I was really excited to share my experience with these Aisin strut assemblies as an alternative to compressing shocks with KYB but it's no go. When the notch in the strut lines up with the clevis arm, the top bolt is not where it should be. Here's a side by side pic. I thought I recall another thread that mentioned the AWD shocks being tougher to replace. If I have to compress the springs on the new Aisin struts to fix this, I might as well do the same with KYB's and the original springs. Am I missing something simple?



Separately, the new strut sits over an inch lower than the OEM one. Is that from the old spring or strut losing it's original height from age and use or just how the new one is made?

 

I think, there is a difference between right and left. Are you sure you are using the correct side?

 

Hey Anfanger, nice to see you again here. I remember you from back in the day on the forums. The fronts use the same part number, so no left/right difference. I can see though that they are not identical to OEM. I found the earlier thread on the trouble with swapping front struts/shocks on the AWD cars. I'll probably just rent a spring compressor to take the pressure off the top cap and turn it slightly to where it needs to be.

 

Thank you!

I just checked, AWD uses 2 different part numbers for the front. Can you provide Aisin part numbers?

 

Oh no! Do you think it's simply a matter of rotating the strut bearing?

Also, I am not sure what to think if the new strut is shorter than the old one. I would expect them to be the same, otherwise the ride height will be affected. I suppose the new spring might be stiffer and doesn't compress as much, but I would worry if that's the case.

Is it possible these are the wrong parts?

 

These struts use static strut mounts as far as I am aware.

 

So, (A) I'm a moron and (B) they still don't fit. Anfanger you are right, I didn't notice the blacked out print on the shock that designates L and R. Unfortunately, I had the correct part in the correct position by sheer luck. I compared the other part just to convince myself and definitely not even close.

 

They are definitely the correct fitment for 2014 AWD. I'm very cautious and a bit skeptical about using these. On the one hand, they do appear to be genuine Aisin products, but literally no one on the forums have tried them. Maybe they are newly released. Aisin makes these and hood struts for all kinds of cars on their store site, mostly asian vehicles but a few others as well. My hesitation is that they aren't the OEM for Lexus like KYB. So are they making decent quality struts but ones that aren't engineered specifically for the LS. These are only sold on Amazon and Ebay but the seller appears to be "Aisin" themselves. I emailed them yesterday with my order number (the phone number listed in Michigan did not allow me to connect to a live person and the voicemail won't accept messages which is odd!). They also shipped from Texas which made me wonder if these were assembled in Mexico!

 

First, thanks for being the first to try these and providing feedback to the rest of us. Aisin is a reputable company and it would be great if these are a viable alternative.

Let me understand your experience: You say the left and right units are different - good to know. You also said the height was different than the OEM units, is that still true? Finally, you say these are the correct fitment, so were you able to install them? If yes, what is your experience?

Thanks in advance, your experience may prevent the rest if us from buying incompatible struts, or may give us a quality, cheaper, alternative.

 

In the end I decided not to install these. I wanted a true "plug and play" strut and there is no way to install these without compressing to turn the top hat so that both the 3 bolts fit up top and on the lower mount. I rented a spring compressor but the one I took from Autozone was too big to fit into the new springs. I found a Youtube video with a workaround for using the tool but I just gave up.
My initial impressions were that they appeared to be quality; however as was pointed out here, the new struts are quite a bit longer than the old. Unless my OEM springs with shocks have compressed over an inch with age (200k miles), the ride height would be affected. My biggest disappointment was that Aisin has a customer service support number in the included manual, yet the automated system takes you to a message that says the mailbox cannot accept messages. I will update this if Aisin replies to my email and provides any useful info.

 

Thank you for the update, this will help other people. My reaction is, (a) the misalignment of the strut and the mount may be fixable but a head scratcher, they should have known better, but (b) the difference in height is a no, no, it makes the struts incompatible with your application. It is not an issue of old springs being compressed, the height is fixed, determined by the distance between the lower spring mount and the top strut mount, and should have been identical. Your ride height (and ride quality) would definitely be affected.

If you have time, please post a review on Amazon (I assume this is where you got them). Sometimes companies monitor reviews and you may hear back that way.

 

If you need new struts, just buy OEM and pay the extra costs. The amount of time a person wastes messing with aftermarket replacements that are not properly made far offsets the cost savings. I have quit buying any critical parts from Amazon. They have a ton of counterfeit parts that are made to look like OEM or other high end makers like Aisin. From logos to part numbers and paint schemes, all are copied onto the new part but they are often out of spec and made with poor materials. From Iridium spark plugs that the tips fall off of and wreck your cylinders, to Cummins branded filters for Ram diesels that won't seal and allow air into the fuel system and everything in between. Amazon has been advised of the fake parts, and does absolutely nothing about it. Same applies to many new parts on Ebay.

I stick to the Dealer or Rock Auto, Napa etc. At least I know they care about selling genuine parts.

 

To me that's a big red flag. I do not buy auto parts off either website anymore. Too many fakes. I bought a Timken unit bearing for my truck off Amazon. I was skeptical of the legitimacy of the new part when I compared it to the OEM. So I went to the local parts store and bought the same part number Timken. Comparing the supposedly same part side by side and the difference was very apparent. The fake from Amazon even had Timken stamped on it except there was no "R" next to it. Clearly a fake.

In your situation it doesn't make sense to me that the strut would be longer in length. It also doesn't make sense the Aisin sticker would be on upside down. Aisin is a good company with a solid reputation. They would have a person you could talk to on the phone to answer questions. I asked Gemini if Aisin made struts for the LS 460 and it says Aisin does not. I think you got counterfeit parts.

 

You are absolutely correct about counterfeits on Amazon, it is a buyer beware situation. If you want to be safe, skip Amazon and eBay. However, not all parts there are bad, if you want to take the extra step there are deals to be had.

As for aftermarket vs OEM parts, again you are correct if you want to be absolutely sure. One category, for example, are sensors, I would be careful with those. But, there are aftermarket parts that are very good, for example, KYB shocks are generally highly regarded. In the German car world, I would absolutely not hesitate to buy original Sachs or Bilstein parts, for example. Remember, these aftermarket brands are usually the OE suppliers.

The OP took a calculated gamble with Aisin parts, a Tier 1 supplier. Unfortunately it didn't work out, but it could have. He was nice enough to share his experience with all of us, which I deeply appreciate and I thank him for doing so.

 

Thanks chrispap! You understand my intentions. I was replacing my control arms and removing the stock strut made that so much easier. So it wasn't any more trouble to see what the Aisin's were all about. I had previously replaced my shocks with the KYB's from Rockauto on a previous 2013 LS and they were fine. Still wish KYB would step up and make a plug and play assembly. I had also just replaced my water pump with the Aisin part from Rockauto, and the engraved "Toyota" word was literally scratched out by Aisin. It was the exact same part that's put in a Lexus Dealer box. So yes, Rockauto is trustworthy. If the Amazon Aisin parts were counterfeit, they sure did a convincing job. Not just the boxing and labeling, and instructions that listed the correct Aisin phone number in Michigan, but for the fact that they have a huge "Aisin Store" presence on Amazon. There's no way Aisin wouldn't know about this. I can't believe Aisin wouldn't have Amazon take it down, and/or initiate a lawsuit. In any case, I left a scathing Amazon review on their Amazon product page! By the way, I'm disappointed that the real Aisin headquarters phone number in Michigan will not allow you to talk to a live person for any tech support whatsoever. Their voicemail that says you cannot leave a message at this time. Would have been nice to get a return email or talk to someone to actually verify the validity of the Amazon/Ebay Aisin store and put that to rest.