In 2005, I had Sears replace the original shocks on my truck with Monroe SensaTrac shocks. After 70,000 miles, they are now worn out. According to the Monroe Warranty, Monroe says they will warrant any worn out shock, for any reason. http://www.monroe.com/support/warranty.asp
However, Sears WILL NOT warrent them unless they are leaking or broken.
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In talking with Monroe, they now acknowledge that Sears will not warrant their shocks for wearout, and they are done trying to work with them. Monroe says to try and see if any other local shop will honor the warranty, and if not, then have them replaced, and Monroe would pick up the cost of the shocks after I return the shocks to Monroe. Monroe will pay for shipping them back.
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So, if you go to Sears to buy Monroe shocks, expect a problem if you think they are worn out, but are not broken or leaking. According to Monroe, this is the ONLY retailer that they have had this problem with.

 

Part of why I don't buy Monroe shocks anymore. I don't blame Sears, Monroe is fine with replacing the shock, but who pays for the labor to install them? Sears does.

Monroe makes a cheap shock, every one I have ever bought was good for only short periods of time, and then they went squishy.

 

I was not expecting Sears to pay for the install. I expected to pay to have them installed. I was expecting Sears to work with Monroe to cover the warranty on the shocks. Sears could have made $$ on the install, but refused to even consider it. Maybe because they didn't want the hassle of the return? I don't know...

Monroe called me back about 20 minutes after my 1st call to them and had a list of local shops that would work with the warranty. This was after they had contacted the local Monroe rep to see who he would recommend.

Kudos to Monroe and the local shop, and shame on Sears.

 

Monroe with their lifetime shocks is like the parts stores with their lifetime brake pads. The lifetime warranty doesn't mean they last forever, nor does it mean that its a quality pad. Its a tactic to secure brand loyalty. Yes Monroe will honor the warranty, but they also recommend replacing the shocks every 30-50K for the best ride. Thats all they are designed to last, and anything beyond that is borrowed time. The first set of Monroes I bought were Sensatracs on my Moms Aerostar. They rode nice and firm for about a week and a half, then it started to get mushy feeling. Before long they felt like the old worn out factory shocks. I put a set of Reflex shocks on my Mazda pickup, 2 years later, the shocks were completely dead and needed to be replaced.

In contrast, I run KYB Gas-A-Justs on my Aerostar, they have been on for 100,000 miles and still almost feel new. and I know what new ones feel like cause my brother's Aerostar has a set of brand new Gas-A-Justs. There is just no comparing. Monroe makes the cheaper shocks, right along with Gabriel, it is the KYBs and Bilsteins that are making the quality stuff. Monroe may even have good customer service, and that does go a fair way, but honestly, I don't like to put junk on my cars, its a hassle to replace it even if it is covered under warranty.

 

Yes, this is true even now in 2012. I went to my local Sears auto shop yesterday and mentioned that I had Monroe shocks that I thought might be worn-out, and, told the service writer that when I bought them, I was told they had a lifetime warranty, even if worn-out. He told me that was a lifetime warranty only for workmanship, that if they were leaking or broken only, did that warranty apply. I didn't feel like arguing with the guy since Sears has changed ownership and management philosophy over the past decade and no longer believes in providing QUALITY products nor QUALITY service! I decided to search online for any info and I found this link. I joined FTE so I can add my reply, and, because I feel Ford still makes QUALITY products and QUALITY service! The 2001 Mountaineer I own has been a GREAT vehicle. Got it for a steal of a deal on a misquoted online price offer below retail, scarfed it up, and, have made use of it with great results. No major problems! Had 88,000 miles in 2005 when purchased, now has 220,000-plus, with minor issues that are being resolved. Now, it needs new Monroe shocks, which it appears I will have to buy and install myself, then return to Monroe for a refund.

 

Call monroe shocks directly. I had my shocks replaced at another local shop. They dealt with monroe directly and all I had to do was pay for the installation.

 

I had Sears road handler LT shocks (made by Monroe for Sears) and they died. Sears replaced them with new Monroe gas magnums for me. I did the install as I had the rear suspension apart at the time. When I took them in the sales girl asked if I had the receipt, I said no, but I have the warranty card. It only took them an hour to figure out that I would not take their current light duty shocks for my dually.

Khan, I have used just about all different brands of shocks, I know what kind of quality Monroe uses from personal experience. Tenneco Automotive used to be a part of the same company I worked for till we were "divested" in 1996. We did a lot of QC testing for the gas shocks and struts.

My personal preferred brand is Koni, with KYB a close second, the one I really don't care for is Gabriel, I had their Koni supposed replacements as OEM on my 1966 GT350, needless to say it got Konis later.

Sears problem is they still think they are the only game in town and the aren't any more.