ICON Shocks: Thumbs down

Same. When I had my ICONS installed the 4x4 shop said they always leak. I assumed they might be salty because I didn't buy from them but it sounds like they may not have been lying.

 

You’re going to read more fault with icon because they are one of the top seller of shocks. You rarely see people going on forums to brag about their parts versus what’s wrong with their parts. On the other hand, if icon doesn’t warrant them, then shame on them.

 

Not the first, not the last time this will happen.

Research it, icons are notorious for "premature" leaking.

 

I guess on the plus side, I absolutely love the ride of the Icon shocks. My installer, who said they install maybe 150 sets a year, said one or two come back leaky and I just had the bad luck of being one of them, but that the advantage of high end shocks is that they are fully serviceable. Sooo there's that I guess, but the next time I am going to buy shocks for my trucks, I'm definitely going to look at the competition simply because of this single bad experience with Icon.

 

I got 140k out of my danahoes (icons, but before icon) before a coil broke. The current icons on the taco have been good for 20k miles.
That being said they’re rebuildable cheap enough so it doesn’t bother me if it does leak

 

The big three shock companies (icon, fox, king) are about all equal realibility. Fox by far has the worst corrosion resistance I’ve seen. Icons being the best. That reason since I’m in the rust belt is why I run icons. You being in cali? Less of a issue

 

Actually, I have seen the opposite. Iv seen Icon have terrible corrosion resistance with ADS having the best.

Worst in the industry- stay-a-ways....I mean, sway-a-way (before AFE purchased them).

 

oh god sway away... yea no.

ADS i have no first hand experience with. The icons seem to handle salt ok, (the coils get beat up). Fox by far had the worst rust ive seen on the shock body and both kings and fox shocks ive seen pitting on the shafts. granted these are observations from cars that customers bring in for work at the dealer. so i dont know their full history.

my billies on the tundra have me happy for now... but i give it a year or 2 and i'll be shopping for some nice shocks...

 

I just placed an order for an Icon Stage 1 kit. Hopefully I'll luck out and get a good quality pair that will last until 50k miles.

 

I assume like someone said before they sell a lot of shocks. There has to be some that end up failing. And if they do hopefully they do within warranty

 

IMO that's a strange way to look at it.

Mileage is really dependent on use. If you use them, they will need to be rebuilt more frequently.

The issue people are having isn't related directly to use, IMO, it's related to quality control and initial component install. If someone has a leaking shock within weeks of purchase....there is a problem. And yes, I have seen this posted up on other pages. Within weeks.

 

I agree i would be unbelievably mad if my shocks failed even within the warranty and they sent me new ones for free. the labor of taking off. Truck being out of commission. And not knowing if the new ones would fail. If that happened I would want a different brand.

 

Same time, things happen. Even with out $40k tundras. But sure does leave a bad taste in your mouth huh? ...don't hear much about it from other shock mfgs having similar issues, makes you wonder though.

 

If I had fancy shocks, I'd give them more attention and check for leaks and psi constantly. Rebuild every year. Routine checks required. It's not an oem conventional shock that you cannot service. You can't just ride on old oil and nitrogen charged system that will eventually lose pressure and expect the same performance without any routine upkeep maintenance.

 

No arguement here. But again, use plays a much larger factor than "time".

 

I have some icon coil overs and rear shocks in my garage waiting to install. I think this might be a case of those with bad experiences post the issues. I had icon on my 2010, and they lasted over 50k miles of somewhat hard use with no issue or rebuild.

One of my 6112s started leaking in less than 6 months. Put a new one on and no issues in over a year and over 15k miles.

I’m not saying there aren’t bad shocks out there, but probably a small percentage of what they sell.

 

rebuilds aren't bad just a bit time consuming. i treat them like a giant mountain bike fork and i do my trail and dh bikes every year. the painful part is getting all the necessary tools and the nitro setup.

 

Seen this quite to often sorry this happened to you ditch them and go fox

 

True, I'd never pay someone to pull my shocks off and rebuild.... thought that was part of the reason for tundras.com was to help others through installs/mods. I've had my Icons for years too. I've heard complaints from all the brands... yes I've heard more here lately from newer shocks, but I'm also seeing the same guys post over and over about it. I'd be very generous in saying that it's actually a very small percentage of people that actually have issues. To each their own. Everyone here is a grown adult, buy what you want and enjoy your trucks. I do believe that the point has clearly been made that some just do not like icon... thank you kind sirs... it has been noted and now from the continued posts it is seared into my brain.
The bright side to this is with the shelter in place(quarantine), IF you're one of the few with issues, you have plenty of time for a rebuild..... which if you do it yourself(super easy) is also really cheap(around $40 a shock). I've never heard of any of the brands leaking all four corners at once so I'd just rebuild either the front 2 or rear 2 at a time. I've had a front one start leaking and let it go for awhile before I rebuilt (it was WAY past needing to be rebuilt) and everything was fine.

 

On a side note guys, check your state laws for whatever implied warranty they may offer. My state implements 4 years period.

 

And for some reason I ordered a new set of Icons for my 99 Tacoma. Guess what - one of the control arms had a bent stud on it (for mounting wheelspeed sensor bracket):





... and even before I got it out of the box, one of the coilovers had been leaking:









A 1/8 of a turn fixed the leak. But jesus, Icon, get your shit together.

 

I am still waiting on my Stage 8 kit with billet UCA.. this thread has hit me in the not so good feels.

 

Good advice. It is a balancing act -- sometimes I have, or make, time to do my own work. For example, installing a new front end on my Tacoma involved a LOT of rust remediation and bolt cutting. Lots of potential for half-assery, so while it was tempting to pay a shop to do it (because it's a huge pain in the ass) they would have half-assed the hell out of everything. Whereas I took 10 days to clean up, pressure wash, wire wheel, repaint, replace bushings, get components sand-blasted, discover and fix a few unrelated issues, etc.

But for simple shit that is hard to mess up, sometimes it's nice just to pay a shop to do it because they have the fancy gear or it's just too much of a hassle. Flushing the brakelines and bleeding the brakes? Probably have a reliable shop do it with their super duper pressurized brakeline flushing machines. Change the oil and filter? I live in a condo complex so I can't do it at home so I have my local gas station do it but check for leaks and check oil level afterward.