★★★★★
"I've brought my 2011 Subaru Outback to East Valley Auto Rebuild a few times now, and every visit has been a great experience."
Mark K., Google review
★★★★★
"You will get years of experience and you can be confident in the repairs that were done."
Nina P., Google review
★★★★★
"I am so grateful for the team here, that I have been taking all of my vehicles to them ever since."
Erin H., Google review
A Subaru that thumps over every expansion joint on the 167 is telling you something. So is one that leans hard into a left turn, or wanders across the lane while you hold the wheel straight. Suspension parts do not usually fail all at once. They wear, then they wear a little more, and one morning the car feels like a different car.
We fix that. Our shop in Kent works on Subarus all day, every day, and suspension work is one of the jobs we see most often on high-mileage Outbacks, Foresters and Legacys. We are family-owned and locally owned, and BBB A+ Accredited.
After over 30 years on these cars, we know what a worn bushing sounds like before the part comes off the car.
Signs Your Subaru Needs Suspension Work
Most people bring us a noise, not a diagnosis. That is fine. The noise is usually enough to point us at the right corner of the car.
Here is what we hear most:
- A clunk over bumps. Almost always a sway bar end link, a strut mount, or a worn control arm bushing.
- A groan or creak at low speed, especially turning into a parking spot. Often the front strut bearings.
- Uneven tire wear. Feathered edges on the front tires usually mean the alignment has been out for a while, and the alignment went out because something under the car moved.
- The nose dives hard under braking and the back end floats over dips. Struts.
- A humming that changes with steering input. That one is a wheel bearing, not a suspension part, but people report it as suspension and we check both.
Ever noticed how a car feels fine right up until the day it doesn't?
That is because worn suspension changes slowly enough that your brain adjusts. Customers tell us all the time that they had no idea how bad it was until they drove the car home after the repair.
Why Subarus Wear Suspension Parts the Way They Do
Subarus carry all-wheel drive, which means more moving parts under the car than a front-drive sedan has. More joints, more bushings, more places for road salt and rain to get in. Around Kent we get the rain for nine months of the year and the road grit that comes with it.
Then there is the way people use these cars. A Forester that hauls gear up to Snoqualmie every other weekend works its rear suspension harder than a commuter car ever will. Lifted Outbacks and Crosstreks change the geometry of the whole front end, which loads the CV boots and control arm bushings in ways the factory never planned for.
Our honest opinion, after years of pulling these cars apart: rear trailing arm bushings on older Outbacks and Foresters are the single most overlooked wear item on the platform. They fail quietly. The car still drives. The alignment slowly walks out, the rear tires scrub, and the owner replaces a set of tires that had no business wearing out.
Suspension Repairs We Handle
Our team handles the full range of Subaru suspension work in house:
- Strut and shock replacement, front and rear
- Strut mounts and bearing plates
- Front and rear control arms, ball joints and bushings
- Rear trailing arm and lateral link bushings
- Sway bar links and bushings
- Wheel bearings and hub assemblies (see our Subaru wheel bearing replacement page)
- Coil spring replacement, including broken springs
- Subaru power steering repair where a steering complaint turns out to be hydraulic
- Subaru wheel alignment after any suspension repair that changes geometry
We also work on drivetrain parts that ride along with suspension jobs, like drive axle replacement when a torn CV boot shows up during the inspection.
For performance builds, lowered cars and lifted cars, we set ride height and alignment to match how you actually drive the car. We handle most of this work in house, including the machine work, at our own Subaru machine shop.
FAQ: Subaru Suspension Repair in Kent
How long does a Subaru suspension repair take?
A pair of front struts is usually a same-day job. Control arms and rear trailing arm bushings can take longer, especially on a rusty car. We give you a realistic time when we quote, and we call you if anything changes.
Do I need an alignment after suspension work?
Almost always, yes. Any repair that changes the position of a wheel changes your alignment. We check the specs after the repair and correct them.
Can I replace just one strut?
You can, but we do not recommend it. A new strut on one side and a worn one on the other makes the car brake and corner unevenly. We replace struts in pairs.
My Subaru has over 200,000 miles. Is suspension work still worth it?
Often it is. Subaru drivetrains routinely outlast the chassis parts around them. We look at the whole car and tell you straight whether the money is well spent.
Do you work on lifted or lowered Subarus?
Yes. We set ride height and alignment for how the car is actually built and driven, including high-performance setups.
Do you work on other makes?
We do. Subarus are our specialty, but our team works on most makes and models.
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