Camry KYB Quick Strut Experience

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Apr 7, 2006
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133
Location
Knoxville, TN
Car: 1999 Camry XLE
Mileage: 235,250

I just wanted to share my experience and opinion. I have looked at endless Monroe vs. KYB quick strut threads around the net. I installed KYB quick struts in December 2013 (187,500 miles) on all 4 corners. Even before I jumped back then I read up heavily on all my options. I went with KYB due to the firmer ride. I purchased the fronts from Advance since RockAuto was out of stock. The units that arrived from Advance were manufactured in 2008, yes 2008. Obviously they sat for 5 years. Was torn on what to do but went ahead and installed. The RockAuto units (rears) were only 8 months.

All started well then after a year the dreaded Camry strut bearing problem developed on the left front. Conveniently (for KYB) just outside of the warranty period. I tried my hardest to ignore it but I finally caved in and decided to go with new front quick struts. The KYB’s had also really deteriorated in comfort and started riding rough after about 35k. Any thoughts on if the age of the units before install could have lead to early failure? I ran the fronts for just under 48k. The rears still feel fine.

I decided to go with Monroe quick struts since I lost some faith in KYB. Monroe also has a lifetime warranty so if the strut “bumping” occurs after 370 days I can still warranty them. Right out of the box the Monroe’s felt way better then the KYB’s ever had. Now (possibly) in the defense of KYB, the entire front end has recently been redone (calipers, rotors, pads, wheel bearings, inner / outer tie rods, and ball joints). The front end rebuild is part of what drove me to replace the struts. Well that and 4 month long battle with a highway speed shake. The initial highway run on the Monroe’s had drastically dampened the shake but it is still there slightly.

Going for a Road Force balance in the morning just to make sure the tires are spot on. The front tires have less than 10k on them.

Just figured I’d add my $0.02 on my KYB vs Monroe quick strut experience. I already know when the backs are ready I’ll be going with Monroe.
 
you pretty much mirrored my experience RE: KYB aftermarket replacement = inconsistent, if not lower quality.

I had them all 4s on my Mazda B6 (323) before and only lasted 1 year before they lost their nitrogen gas charge on all 4; thank goodness it was back in those days where they still had lifetime warranty on them (arrange down-time to swap all 4 with tokico blues).

My other experiences with my clienteles's cars (yes, plural!!) with KYB aftermarkets were equally inconsistent as well: good ones lasted 6 yrs; bad ones lasted just shy of 1 year. Most of these are labelled "made in USA" or elsewhere.

I have to do so many RE&RE and coordinate with additional phonecalls and paperworks with my local supplier that frankly, I was completely fed up. No more KYB aftermarkets for me/my clienteles from now on.

For Hondas and Toys:if I can get OEM units from suppliers @ a completitive price, I would do so; otherwise: only Monroe OESpectrums.... No more KYB aftermarkets, sensens, leecrea or gabriel struts, period.

Good luck.

Q.
 
I think that you can comment on the "quick strut" experience w/KYB, but not the cartridge. The Mounts in the quick-struts (both Monroe and KYB) are known to fail prematurely.

That may have caused the cartridge wear. The best practice here is to re-use the factory mounts if not acting up, or replace w/factory units and not all-in-one quicky units. This has been talked about extensively on Toyota and Lexus forums.

KYB is the OEM for Toyota/Lexus and you should get a factory ride out of them. THe Excel/GR2 is reported to be identical to the OE shocks except valved 15% stiffer to anticipated system component wear. My observations bear this out.

We have an 02 ES300 and I can say that at 240k, all I have changed up front is the KYB struts and boots, re-using the original mounts and even insulators. I did do the sway bar mounts, but they were not a factor it turned out. In the rear I also replaced the springs with Moog, but otherwise the same drill as up front with the OE mounts. It has been 20k since the KYB went in w/the factory mounts ( and factory front springs) and the ride is really as good as new (good roads and highway miles helps, too). It was slightly firm the first few thousand miles then all settled in wonderfully.

I have Monroe's (Sensa Trac)in another application and I think that after 4 years/25k they are performing fine, so I am not bashing one vs. the other. I think the issue here is mounts on these particular cars. If you run into premature wear, clunking, etc. in the future, consider swapping the mounts.
 
Originally Posted By: Oro_O
I think that you can comment on the "quick strut" experience w/KYB, but not the cartridge. The Mounts in the quick-struts (both Monroe and KYB) are known to fail prematurely.

That may have caused the cartridge wear. The best practice here is to re-use the factory mounts if not acting up, or replace w/factory units and not all-in-one quicky units. This has been talked about extensively on Toyota and Lexus forums.

KYB is the OEM for Toyota/Lexus and you should get a factory ride out of them. THe Excel/GR2 is reported to be identical to the OE shocks except valved 15% stiffer to anticipated system component wear. My observations bear this out.

We have an 02 ES300 and I can say that at 240k, all I have changed up front is the KYB struts and boots, re-using the original mounts and even insulators. I did do the sway bar mounts, but they were not a factor it turned out. In the rear I also replaced the springs with Moog, but otherwise the same drill as up front with the OE mounts. It has been 20k since the KYB went in w/the factory mounts ( and factory front springs) and the ride is really as good as new (good roads and highway miles helps, too). It was slightly firm the first few thousand miles then all settled in wonderfully.

I have Monroe's (Sensa Trac)in another application and I think that after 4 years/25k they are performing fine, so I am not bashing one vs. the other. I think the issue here is mounts on these particular cars. If you run into premature wear, clunking, etc. in the future, consider swapping the mounts.


5th gen camry and onwards (NA built) OEM struts are SACH units, not KYB.

I've done enough to be able to tell you that.

NA built Hondas are mostly supplied by US built KYBs, but don't expect them to take you to miracle miles...

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: Big Smoke

The units that arrived from Advance were manufactured in 2008, yes 2008. Obviously they sat for 5 years.


Just like a hydraulic jack, the seals will go screwy on shock absorbers if they aren't exercised.

Next time you face this think about Bilstein. They will rebuild them for as long as you own them.
 
Sorry to hear your bad luck with KYB even though KYB made the OE struts!

I can vouch for Gabriel's complete assemblies.

Sachs is also worth trying. They weren't out when I needed them, but I heard good things about them.

Gabriel has supplied some OEM Camry struts for newer cars from 2008-on.

Bilstein doesn't make any struts for any generation Camry.
 
I had a 1997 Camry that I sold last year. Previous owner had all new Munroe Quick struts put on and I was very happy with the ride quality.
 
I had Rancho RS5000 on my 1993 Toyota 4x4 for about 15 years then they started to leak. I replaced all 4 with KYB Monotubes and they leaked after about 4 years. I've since replaced the KYBs with Bilsteins. The stock Toyota front steering damper also leaked and I replace it with a KYB since it was a drop in replacement. It leaked after 4 months. That's my experiences with KYBs.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest


5th gen camry and onwards (NA built) OEM struts are SACH units, not KYB.

I've done enough to be able to tell you that.

NA built Hondas are mostly supplied by US built KYBs, but don't expect them to take you to miracle miles...

Q.


KYB are the spec'd unit by the manufacturer. Sachs are (mostly) the local non-domestic production substitute. I've done enough to be able to tell you that.

The point of this exercise is to provide useful insight to the OP and help, not snark selectively and solipstically.
 
I put KYBs on a 2005 Ion and the bearings were noisy....replaced with another set and had the same problem. I finally got Monroe bearings and the noise went away (I ended up with new KYB struts with new Monroe bearings). The KYB bearing was made in Thailand while the Monroe was made in Taiwan if I remember correctly.

I lost faith in KYB after that....I was surprised they would put their name on such garbage bearings.
 
Yeah, having the same issue with the KYB's mounts after 1 year in the Mazda3 in signature. They're rattling!

Now 2 years later and another alignment(due to a control arm replacement), they're not any worst. The Tech doing the alignment tightened up the mounts(center rod) which helped a tiny bit with the noise.

We'll replace the whole units(quick struts) at our next opportunity!
 
1) Why would you put that much money in a 99 Camry?
2) Bent rim ?
3) Your tires if manufactured badly would give you highway shake , no matter how much money you dump in the front end. 10-30% (my estimate, a guess) of all tires are made poorly, it just takes time to show up.
4)For $120 you could have bought a pair of prime choice lifetime struts.
 
On my PT Cruiser the KYB's in the rear rotted out after about 8 years. Their primer and paint are of poor quality.

I recently put the cheapest quick struts on the front of my 04 Town & Country purchased from Rock Auto (very inexpensive) and they perform to perfection.
 
Thanks for all the comments. As far all the other suggestions I went with Monroe due to the ease of the quick strut and lifetime warranty. Got them through Advance, I can take them down the street for a warranty claim anytime. They way I look at it I'll never pay for front struts again. Fairly easy to swap out so if the bearings fail I'll just keep swapping them out. The factory units went 187k both fronts were bumping and obviously everything was well beyond it's lifespan. It still drove decent and the ride wasn't bad even on 14 year old units.

As far as the KYB's, the top area of both struts was terribly rusted. They were well covered with paint at installation, only took 18 months for this to happen and I don't live in the rust belt.

OE or not, I doubt I will ever buy anything KYB again. Time will tell with the Monroe's. I'll be driving 3,000 miles in the next month I will see how I feel about the Monroes after the newness wears off. Should be able to put 50k on these by the end of 2016.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: chad8
1) Why would you put that much money in a 99 Camry?
2) Bent rim ?
3) Your tires if manufactured badly would give you highway shake , no matter how much money you dump in the front end. 10-30% (my estimate, a guess) of all tires are made poorly, it just takes time to show up.
4)For $120 you could have bought a pair of prime choice lifetime struts.


I have no problems putting money into a car that I am going to get 400k out of. I do most of the work myself to keep costs down. I drive this car all over the country for work. It is at the point now that just about every wear part has been replaced in the last 3 - 4 years. Car is still in great shape no rust or major mechanical issues. The only problem with the car right now is the drivers side auto door lock doesn't work.

I wasn't blinding dumping money into the front end chasing the shake. The left front bearing was making noise and was really sloppy. The right front tie rod was junk. No complaints, I got 234k and 16 years out of them. About $235 in parts. Doubt I'll ever need to touch any of this again.

Tires - so if one really is manufactured poorly how is that determined? What evidence can I take to the shop that says the tire is junk? The shaking at this point is so minor it is almost unnoticeable. Hopefully a good tire balance will wipe it out.
 
Do you have the 2.2L or 3.0L? What's your mpg? My 97' Camry had the 2.2L and got 33 mpg at 80 mph and just under 37 mpg at 60-65 mph. It was an automatic.
 
I've used KYB GR2 / Excel G on 2 Toyotas: 95 Corolla base and 97 Camry V6 XLE. I only replaced the struts and dust boot but not the mounts or insulators.

Goes in the Corolla at around 150k miles and at 235k they are still holding up well. That's when I was driving 85mph every day with 2-4 adults carpooling in it, mostly highway driving.

Goes in the Camry at around 120k miles in 2011's Xmas, right now it has 140k miles and it was all local driving only (mother in law can't drive highway). It is still holding up well.

I think like everyone says they were hit or miss, but from my experience they do well. I've also used Tokico Blue on my Integra and it has been 80k miles since installation and driven in mixed driving carpooling as well, and they are still holding up ok (there is a front end rattle that I can't say it is the shocks or other suspension component however).
 
Originally Posted By: Big Smoke


It is at the point now that just about every wear part has been replaced in the last 3 - 4 years. Car is still in great shape no rust or major mechanical issues.



I have done the same, bushings, motor mounts and all, with the SE-R, wish I could say there is no rust though. Tockicos were the go-to shock for use on the the Nissans in the mid to late 90s and I have stuck with them. No problems but I do replace shocks on about a 60K schedule not including the many that I swapped between back then.

Farther up the road from you Tockico has a factory in Richmond, KY, or did last time I drove up there, so I would think that they have a hunk of the Toyota business at the factory in Richmond as well.

And, big wave from the Chattanooga area neighbor. Welcome.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Do you have the 2.2L or 3.0L? What's your mpg? My 97' Camry had the 2.2L and got 33 mpg at 80 mph and just under 37 mpg at 60-65 mph. It was an automatic.


I have the 3.0L auto. At 75+ on the highway I get 25 - 26. Over the last 70,000 miles I am at 27.2 for all driving. I have been tracking every tank for the last 2.5 years.
 
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