What does this cost in your state?
California is the costliest state and Arkansas the cheapest; each square shows that state's midpoint of the estimate.
Lower-cost states ($278)MiddleHigher-cost states ($354)
What it shows: CA is the highest at $354 and AR the lowest at $278, across 51 states.
Counts below are complaints filed with NHTSA, not failure rates: a longer bar means more owners reported it.
Is your car affected?
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is under 50,000 (52%). The biggest difference from all complaints is 50,000-100,000: 48% against 29%.
Is it urgent, and what do owners notice first?
50 owner complaints name this part.
Owners say the dealer could not fix or repeat the problem. If it comes back after a repair, ask what was tested before you pay again.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
25-44 mph leads at 33%.
Owners reported it most often at town speeds. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
How serious did it get for owners?
Among the 50 owner complaints naming this part, being towed is the outcome owners report most often.
What it shows: Towed is the largest at 3, followed by Crash reported at 2; the smallest shown is Death reported at 1.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
Among the 50 owner complaints naming this part that state a model year, complaints cluster in a few model years instead of spreading evenly.
What it shows: 2015 is the largest at 15 (30%), followed by 2016 at 10 (20%); the smallest shown is 2019 at 3 (6%).
Are the parts for this repair getting more expensive, or only the labor?
The federal producer price index for new steering and suspension parts rose 10.9% from December 2019 to August 2026, while the consumer price index for motor vehicle repair, labor and parts together, rose 55.2% (BLS, national).
Prices of new steering and suspension parts, as shops buy them from makers, since December 2019, against consumer prices for motor vehicle repair. New steering and suspension parts: +10.9%; All motor vehicle parts: +17.4%; Motor vehicle repair, labor and parts together: +55.2%.
Has this part been recalled abroad on cars that may share it?
Manufacturers filed 1 foreign recall campaigns that name shock absorbers with NHTSA since 2015 (matched by the filing text); the latest, from Mercedes-Benz USA in 2018-12.
| Filed | Manufacturer | Foreign recall no. | What the filing says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-12 | Mercedes-Benz | 241 | Description of Issue DAG has determined that on certain A-Class vehicles (177 platform) equipped with multi-link rear suspensions, shock absorbers which were too long might have been installed on the rear axle. |
How bad are the streets in the biggest city, and does it show in suspension repairs?
New York City DOT's pavement inspections since 2021 rate 11.3% of inspected street length poor (1 to 3.99 on a 10-point scale), highest in Bronx (16.6%) and lowest in Brooklyn (8.6%); this is one city, not a national figure.
What it shows: Bronx is the largest at 16.6%, followed by Staten Island at 13.8%; the smallest shown is Brooklyn at 8.6%.
Which counties have the roughest roads?
FHWA's road-condition records show poor ride quality (above 170 inches per mile of roughness) on 89.1% of measured road miles in District of Columbia, DC, 74.1% in Baltimore city, MD and 65.4% in Marion County, WV, against 13.8% in the median county.
What it shows: District of Columbia, DC is the largest at 89.1%, followed by Baltimore city, MD at 74.1%; the smallest shown is New Castle County, DE at 51.9%.
Are the bridges and roads where I drive in poor condition?
FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory rates 6.9% of an average state's highway bridges poor; the share is highest in IA (19.2%), WV and SD, against a median state of 6.0%.
What it shows: IA is the largest at 19.2%, followed by WV at 18.6%; the smallest shown is NY at 9.4%.
Which New York counties have the most bridges flagged poor?
New York State DOT flags 10.0% of the bridges in its inventory poor, and the share is highest in Ulster County (21.1%), Columbia (19.8%) and Rensselaer (19.6%); this is one state, not a national figure.
What it shows: Ulster is the largest at 21.1%, followed by Columbia at 19.8%; the smallest shown is Dutchess at 16.1%.
How often does this part fail a real inspection, by car age?
In 181,687 New Jersey initial inspections in 2025 of vehicles sent through the safety lane, 1.0% of cars aged 16+ years failed the steering and suspension test against 0.0% of cars under 3 years (record counts, not a sample).
What it shows: 16+ is the largest at 1.0%, followed by <3 at 0.0%; the smallest shown is <3 at 0.0%.
Has the maker published a fix?
A bulletin is a repair procedure a maker sends its dealers, not a safety defect: if your maker is listed, ask the dealer whether one covers your car and quote its number.
| Maker | Vehicles | Bulletin number | Date | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maserati | Levante 2015–2024; Levante S 2017 and 14 more | MAS004834 DS 25-27 | Aug 5, 2025 | This document outlines the correct diagnostic and evaluation procedure when oil traces or leakage are observed on front or rear shock absorbers. |
| Maserati | Grecale 2024 | MAS004375 CSN 24-02 | Nov 27, 2024 | Certain Maserati Grecale ICE (M182) MY24 listed in MODISCS+ are involved in a Customer Service Notification (CSN) for the replacement of the rear shock absorbers. |
Check your car
Replacing a pair of shock absorbers costs $200 to $440 with parts and labor, and a set of four costs $400 to $880. Part grade moves the price most: a budget pair runs $150 to $320, and premium parts run $300 to $700.
Of the owner complaints, 6% (44 of the 736 complaints that named a model and year) came from a model year with a recall for this part.
Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride shock complaints lead every other model
The Hyundai Palisade has the most shock absorber complaints of any model, 90, and its platform twin the Kia Telluride is third with 42. Both peak on 2020, 2021 and 2023 models. Neither has enough owner-reported mileage for a median, so these complaints don't point to one odometer reading.
Ford F-250 SD shock complaints arrive by 28,600 miles, often with steering parts
The Ford F-250 SD has 56 shock complaints, second only to the Palisade, and the F-350 SD adds 22. Both peak on 2015–2016 models. Their median complaint mileage (28,600 and 29,270) is well below the 40,000 median for all shock complaints.
Tie rods show up in 27 of all shock complaints and ball joints in 27.
When a shock quote also mentions struts, remember the strut is named in 16% (125) of the 766 shock absorber complaints; price a strut replacement to compare the two jobs.
Jeep bulletin 9100756 says not to replace every shock on a Wrangler or Gladiator
Jeep bulletin 9100756 covers the Wrangler (2018–2026), Wrangler 4xe and Gladiator (2020–2026). It says: "Do not replace multiple shocks unless all are verified to be defective." The Wrangler has 31 shock complaints, peaking on 2021–2023 models at a median of 19000 miles.
On the calculator, going from 2 shocks to 4 raises the default estimate from $200–$440 to $400–$880. On these Jeeps, the manufacturer's own guidance supports paying for only the shocks that fail the test. A gives shock and strut diagnosis and replacement guidelines for the 2019–2025 Grand Cherokee and 2019–2023 Cherokee.
Half of shock complaints happen at 55 mph or faster
Half of shock complaints with a known speed happened at 55 mph or faster, and only 2 percent happened while parked. Owners mostly notice worn shocks at highway speed, as bouncing and instability, not as a sound in the driveway. A 2015 Suburban owner described "bouncing all over the road for months and to the point of being unsafe to drive." (NHTSA complaint #11097891) Owners filed 6 crash reports and 6 injury reports, but a report does not prove the shock caused the crash.
Shock complaints by failure year climbed from 4 to 146
By model year, 2015 has the most shock complaints (152). But the year the failure happened tells a different story: complaints rose from 4 in 2014 to 146 in 2025. Owners of 2015-era trucks and SUVs report shocks wearing out a decade in, around a median of 59000 miles for 2015 models. Owners of 2018–2019 models report problems at a median of 16000 to 17000 miles.
Frequently asked questions
Can you replace one shock absorber?
Jeep bulletin 9100756 for the Wrangler and Gladiator says: "Do not replace multiple shocks unless all are verified to be defective." Going from 2 shocks to 4 raises the default estimate from $200–$440 to $400–$880.
How often do shock absorbers need to be replaced?
Owner complaints show the median mileage for all shock complaints is 40,000. Owners of 2015 models reported shocks wearing out around a median of 59000 miles, while 2018–2019 model owners reported problems at a median of 16000 to 17000 miles.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- CalcScrape calculator model scaled by BEA Regional Price Parities data from 2024
- BLS Producer Price Index, commodity data for motor vehicle parts (series WPU14120502); BLS Consumer Price Index item SETD for the repair row file downloaded August 2026
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, Foreign Campaigns (filings under 49 CFR 579.11, public API) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NYC DOT, Street Pavement Ratings (NYC Open Data 6yyb-pb25), SystemRating bands from the NYC DOT pavement rating metadata data from 2025
- FHWA Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) national section data, roughness (IRI) by county; poor-ride cut from the FHWA Conditions and Performance Report data from 2026
- FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 delimited state files (highway bridges, BRIDGE_CONDITION code P) data from 2024
- New York State DOT, Bridge Conditions (NYS Open Data wpyb-cjy8), poor_status flag data from 2025
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Vehicle Inspection Data file downloaded 2026-10
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Modeled: our estimate, not a quote.
Owner complaints quoted
What is our own estimate
The price range comes from our calculator's formula. Its parts prices, labor hours per job and shop-rate tiers are CalcScrape estimates, not a published price dataset. Checked against RepairPal's range ($1,144–$1,348) on 2026-10-06: our default's midpoint is 74% below the middle of that range. Methodology