KYB shocks now garbage

[slo town]

I don't know about those. Never owned them. Thanks for the info.

Looks like their catalog is a bit different from when I used them years ago. The Gas-A-Just are silver now instead of white. And the old silver colored GR2s are black and called Excel-G. From the description on the catalog they seem to serve the same market segment.

Scott

 

[Chevelle3221]

I have the Exel-G's on the 2003 Ford Taurus, shocks and struts and, the KYB MonoMax
shocks on my 2002 Ford F-150 extended cab FX4. Love both sets. Great ride on both the car and truck.

These are NOT comparable to the KYB's I referenced and so I can only reference the garbage I had. If you like what you have then thats a good thing. In my situation there is a BIG differnce in ride quality when comparing KYB's to Bilstein. Again that is my opinion!

 

[mattd]

KYB has been junk for a long time. JMO

 

[Heywood_6078]

These are NOT comparable to the KYB's I referenced and so I can only reference the garbage I had. If you like what you have then thats a good thing. In my situation there is a BIG differnce in ride quality when comparing KYB's to Bilstein. Again that is my opinion!

Most people do like Bilstein I agree. No argument from me!

 

[Gasbuggy]

I put full KYB Struts on my mom's 07 CRV about 3 years ago. Had squeaking/binding noise up front when making turns about a year in. I called and spoke to a real KYB tech support guy, he seemed very savvy. He bluntly told me that KYB knows there is a bad run of these front struts out there but they won't exchange/warranty them. I had bought them on Rock Auto so he informed me I was SOL on warranty anyway since they are not an approved vendor. I asked if the strut problem was a safety issue, he said no. I used a syringe to pierce the top of the strut mounts and shoot gear lube into it. Solved the problem going on over a year now.

 

[Bladecutter]

How exactly does Rock Auto acquire their product to sell if they are not an "approved" vendor?

 

[Impatient]

Didn’t Gabriel buy KYB? Long ago.

just to add my experiences: I put Gabriel’s on an old Dodge van: sucked right off the bat…got dealer to exchange for KYB’s. I don’t remember model. Much better. My next van (GMC G1500) got KYB Gs-a-Justs, lasted 11 yrs until I sold the van. I liked them, yeah kinda stiff. Next van, Ford Transit, got Bilstein B6 after 5 years of OEM wallow. Rears seem good (Monotube), fronts are not Monotube, despite being “B6”…the fronts are OK, but not as firm as I had expected/wanted.

meanwhile, ask anyone with a 2005-2009 Subaru Outback, and you’ll get wildly divergent opinions about KYB (who made the OEM shocks). But IMHO KYB sucked big time for those model years; no Monotubes, only GR2 crap. I now have Bilsteins, but it wasn’t easy finding rears for the “raised” Outback wagon…had to look at JDM options…plenty of JDM Legacy sedan options, very few for Outback’s, despite what eBay sellers claim…unless you are looking to “slam” the car. There is a VERY pricey JDM Bilstein BTS5056 spring/shock/strut kit….which Bilstein USA refuses to talk about…or at least did a few years ago.

 

[dfarr67]

What to throw on a 1990 4runner? I like the Sensatracs on there now but they are not long lived. Had Bilstein 4600 on my k1500 but it rode like a dam skateboard until I put Sachs on the rear. Looking for Sach's or oe shocks right now. Just want a nice ride- nothing sporty.

 

[andrew_j]

I have gone through 2 sets of KYB shocks in the last 2 years on my 70 Chevelle SS due to them leaking. Years ago these shocks were great when used on similar cars but something has changed. I just swithced to Bilsteins which although are about double the price give a much better ride and hopefully won't leak!

That is terrible. Shocks seem like a long term item. For better or worst never changed them on vehicles driven 100k-150k+

 

[JeffKeryk]

I used to run KGB; now it's Bilstein. I put a set on my old Tundra; if fixed that squishy, worn out shock, Lexus ride.

 

[OM605]

Had a set on a 1995 Mercedes, very harsh, hated it. Recently bought a 1997 and PO installed KYBs and it feels weird. Bit harsh but doesn't make the car stick to the road. When money allows i'll get four Sachs, much better and not very expensive IMO.

 

[dfarr67]

I just ordered a set of Gas Adjusts from RA for my old horse- I've been informed the 4runner is 'vintage', like myself I guess. Far from my preferred shock, discontinued, shipping issues (UPS/Fedex upcharges for me), there was briefly a consideration of Eibach or DeCarbon but that goes against my logic that if one needs replacing I don't want a pita sourcing it. Monroe doesn't make a Reflex for my model and frankly with the amount of work I've done to get this heap on the road something has to give budget wise, maybe revisit down the road and right now hope for the best.

 

[road_rascal]

This is dissapointing to hear about KYB. I just had KYB GR2 front struts and rear shocks installed ony my Rav4 2 months ago. These were one of the better options that have been mentioned on Rav4World(dot)com. Granted the OEM's were pretty bad at 168,000 miles but with the new ones on it's a night & day difference in ride quality. I just hope they last at least 100K.

 

[nwjones18]

I used to run KGB; now it's Bilstein. I put a set on my old Tundra; if fixed that squishy, worn out shock, Lexus ride.

I currently have a full set of KYB Gas-adjust on my 88 F-150 and it rides like my dad's 95 Buick lesabre..

 

[levi]

Put KYB Gas-A-Just shocks on my 07 Silverado Classic @ a year ago. Very firm, rough. But hey, it's a crew cab. And it's a truck.

 

[John105]

This sure isn’t good news for me, bought KYB for the LS430, never installed yet. Mounts too.

They were garbage on the Maxima, I guess I can’t be learned!

 

[michael007]

I've also got a set at home, unfortunately taking up space in my living room...

Went all out for some Japanese ones after reading some bad reviews on this forum about the ones sold in North America.

We'll see if it's marketing -

 

[nthach]

Didn’t Gabriel buy KYB? Long ago.

Gabriel was part of ArvinMeritor before it was renamed to simply Meritor and the passenger businesses spun off. Gabriel is now part of MAT Holdings.

 

[D60]

This thread definitely gave me pause. I unwittingly still thought KYB was quality, but now I'm questioning that.

I just ordered rear KYB's for an '01 RAV4 and all around for a '96 Nissan truck. However in looking at the better offerings -- esp Bilstein-- the owners couldn't have afforded that anyway.

It looks like KYB's top tier is the Monomax? Are these also suspect today?

 

[E150GT]

I tied KYB once. I had never seen catastrophic shock failure before then. Not only happened once but twice. shock juice splattered everywhere. Went to Bilstein after that.