I have a 99 ES 300. When I go over potholes or imperfections in the road, the front end sounds like something is loose. It definately sounds like the shocks or struts or something. The car rides and handles fine. The strange thing is that when I'm driving at higher speeds, I don't have the same sound as when you're driving slower and hit the potholes or imperfections. Any thoughts?

 

Sound like the top( upper) strut mounts on your ES goes bad.

 

Ok, here's the dealership diagnosis.

Strut support mounts are bad as well as the front and rear sway bar bushings.

Total cost for repair is $575.00.

Does this sound like the right price? Thanks.

 

That's kind of high. Check with your local Toyota dealer or even an independent Toyota/Lexus mechanic. You should be paying way less. Do they know which upper strut mounts are bad? Those parts alone are about 80-90 a piece. Front and rear sway bushings? I think they're trying to add to the cost of labor hours to be honest. Upper front strut mounts are the culprit to the MCV20 chassis = Camry V6, Solara V6, ES300 and even the Avalon (MXC20) chassis suspension noise.