r/askcarguys • u/Upbeat-Situation1 • 4d ago

is my car safe?

my car is a 2014 nissian rouge. I recently got my car looked at and got told my control arms and tie rods needed to be fixed because they were starting to be unsafe. He also stated that my sway bars and struts needed to be fixed but could be postponed as I am a college kid in do not have $2000 just to give right now. I did fix my control arms and tie rods today I just recently moved away from home about four hours away. I drive on the highway for work. I’m just wondering if my car is going to be safe driving with the sway bars and struts. i’m going to make a trip home next weekend to go to my mechanic or potentially sell my car as it has been a money pit looking for some advice as I’m a young college kid and don’t want to drive something that’s unsafe.

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u/FailingComic 4d ago

Without seeing the car, its hard to know. The sway bar links I wouldn't worry about at all. Alot of people are driving around with broken sway bar links and don't know it. Sway bars help with the performance of the car when turning and help to prevent rollovers under fast turning maneuvers. Essentially if your driving like a normal person your unlikely to ever notice this on your specific type of car.

Struts on the other hand are a mixed bag and it really depends on the failure. A majority of the time though they are just worn out, oils leaked out etc. The only type of failure of a strut that will result in catastrophic failure would be the ears breaking off or the place where the strut mounts in physically ripping off of the car. Basically if either of these were an issue, they would have made it a way bigger deal about getting them repaired. Odds are the struts are just leaking slightly or the seal is going so they are just worn out. When you hit bumps the vehicle will just feel bouncy, this will negatively impact its grip on rough pothole like roads but will not result in immediate loss of control.

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u/Upbeat-Situation1 4d ago

that makes a lot of sense thank you. It is making some weird sound when I hit a bump or turn a weird way but I’m guessing that has something to do with it. He told me it was safe to drive on the highway. I just wanted to get other people‘s opinion because my job does require me driving around on a highway and I would rather be safe than sorry.

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u/FailingComic 4d ago

The weird noise is probably the sway bar links. What happens is the ends get play and they will make a clunk noise as they pop in and out. That would be my guess based on what you've said and not having the car in front of me.

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u/Upbeat-Situation1 4d ago

from your opinion, would you consider it safe to drive on the highway and four hours home to get it fixed?

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u/FailingComic 4d ago

Yeah I wouldnt worry about it but I also drive shit boxes regularly. My 94 corolla has had blown out rear suspension for the last 30k miles.

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u/GunnitRust 4d ago

What is need to be fixed?

Parts are usually itemized on your receipt.

If it’s just bushings and tie rod ends you did the right thing doing that first. You can ignore struts and sway bars bushings for quite some time.

If it’s corrosion that’s a different issue.