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I need to replace my front struts and I see a lot of people praise Arnott. I keep seeing people say they have a lifetime warranty but on their website it says their warranty is only 2 years limited warranty. Did they change their warranty or am I missing something?
Has anyone installed the cheaper struts on their GL? I found a website that has lifetime replacement and it’s only $400 for both front struts.
Looks like FCP Euro offers Lifetime warranty. I’m ordering the Arnott Premium Eibach Struts through them. Decided it’s not worth cheaping out on, I want to raise my chances of having struts last a long time 😂 Just got this car less than 2 months ago and I’m already spending $1,000 on repairs lol. At least I’m a mechanic and can do the work myself. I’m also ordering sway bar links and bushings from them because when I was under the car I saw the bushings were torn, and I have some noises going over bumps. Also ordering the air suspension filter hose because I saw it was torn at the bend going into the compressor (possibly why the struts went out?) The struts were replaced by the dealer 40,000 miles ago. Anyway that’s my story. Thanks for listening lol.
One other thing. I bought this car because of really good service history, always serviced at the dealer. The fronts have been replaced 4 times by the dealer from the previous owner. The rear bags have 0 history of being done. Do you guys recommend doing the rears anyway even tho they aren’t bad? I’m at 131,000 miles. Thank you.
I wouldn't be surprised if they killed the lifetime warranty. I've been through at least 5 replacements on the front shocks over ~160K miles. The rear airbags have not needed replacement since I put the Arnotts in. Great service each time.
The FCP Euro lifetime warranty requires you to return the parts in their original boxes (or you get charged I think 20%) on your dime, so it isn't exactly a free replacement.
Strut is the word used to describe a unit that combines both spring and shock absorber.
At the rear these items are separate ... on my GL the life of the rear shocks was very similar to the life of the rear air springs. Shocks are done for when they leak oil.
Recommend replacing shocks same time as replacing rear springs. You're doing the same thing when you replace front struts.
I replaced the rear airbags once in 13+ years. Did it in my driveway in about 15 minutes. Then again, I did not tow so that's probably got to be figured into the formula.
I actually bought Bilstein struts because I have heard better reviews about them. I got them from Rockauto as they were quite a bit cheaper than any other website. It was a pretty easy job. Took about 3 hours total for both sides taking my sweet *** time. Could probably get it done a lot faster.
I’m hoping they will last a while as this car only gets driven roughly 5,000 miles a year
Thank you everyone for the advice and explanations. I greatly appreciate it. Dealer did confirm that the shocks are covered under my extended warranty so going to go ahead and let them replace and use that. Luckily doesn't cost me anything. Great advice on here so I know next time. Thank you again.
Arnott withdrew their excessively generous warranty, so at this point I would only go with Bilstein.
yes for only $88 difference I'd probably choose Bilstein as well.
in my case,
The original front struts lasted 8 years (49k miles), then the second set installed by Mercedes dealer lasted 5 years (53k miles).
The third set (arnott + mobile mechanic) has been there for 4 years and 15k miles, let's see how long the arnott front struts will last.
Arnott withdrew their excessively generous warranty, so at this point I would only go with Bilstein.
I'm at least partially responsible. I always get some variation on "how many times have you replaced those" when I call after the latest failure. My personal sample size is big enough now to say they just don't last very long although they've never been anything but great about sending out replacements. I'm going to be getting rid of my GL shortly which will probably be cause for a party at Arnott HQ.
I'm at least partially responsible. I always get some variation on "how many times have you replaced those" when I call after the latest failure. My personal sample size is big enough now to say they just don't last very long although they've never been anything but great about sending out replacements. I'm going to be getting rid of my GL shortly which will probably be cause for a party at Arnott HQ.
lol for real? What happens that they fail so often?
One time I checked the rear bags and found stoner spit; I think one of the front bags was also starting to go. Got on the phone with Arnott and the lady said they had upgraded the struts, so she would send both of those. The guy in shipping didn't believe me when I told him I needed all four.
But then I messed up. A swaybar link was loose and I thought it was the new strut. So I jacked them on one replacement. I fessed up and they were nice enough about it.
But they got their revenge. They sold me a Chinesium compressor. Man I went through a lot of grief on that one. I couldn't believe the new compressor had failed that quickly. Arnott super quality, amirite?
And then there was the fellow that noticed that the rear bags have a much lower pressure rating than the Bilsteins. This he found out when on a road trip. While towing. He no happy.
lol for real? What happens that they fail so often?
One time I checked the rear bags and found stoner spit; I think one of the front bags was also starting to go. Got on the phone with Arnott and the lady said they had upgraded the struts, so she would send both of those. The guy in shipping didn't believe me when I told him I needed all four.
But then I messed up. A swaybar link was loose and I thought it was the new strut. So I jacked them on one replacement. I fessed up and they were nice enough about it.
But they got their revenge. They sold me a Chinesium compressor. Man I went through a lot of grief on that one. I couldn't believe the new compressor had failed that quickly. Arnott super quality, amirite?
And then there was the fellow that noticed that the rear bags have a much lower pressure rating than the Bilsteins. This he found out when on a road trip. While towing. He no happy.
The rears have lasted for 5+ years, but the fronts seem to have a life of about 18 months/20K miles more or less. They fail in the usual mode of intermittently sagging slowly over night progressing to leaking audibly if I keep driving on them. When I've checked with soapy water, the failure point is around where the bladder makes a 180 at the bottom of the spring. I tow a boat/trailer pretty close to the weight limit a couple of times a year and have been worried about the rears air bags not being up to the task, but so far so good with some local (10 mile) tows around town.
When I recently replaced the non-airmatic shocks on my ML, I noticed in the manual that the nut on the upper ball joint is supposed to be one-time use only. I can attest that using it more than that is probably safe since mine have been off quite a few times without issue.
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