Suspension systems should continue to operate effectively for many years and tens of thousands of miles, holding your tires' foot print on the road. Eventually components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive.

As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth Michigan highways, you vehicle shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy Allendale roads or hauling heavy loads. In addition to just wearing out, upgraded shock suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact - like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in the road.

Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your vehicle manufacturer recommends periodic inspections. During an inspection at Tolman's Auto-Tech, your service technician will check for worn, broken or missing suspension parts. If the inspection reveals any problems, take care of this important safety and handling work. When you replace your shocks, it's usually a good idea to replace all four at the same time. That'll give you even handling at all four corners of the vehicle.