11-11-2020, 04:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-11-2020, 05:00 PM by RobertInOntario.)
My wife & I own a 2011 Mazda3, and it has about 165,000 km or just over 100,000 miles on it.
We bought it used and it's been running fine with usual wear and tear. About two weeks ago, we were driving on one of our major highways (the 401) and, whenever we hit a bump, the back end would sway slightly. Recently, the problem has become a little worse in that we now notice it on city streets, travelling around 30-40 mph.
Here are a few things I've found out:
-- my local garage -- whom I've used for years & trust -- says it's probably the shocks. However, they're totally booked up until the end of the month, which is when I have it booked to go in. The owner assured me the car was still safe to drive.
-- as an experiment, today I also took the car to my local oil change outlet. I realize these guys aren't experts but thought I'd see if they noticed anything unusual. They checked and couldn't find anything wrong -- the suspension seemed good & solid.
-- a friend of mine, who is a retired mechanic, suggested that the sway bar links might be loose or need replacing. There is also a rattling or clunking noise when going over bumps, which might be indicative of a loose sway bar.
BTW, the car otherwise performs normally and does NOT pull to one side of the road or the other.
At any rate, my question is this: Is the car really safe to drive (between now and the end of the month), especially on the highway? Recently, we've been limiting it to local trips, and I'm checking b/c it's a very weird feeling when the rear of the car sways after hitting a bump.
Thanks in advance ... I've actually received more and better car advice on this train forum, than on actual car forums!
Rob
We bought it used and it's been running fine with usual wear and tear. About two weeks ago, we were driving on one of our major highways (the 401) and, whenever we hit a bump, the back end would sway slightly. Recently, the problem has become a little worse in that we now notice it on city streets, travelling around 30-40 mph.
Here are a few things I've found out:
-- my local garage -- whom I've used for years & trust -- says it's probably the shocks. However, they're totally booked up until the end of the month, which is when I have it booked to go in. The owner assured me the car was still safe to drive.
-- as an experiment, today I also took the car to my local oil change outlet. I realize these guys aren't experts but thought I'd see if they noticed anything unusual. They checked and couldn't find anything wrong -- the suspension seemed good & solid.
-- a friend of mine, who is a retired mechanic, suggested that the sway bar links might be loose or need replacing. There is also a rattling or clunking noise when going over bumps, which might be indicative of a loose sway bar.
BTW, the car otherwise performs normally and does NOT pull to one side of the road or the other.
At any rate, my question is this: Is the car really safe to drive (between now and the end of the month), especially on the highway? Recently, we've been limiting it to local trips, and I'm checking b/c it's a very weird feeling when the rear of the car sways after hitting a bump.
Thanks in advance ... I've actually received more and better car advice on this train forum, than on actual car forums!
Rob
Rob
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.robertrobotham.ca/">http://www.robertrobotham.ca/</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.robertrobotham.ca/">http://www.robertrobotham.ca/</a><!-- m -->