When Do You Need New CV Joints and Boots?

How to Recognize the Need for New CV Joint or CV Boot?

Faulty CV Joint Symptoms

Without having certified technician knowledge, it can be very hard to figure out if your vehicle is experiencing CV joint failures. In this situation, it’s best to have an auto repair specialist assess the car.

There are five signs that commonly signify CV joint replacement might be necessary:

Grease
If you’ve noticed grease build-up around the edge of the tires on a vehicle, this could be a sign of damage to a CV joint. This grease commonly is located near cracks or tears on tire edges. Grease leading up to interior of a wheel or rim could mean serious damage to a CV joint.

Bounciness
While driving down a flat road and your vehicle feels a little bouncy, it could be due to a poor CV joint. Bring it in to an auto repair shop if you’re experiencing this.

Vibrations
Another sign of a damaged CV joint sometimes can be if you’re accelerating in your car and you feel vibrations. A trip to your local auto repair shop should be on your to-do list if this is the case.

Knocking
A worn-down CV joint will create so much weakening that it can bring forth knocking-like sounds. At times of intermittent accelerations, the sound will be most present. To assess, you can speed up and slow down a couple of times to see if the sound becomes more concentrated, which likely could indicate a bad CV joint.

Clicks
During turns that you take with your vehicle, if you notice clicking, it’s possible the CV joint is bad. If the clicking is originating from the CV joint, it often means it’s either broken or has detrimental damage.

Car actions you may notice popping or clicking during:

• Shifting the car into reverse
• Completely turning the steering wheel to one direction
• Pushing down on the gas pedal

Is Driving with Bad CV Joints Safe?

If any of the previous stated issues arise with your vehicle, do not look the other way and forget about them or proceed to let them further diminish.

CV joints that are on their way out can break down fast in daily vehicle use—eventually leading to them failing and making your car undrivable. To make sure yourself and all others are out of harm’s way, bring your vehicle to a professional auto repair shop right away if there’s a chance the CV joint assembly is critically damaged.

Our certified repair technicians can assess the damage and we’ll give you an accurate estimate for how long the job will take.

What’s the Lifespan of CV Joints and Boots?

On average, CV boots that cover the joint usually will stay functioning for about 80,000 miles. When your vehicle reaches this point, it might be a good idea to take it to an auto repair shop for inspection.

With premium CV joint protection, they are able to live out around 250,000 miles. A certified auto repair specialist can evaluate and perform inspections to see their condition.

Please contact us if you’re noticing strange noises or unfamiliar performances from your car and think it could be a CV joint. Our auto repair technicians can give your vehicle a proper inspection and provide a fair market estimate for this service.