2001 Accent suspension

I have a 2001 Accent with 120000km on the odometer. It has a lot of
steering wheel shake when travel at speeds over 100km. The tires are
new and balanced. The shocks are not leaking but a shop suggested that
it is recommended to replace them at 80000km intervals.

1. What is the life expectancy of the shocks on a 2001 Accent?

2. Can I go with after market parts?

 

Shocks don't typically have life expectancy. If you drive primarily on
smooth roads, then they may last the life of the car. If you drive on
bumpy roads, then they could become worn or damaged as soon as 50,000 km.
There is no reason to replace shocks/struts that are not leaking or are not
worn. The typical test is to bounce the corner of the car and if it
continues bouncing freely for no more than three cycles, then the
shocks/struts are okay. Keep in mind that as you approach 3 bounces,
however, the shocks are becoming worn to the point that you may notice a
significant difference in ride. When performing this test on a new car,
the car typically bounces once and then has a very tiny second bounce
before coming to rest.

The symptoms you describe are classic wheel balance problems. It's
possible one of the tires is defective or that the tires weren't balanced
properly. Or that one of the wheels is bent. You'll want to exhaustively
inspect the wheels and tires before looking elsewhere.

 

uh if your shoks are working fine leavem be, you car doesnt keep bouncing
after a bump? if no leavem alone, someones trying to make $$.
ive read that in my canadian tire cat that u should replace every 80 000
people seem to neglect the spings.
now thats importaint over age they can sag, crack etc...
have your cv joints checked, ball joints etc and wheel bearrings .
and your rotors..

 

might be bad rim too, get a rim job
u can have them straightened if thyre steel or what ever ;=)

 

I tried the bounce test but I do not think I am doing it the correct
way. The tire have been balanced by 3 technician on different machines
but only made a slight improvement.

The front tires look flat even though they are inflated properly. I
know that a radial bulge is normal but these look flat. There is
clanging and banging noises when I hit a bump. The car will dip more
than usual on a sharp corner at higher speeds.

Maybe I will just put 2 after market shocks in the front. Can't hurt,
right?

 

Aftermarkets may not have the same damping coefficient and may cause some
variation in ride and handling quality. I wouldn't think it would be
excessive, though. If they're quality struts and properly installed, I
cannot imagine it'll hurt anything other than your wallet.

You could try rotating the tires and seeing if it makes a difference. If
so, you're looking at a wheel/tire issue. The largest problem I have with
replacing the struts is the reason they were recommended (mileage). So
far, you've posted nothing to indicate that someone has checked something
on your car and found something wrong. If you want your car fixed
properly and expediently, that's what you want. Someone needs to perform
some sort of diagnosis and find something actually wrong (e.g. worn tie
rod ends, feathered tires, bent wheel, whatever) and start there. It's a
much more scientific way of making your problem disappear than *repair x*
is recommended at *mileage y*. While those recommendations may or may not
be valid, there's no reason to expect they'll address your issue unless
there's an actual problem found that interrelates the recommendation and
the problem.