Hi everyone ! I have a question. I own Town & Country's sister vehicle, a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8L V6 XLT . At 147,300 miles the dealership technicians found that the front struts, mounts and lower arms were worn and noisy. They replaced the front struts, mounts, lower arms and performed an alignment under my extended warranty. They also replaced a defective Steering Angle Sensor. One year later, (and about 20,000 miles since that repair) I just dropped my vehicle off because of noises that had been coming from under the van. Again (under my extended warranty), they replaced the front struts, mounts, and bearings. They found that during the removal of the struts the bottom strut mounts were torn and the top strut mount bearings had excessive play. They also found the inner tie rods have excessive play and the front sway bar end links boots are torn so they replaced those as well.They found the sway bar bushing broken and replaced those too. There was also an isolator part 68210979AA (quantity 2) listed on the service receipt as being replaced.

My question is: What would cause front struts and mounts to wear/tear to the point that they needed replacement after only 20,000 miles ? I was happy to get the call my vehicle was ready, no more noises. So I went to pick it up, paid my 100.00 deductible, was told they did a lot of suspension work, and headed home. It wasn't until I got home that I read through my service receipt and saw that the front struts, mounts were replaced. I searched through my service record receipts, and verified these parts had just been replaced only 20,000 miles ago ! Should I take the van back, point this out, and ask them to check for the culprit that might have caused this? Has this happened to anyone else's vehicle ?

Thanks for any advice/input !

 

What kind of use do you subject this vehicle to?...How much load carry, type of roads(dirt, potholed,etc)...It definitely is NOT an "off road" vehicle.
HOW a vehicle is used will determine a lot of longevity of suspension life.

 

This van is my baby. It never carries a heavy load. It never goes off road. It usually only has one to two passengers in it. I am the original owner, and am the only one to drive it. I haven't hit any big potholes. This vehicle has an easy, spoiled life, lol. I can't think of anything that would warrant unusual shock/strut wear.