Just got back from dealer oil change, and one of the comments was that my LR strut is leaking.

What kind of trouble am I looking at if I just ignore this for a while? I haven't noticed any performance issues, and I don't want to.

I think this is a relatively easy repair to do by myself...just don't know what priority to assign it.

Do I need to replace these in pairs? Any recommendations for replacements, or just stick with stock?

I don't push my car to the limits, just drive highway a lot (140 miles/day).

Thanks ya'll!

 

How many miles are on your car?

Is your car lowered on springs?

 

It's got almost 78k on it, no mods other than putting on 205/50/16 tires.

 

pairs.

if you ignore it for too long... you can get other damage.

I drove a Nissan Pathfinder that had one bad strut, eventually causing the mounting bolt on the good strut to bend out of shape (since it was supporting ALL the dampening now)... which then caused a BRAND NEW strut to pop off its mounting grommet and pull the strut closer to the axel, causing it to rub... all within a week. if I had ignored the new strut, it would've rubbed clean into the body, releasing the rest of the fluid... killing that strut.

But in the Fit... it would most likely damage the strut housing ... kinda like what happened here https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-generation-ge-08-present/69483-end-fitdeez.html

 

Did they really say that the LR <STRUT> was leaking?

'Cos Fits don't have struts in the back. Just regular tube shocks. Makes me wonder a bit about the staff at that dealer. If a dealer quoted that specific line to me, I'd slide under the car to verify the claim myself.

Since they're regular shocks, it's an easy replacement. Definitely replace them in pairs so you have the same level of damping on both sides of the car -- otherwise the car may feel a bit squirrely when you hit a bump in the middle of a curve.

 

Just get two of these (should always replace in pairs):

KYB GR-2 / Excel-G Gas Shocks HONDA FIT 2009 - 2011 348016

and do it yourself, it's a total of 4 bolts and should take about an hour while drinking beer and playing air guitar.

If you DIY you also get a chance to check out the shock they said was leaking. 80k miles on a set of OEM shocks is pretty good IMO, so it's probably time to replace them anyway.

 

meh, shocks/struts get mixed around as interchangeably as motor/engine and wheels/tire/rim.

Don't put on your tin foil hat because of that.
blinker fluid yes...

 

Pairs. Kyb is a good replacement and I wouldn't worry to much about the techs lingo seeing as you were paying someone else to change your oil the tech probably went with a generic term he knew you'd be comfortable with. You may not notice a decrease in performance now but you'll probably notice an increase in performance after new ones. Easy swap!

 

I'd want more than just a tin-foil hat for that line -- gimme a full body suit!

 

I'm currently deployed but my wife just back from the dealer and they quoted her 370 bucks to replace the rear shocks...I almost fell over. I wrote to another dealer and they want close to 500! WTF......I'm just having her go to a local shop that I sort of trust and get a quote from them....holy crap...it is a inexpensive part and even if labot is 100 bucks an hour it should cost no more than 250 at the most I would think......am I thinking right here with numbers?

 

Dealers are probably using OEM shocks at dealership prices, so figure $250 for the parts + $100 for labor the $370 sounds about right. $500 is out of the question.

If I were you (I assume you're not comfortable doing it yourself) i'd just buy some KYBs online (probably cheaper than buying them from the shop) and take them to an independant mechanic and have them throw them on, total cost should be about $250 with parts.