The struts and shocks on your vehicle are crucial components of the suspension that keep the vehicle's occupants from feeling rough sections of road while providing safe, predictable handling. Over time, struts will go bad if they have enough miles on them or are driven in rough conditions. Bad struts will make your vehicle uncomfortable and negatively impact its performance. They can also make your vehicle dangerous to drive since the handling is not up to the level that its engineers intended. Checking your rear struts is a fairly easy task.
Perform a "bounce" test. Park the vehicle on a flat surface. Push down on the rear corners of the car one at a time. Stand near the corner then push down on the corner of the trunk with your hands. If the struts are in good shape, the suspension should compress firmly and then quickly rise back up and come to a stop. If the strut is very easy to push down and bounces back up and down when you release it, you likely need new struts.
Determine how the vehicle is cornering. Along with providing a comfortable ride to the occupants, struts are also supposed to provide confidence-inspiring handling when the vehicle is driven around corners by reducing body roll and controlling the excessive movement of the chassis. If the suspension rolls a lot (tilts) during cornering and feels soft, your rear struts may be bad.
Drive the car over a rough road. If the rear end bounces up and down when you drive over bumps and dips and generally does not feel stable, you probably need new rear struts. If the struts are in good shape, the rear end should not move excessively when driving over rough spots in the road. Also, pay attention to how the struts sound. If they bang and crash, they are probably blown out and need to be replaced.
Determine if there is axle hop from the rear end. Bad struts can also cause axle hop in corners and in a straight line when the vehicle is accelerating or experiencing sudden weight transfer. Accelerate quickly from a stop and see if the rear end skitters back and forth. Drive the vehicle around a bumpy corner to see if the rear end bounces around, which will cause the rear tires to lose their grip.
Perform a visual inspection. Loosen the lug nuts from the rear wheels. Lift the vehicle with a floor jack and support it on jack stands. Remove the wheels. Inspect the body of the strut. There should not be any leaking oil on them. If there is, there is a good chance they are bad.
