Suspension

STEVEN BUTTERWORTH

MEMBER
2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
FWD
AUTOMATIC
246,000 MILES

I have a '02 vw jetta tdi. I've replaced the shocks and struts in the past year. The problem is on the rear of the car I seem to be hitting bottom all hte time. Even coming off the freeway on the circle exit, it seems to hit bottom all the time at each section of pavement. I've looked at the spring on the drivers side where I'm having the biggest issue and it seems to be hitting on the frame of the vechile. Would NEW springs help and what kind would you recommend?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

Absolutely. Many people think replacing struts and shocks will solve that problem but they don't hold the car up, springs do. You can push a strut to the collapsed position by hand so it's obvious that can't hold the car up. They just keep it from bouncing after hitting bumps.

When the springs are sagged, you will also find the ride height is low. Visit a tire and alignment shop to have the ride height measured. They all have books with the published measurements and the locations to take those measurements.