I have a 2002 ES300 with 146K miles. I purchased 4 new tires in July and am told that the tires are "cupping" when they were rotated last week. The alignment is fine.

The vehicle runs like a champ! It has been meticulously maintained, and I plan on getting 300K miles out of it...

Question...How do I know if I need new shocks/struts??? Is this a big/expensive job?

 

im gonna go ahead and say you need new struts. struts are about 400+ for all 4 and then plus labor.

one way to test is to press on each corner of the car and bounce it up and down about 4 times, then let go, if it doesnt stop with in 1 or 2 cycles of going up and down then its bad, if you've never changed the struts in your car with 146k miles, im almost certain you NEED to change your struts.

another way to check is to look for oil or excessive wetness on the strut body, requires looking under the car, behind the wheel.

 

I am not sure if the shocks/struts were ever changed...I puirchased the car with 92,000 miles on it. I have all of the service records and cannot find them. I am guessing that the struts do need replaced.
Thanks Ray!