Shock Absorber Condition at 241,000 km

I went to A T U yesterday for an oil change.
When the mechanic saw my shock absorbers, he said, 'These are the original ones. They definitely need to be replaced.' Of course, they immediately gave me a quote with a clause stating that I was obligated for four weeks.
A little while ago, I passed by an ADAC testing station. They were testing shock absorbers and brakes there today. Since it was completely empty, I decided to go inside.

The test results showed:

Front axle: 72 or 73% effectiveness.
Rear axle: 66% or 68% effectiveness.

The ADAC representative said that a change was not necessary if the effectiveness was above 50%.
The dampers can last for one week, or even for 10 years.

ATU's offer included the following costs:

Front shock absorbers: €61.00 each; rear shock absorbers: €91.00 each. Mounting kit front: €10.95; rear: €28.50. Installation front: €115.00; rear: €74.75.

Well, I just saved a significant amount of money.

Best regards, D.

Be happy that you don't need any new things!

My four items were, logically, in very bad condition at 398,000 km, to the point where my VW bus...
total swayed... The people in the back almost threw up after drinking hihi. The new things inside make the driving feel totally different for me, since I've driven this car myself for 320,000 km! Oops.

Hello,


Hmm.
'On my Golf with a three-cylinder engine, they were already worn out after about 170,000 km?'
The problem is that the failure creeps in slowly. You get used to the vehicle's poor handling characteristics.

And then, at some point when it's wet, you want to get on the highway, accelerate, and drive across multiple lanes back and forth until the car regains traction. This happened to me once, which is why I would prefer to change lanes sooner rather than later today.

I also went to ATU, and I find that the store is largely fair and reliable, without wanting to do any kind of promotional advertising.
Why don't you go to a mechanic and ask them what they think about the condition of your shock absorbers?
I'm curious about that. That's a really impressive mileage.

Best regards,

"That's actually quite good for the mileage. Based on the ADAC test results, I wouldn't change them yet. As long as the values are roughly the same on each axle, everything seems to be okay."

I had all four of my tires replaced last summer.
It's also a G3 variant (the rear Varida dampers are not cheap because they are rare).

I had it done by a specialist in tires and suspension.

4 Bilstein B4 shock absorbers (gas-filled dampers with standard characteristics) for €550, including alignment and other adjustments.

"The price is okay in my opinion, but sometimes I would have preferred stiffer shocks... too late now."

Those would be the Bilstein B6 dampers (standard length but stiffer).

For €780, I could have gotten the complete B12 set (4 springs, 4 shock absorbers), but I also want to be able to go off-road occasionally.

Okay, please provide the German text you would like me to translate into English. I will only provide the translation.

Hello,
My Passat, manufactured in 1999, has 260,000 kilometers on the clock and still has its original shock absorbers. I would never replace them now; they are working perfectly fine. There are cars that drive for 15 years and 400,000 kilometers with a single set of shock absorbers, while others only manage 50,000 kilometers and 4 years with the same set. If you're unsure whether the shock absorbers are still functioning correctly, you should take your car to Dekra or TÜV, or to ADAC or a trusted workshop to have them checked. Statements like 'the shock absorbers have already reached 250,000 kilometers and need to be replaced' strike me as blatant attempts to make money. Unfortunately, this is quite common in the automotive industry and often accepted without question by customers. After all, these repairs aren't costing just 20 euros; they often cost over 500 euros. And that's a lot of money.

Best regards, Caro.

Hello,

The shock absorber test (beyond the visual inspection) is scheduled to be integrated into the mandatory vehicle inspection process soon.

http://www.volkswagen-original-teile.de/en/news/problematik.html

Having now succeeded in harmonizing the testing procedures – which was an ultimate requirement of the Ministry (BMVBW) – the shock absorber test will become a permanent part of the vehicle inspection (HU) with the next amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations in 206. However, due to the enormous investment costs for the testing stations and workshops, there will be a transitional period until approximately 2010.


I'm just wondering whether the condition of the dampers is determined after the Boge or the EUSAMA system.

Regards,

Tobias.

hello,
At our testing facility (TÜV), we have these vibration plates. There's even a chart that shows at which frequencies the dampers perform poorly or well.
The shaking plates are located directly behind the brake testing station, so it wouldn't be a problem to include them in the vehicle inspection (TÜ). It would just take about 3 minutes longer for the TÜ process.
greetings