag out where you’re at? We don’t typically have that issue here in California
Measure the ride height. You may be surprised to find that it is a non-issue.
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I just put a set of KYB Strut Plus on all 4 corners of a Dodge Avenger.
So far, the only thing I noticed is the ride quality is noticeably more stiff and rough...like what you'd expect from a sports car or something. I am not impressed with the ride quality.
Hopefully it won't end up being a mistake. The only reason I went with KYB was there was a rebate, and I recently had a Monroe Quick Strut fail on different vehicle after less than 1 year (not looking forward to having to do the job again).
Really disappointed in the quality of the Monroe quick struts.
I don't know... maybe I should just use the generic Chinese brands (FCS, Mando, Sensen, etc....). Looks like they might be the same quality as the name brands ones.
So far, the only thing I noticed is the ride quality is noticeably more stiff and rough...like what you'd expect from a sports car or something. I am not impressed with the ride quality.
Hopefully it won't end up being a mistake. The only reason I went with KYB was there was a rebate, and I recently had a Monroe Quick Strut fail on different vehicle after less than 1 year (not looking forward to having to do the job again).
Really disappointed in the quality of the Monroe quick struts.
I don't know... maybe I should just use the generic Chinese brands (FCS, Mando, Sensen, etc....). Looks like they might be the same quality as the name brands ones.
If you can, try to go OEM or at least an OEM supplied brand for your Avenger, and reuse the factory springs. Quick struts have a “one size fits all” spring rate on their assembly’s. I learned this when I found out that my car could’ve came with 4 different spring rates depending on engine size and whether you have an auto or manual trans.
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I generally agree. But part of the reason I replaced the struts is that one of the original struts had a sagging spring, so that it had too much negative camber. It looks like the OEM spring had worn out.
Plus, the convenience / safety factor of choosing a Quick Strut.
So far, not happy with Monroe. Hopefully the KYBs (despite the harsher ride) will last longer. I guess we'll see. Seems like they put terrible quality strut mounts / bearings on these aftermarket Quick Struts.
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Since this thread was resurrected... I wanted to post a little different experience and why I'm not ready to universally condemn the entire KYB strut plus lineup. I think there are some gems but you need to do your research.
The car in question was a 2011 Sentra in the family. Needed all four corners of the factory struts/shocks replaced. Factory mounts were ratcheting as well. Normally would try to get ahold of the OEM Sachs parts that came on the car but Nissan recently started to make these hard to source and were instead pushing their "ValueAdvantage" line of loaded struts. Couldn't figure out who their manufacturer was and only knew they were made in China which didn't help narrow anything down.
I read all the stories like this, usually about KYB putting good struts but terribly noisy mounts in their loaded packages. But I also found these stories were focused on specific models like certain CRVs and Priuses and some other specific cars. The ones for this Sentra had universally great reviews on Amazon and there were a few good stories on Reddit so I decided to go KYB over the unknown ValueAdvantage. I wasn't really interested in the few other available aftermarket options as they fit in the extreme value category. Sachs had an aftermarket option available but when you peel off the Sachs label, they were made by...KYB. So far it's been 10K miles on the Strut-Plus and they have been nothing short of perfect - ride height, damping feel, and dead silent even in sub zero temps which usually brings on the squeaking. Equal to the OEM feel, maybe even a little better feel on the damping, hard to remember what the factory suspension felt like new. Sure it's early and I could end up being wrong later but I'm really happy so far.
But I think that makes sense - there are so many models (and sub models) of cars they cover and given that complexity, and probably the different companies they source bearings and top hats and springs from, there is going to be variability. Based on what was available for this specific car, I think I ended up with the best outcome.
So I think the moral of the story for me is that model specific reviews can be more helpful than looking at a particular brand as a whole.
The car in question was a 2011 Sentra in the family. Needed all four corners of the factory struts/shocks replaced. Factory mounts were ratcheting as well. Normally would try to get ahold of the OEM Sachs parts that came on the car but Nissan recently started to make these hard to source and were instead pushing their "ValueAdvantage" line of loaded struts. Couldn't figure out who their manufacturer was and only knew they were made in China which didn't help narrow anything down.
I read all the stories like this, usually about KYB putting good struts but terribly noisy mounts in their loaded packages. But I also found these stories were focused on specific models like certain CRVs and Priuses and some other specific cars. The ones for this Sentra had universally great reviews on Amazon and there were a few good stories on Reddit so I decided to go KYB over the unknown ValueAdvantage. I wasn't really interested in the few other available aftermarket options as they fit in the extreme value category. Sachs had an aftermarket option available but when you peel off the Sachs label, they were made by...KYB. So far it's been 10K miles on the Strut-Plus and they have been nothing short of perfect - ride height, damping feel, and dead silent even in sub zero temps which usually brings on the squeaking. Equal to the OEM feel, maybe even a little better feel on the damping, hard to remember what the factory suspension felt like new. Sure it's early and I could end up being wrong later but I'm really happy so far.
But I think that makes sense - there are so many models (and sub models) of cars they cover and given that complexity, and probably the different companies they source bearings and top hats and springs from, there is going to be variability. Based on what was available for this specific car, I think I ended up with the best outcome.
So I think the moral of the story for me is that model specific reviews can be more helpful than looking at a particular brand as a whole.
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delete - double post in error
Mando not generic Chinese
Yeah I know I've said elsewhere I put them in the rear of an '02 Impreza and they were noticeably lighter than OEM. They did seem to work fine when new and she's since in the process of selling that vehicle -- not sure if they held up. But the reduced weight is at least a thing that makes ya go Hmmmmm.....
