RX350 Struts/Shock Replacement (merged threads)
CL Community Team
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,205
Likes: 1,734
From: VA
With sway bar end links it does not make any difference if they are OEM or not. In fact many aftermarket ones have better end bolt designs than the OEM stuff. Just hunt Rock Auto for a 2005 Sienna front sway bar end links.
As an example, these Moog end links for the 2005 Sienna look great at a great price and they do not have the narrow section on end of the shaft like the ones in the photo. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=7580&jsn=589
Here is the listing page link at Rock Auto although it may not work. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+bar+link,7580
As an example, these Moog end links for the 2005 Sienna look great at a great price and they do not have the narrow section on end of the shaft like the ones in the photo. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=7580&jsn=589
Here is the listing page link at Rock Auto although it may not work. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+bar+link,7580
Racer
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,994
Likes: 603
From: NC
^^ I agree. Some of the OEM end link bolts have the lousy Allen or Torx heads that tend to be very difficult to remove if they are rusted in place. Most of the aftermarket end link bolts have regular hex heads and are much easier to deal with if they are rusted in place.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 804
Likes: 22
From: ca
With sway bar end links it does not make any difference if they are OEM or not. In fact many aftermarket ones have better end bolt designs than the OEM stuff. Just hunt Rock Auto for a 2005 Sienna front sway bar end links.
As an example, these Moog end links for the 2005 Sienna look great at a great price and they do not have the narrow section on end of the shaft like the ones in the photo. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=7580&jsn=589
Here is the listing page link at Rock Auto although it may not work. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+bar+link,7580
As an example, these Moog end links for the 2005 Sienna look great at a great price and they do not have the narrow section on end of the shaft like the ones in the photo. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=7580&jsn=589
Here is the listing page link at Rock Auto although it may not work. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+bar+link,7580
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2022
Posts: 6
Likes: 7
From: Seria
Hi Clutchless;
I want to thank you for suggesting the Bilsten, My 14" - 450h rides harsh and going over bad roads is crashy, harsh, feels too stiff as if not much damping, even on slighty uneven roads & over minor cracks it didnt feel good. The wife did complain it didnt ride 'nice' & 'comfy' at all for a Lexus, I also felt something was off with the suspension but it was not boucy or leaking, just very stiff !
I replaced all the original shocks & struts (Tokico) with the Bilstein B4 together with the top mount bearings, stabilizer links, bar bush, ball joints.
Fresh out of the shop I intentionally & slowly drove to a bad road littered with pot holes and puddles, wow those B4 really soaked up much of the bumps/humps, I can feel the 'cushoning' with the B4, going over humps and minor road imperfection feel much more dampen. Driving on some smoother roads I dont know how to say it, but feels more cushioned, well damped but not floaty boatlike at all. The wife test drove it and wow, she immediately notice the huge difference, it drives well and comfy!
I can't belive how these new B4s can totally transform my RX ride quality (in my own experience). Maybe my original 90K Miles Tokico were 'bad'?
I chose the B4 since i dont drive fast or do hard cornering, We wanted the comfortable ride & since the roads where we live are not great either.
Thanks Clutchless & other CL members who had shared their experience with their Bilstein.
I want to thank you for suggesting the Bilsten, My 14" - 450h rides harsh and going over bad roads is crashy, harsh, feels too stiff as if not much damping, even on slighty uneven roads & over minor cracks it didnt feel good. The wife did complain it didnt ride 'nice' & 'comfy' at all for a Lexus, I also felt something was off with the suspension but it was not boucy or leaking, just very stiff !
I replaced all the original shocks & struts (Tokico) with the Bilstein B4 together with the top mount bearings, stabilizer links, bar bush, ball joints.
Fresh out of the shop I intentionally & slowly drove to a bad road littered with pot holes and puddles, wow those B4 really soaked up much of the bumps/humps, I can feel the 'cushoning' with the B4, going over humps and minor road imperfection feel much more dampen. Driving on some smoother roads I dont know how to say it, but feels more cushioned, well damped but not floaty boatlike at all. The wife test drove it and wow, she immediately notice the huge difference, it drives well and comfy!
I can't belive how these new B4s can totally transform my RX ride quality (in my own experience). Maybe my original 90K Miles Tokico were 'bad'?
I chose the B4 since i dont drive fast or do hard cornering, We wanted the comfortable ride & since the roads where we live are not great either.
Thanks Clutchless & other CL members who had shared their experience with their Bilstein.
Last edited by LuckXus; Apr 15, 2025 at 09:41 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 804
Likes: 22
From: ca
Hi Clutchless;
I want to thank you for suggesting the Bilsten, My 14" - 450h rides harsh and going over bad roads is crashy, harsh, feels too stiff as if not much damping, even on slighty uneven roads & over minor cracks it didnt feel good. The wife did complain it didnt ride 'nice' & 'comfy' at all for a Lexus, I also felt something was off with the suspension but it was not boucy or leaking, just very stiff !
I replaced all the original shocks & struts (Tokico) with the Bilstein B4 together with the top mount bearings, stabilizer links, bar bush, ball joints.
Fresh out of the shop I intentionally & slowly drove to a bad road littered with pot holes and puddles, wow those B4 really soaked up much of the bumps/humps, I can feel the 'cushoning' with the B4, going over humps and minor road imperfection feel much more dampen. Driving on some smoother roads I dont know how to say it, but feels more cushioned, well damped but not floaty boatlike at all. The wife test drove it and wow, she immediately notice the huge difference, it drives well and comfy!
I can't belive how these new B4s can totally transform my RX ride quality (in my own experience). Maybe my original 90K Miles Tokico were 'bad'?
I chose the B4 since i dont drive fast or do hard cornering, We wanted the comfortable ride & since the roads where we live are not great either.
Thanks Clutchless & other CL members who had shared their experience with their Bilstein.
I want to thank you for suggesting the Bilsten, My 14" - 450h rides harsh and going over bad roads is crashy, harsh, feels too stiff as if not much damping, even on slighty uneven roads & over minor cracks it didnt feel good. The wife did complain it didnt ride 'nice' & 'comfy' at all for a Lexus, I also felt something was off with the suspension but it was not boucy or leaking, just very stiff !
I replaced all the original shocks & struts (Tokico) with the Bilstein B4 together with the top mount bearings, stabilizer links, bar bush, ball joints.
Fresh out of the shop I intentionally & slowly drove to a bad road littered with pot holes and puddles, wow those B4 really soaked up much of the bumps/humps, I can feel the 'cushoning' with the B4, going over humps and minor road imperfection feel much more dampen. Driving on some smoother roads I dont know how to say it, but feels more cushioned, well damped but not floaty boatlike at all. The wife test drove it and wow, she immediately notice the huge difference, it drives well and comfy!
I can't belive how these new B4s can totally transform my RX ride quality (in my own experience). Maybe my original 90K Miles Tokico were 'bad'?
I chose the B4 since i dont drive fast or do hard cornering, We wanted the comfortable ride & since the roads where we live are not great either.
Thanks Clutchless & other CL members who had shared their experience with their Bilstein.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 804
Likes: 22
From: ca
BILSTEIN 22282682 B4 OE Replacement Strut
CL Community Team
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,205
Likes: 1,734
From: VA
Alexbenz the shocks you reference above will not fit the RX350 2010-2015. In fact they are struts! You should be able to tell the difference after reading this thread.
Front struts have to be from a 2010-2013 Highlander, rear shocks from 2014-2019 Highlander. (How many times do I need to repeat this??)
The Bilstein B4 (black) are more comfort-oriented, B6 (yellow) are stiffer and sportier.
SEE POST 228 FOR MORE PARTS NUMBER INFO.
The 2010-15 RX has STRUTS in front and struts have the spring mounted around the body. Struts are complicated to replace as the spring must be compressed on a machine to safely move it from the old strut to the new strut, along with the top strut mount. See the photo in your post and the large part in the center is the seat for the spring.
The 2010-15 RX has SHOCKS in the rear. This means the springs are mounted separately from the shocks. Rear shocks are very easy to install, only 2 bolts. See photo below.
If you decide to replace the rear shocks with Bilsteins, you want the ones listed for the 2014 Highlander as it has the same rear suspension with shocks as the RX. The 2008-13 Highlander is different in that it has struts in the back.
Part No. Bilstein 19-282862
Front struts have to be from a 2010-2013 Highlander, rear shocks from 2014-2019 Highlander. (How many times do I need to repeat this??)
The Bilstein B4 (black) are more comfort-oriented, B6 (yellow) are stiffer and sportier.
SEE POST 228 FOR MORE PARTS NUMBER INFO.
The 2010-15 RX has STRUTS in front and struts have the spring mounted around the body. Struts are complicated to replace as the spring must be compressed on a machine to safely move it from the old strut to the new strut, along with the top strut mount. See the photo in your post and the large part in the center is the seat for the spring.
The 2010-15 RX has SHOCKS in the rear. This means the springs are mounted separately from the shocks. Rear shocks are very easy to install, only 2 bolts. See photo below.
If you decide to replace the rear shocks with Bilsteins, you want the ones listed for the 2014 Highlander as it has the same rear suspension with shocks as the RX. The 2008-13 Highlander is different in that it has struts in the back.
Part No. Bilstein 19-282862
Bilstein B4 OE Replacement 14-19 Toyota Highlander Rear Twintube Shock Absorber - Black (19-282862
Last edited by Clutchless; Apr 17, 2025 at 01:37 PM.
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2022
Posts: 6
Likes: 7
From: Seria
BILSTEIN B4: (OEM - base model, comfort)
==================================
Fronts PN# 22-282675 and 22-282668 (are from the 2008-2013 Highlander)
Rears PN# 19-282862 (are from the 2014 -2019 Highlander)
==================================
Fronts PN# 22-282675 and 22-282668 (are from the 2008-2013 Highlander)
Rears PN# 19-282862 (are from the 2014 -2019 Highlander)
Last edited by LuckXus; Apr 17, 2025 at 05:20 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 804
Likes: 22
From: ca
Alexbenz the shocks you reference above will not fit the RX350 2010-2015. In fact they are struts! You should be able to tell the difference after reading this thread.
Front struts have to be from a 2010-2013 Highlander, rear shocks from 2014-2019 Highlander. (How many times do I need to repeat this??)
The Bilstein B4 (black) are more comfort-oriented, B6 (yellow) are stiffer and sportier.
SEE POST 228 FOR MORE PARTS NUMBER INFO.
The 2010-15 RX has STRUTS in front and struts have the spring mounted around the body. Struts are complicated to replace as the spring must be compressed on a machine to safely move it from the old strut to the new strut, along with the top strut mount. See the photo in your post and the large part in the center is the seat for the spring.
The 2010-15 RX has SHOCKS in the rear. This means the springs are mounted separately from the shocks. Rear shocks are very easy to install, only 2 bolts. See photo below.
If you decide to replace the rear shocks with Bilsteins, you want the ones listed for the 2014 Highlander as it has the same rear suspension with shocks as the RX. The 2008-13 Highlander is different in that it has struts in the back.
Part No. Bilstein 19-282862
Front struts have to be from a 2010-2013 Highlander, rear shocks from 2014-2019 Highlander. (How many times do I need to repeat this??)
The Bilstein B4 (black) are more comfort-oriented, B6 (yellow) are stiffer and sportier.
SEE POST 228 FOR MORE PARTS NUMBER INFO.
The 2010-15 RX has STRUTS in front and struts have the spring mounted around the body. Struts are complicated to replace as the spring must be compressed on a machine to safely move it from the old strut to the new strut, along with the top strut mount. See the photo in your post and the large part in the center is the seat for the spring.
The 2010-15 RX has SHOCKS in the rear. This means the springs are mounted separately from the shocks. Rear shocks are very easy to install, only 2 bolts. See photo below.
If you decide to replace the rear shocks with Bilsteins, you want the ones listed for the 2014 Highlander as it has the same rear suspension with shocks as the RX. The 2008-13 Highlander is different in that it has struts in the back.
Part No. Bilstein 19-282862
Bilstein B4 OE Replacement 14-19 Toyota Highlander Rear Twintube Shock Absorber - Black (19-282862
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 804
Likes: 22
From: ca
the left front is out of stock at rockauto so i'll wait to get both fronts
CL Community Team
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,205
Likes: 1,734
From: VA
It appears to be out of stock nationwide although you may find them on eBay. Shock Warehouse and Tire Rack says you can pre-order the left front for a June delivery but you can get the right front delivered next week!
https://www.tirerack.com/suspension/...hicleExactly=#
You could call these guys to see if they actually have it in stock but don't get your hopes up. https://www.truckspring.com/products...668.aspx?gQT=2
Amazon claims to have 8 in stock of the left front: Although the photo is of a B6.
https://www.tirerack.com/suspension/...hicleExactly=#
You could call these guys to see if they actually have it in stock but don't get your hopes up. https://www.truckspring.com/products...668.aspx?gQT=2
Amazon claims to have 8 in stock of the left front: Although the photo is of a B6.
