Question about suspension on 2009 Aveo 5

Hello there,

I've been a long time lurker in these forums, but my wife and I finally have a question about our 2009 Aveo 5 and hope someone here can provide clarity.

Specifically, the question we have is with the front struts, the strut plate and a "gap" between the plate and the car.

When the car is on the ground, there is approximately 1/4" gap between the car and the strut plate on the strut tower. When the car is lifted into the air (for a tire rotation), the plate is flush with the car, almost as if the strut lowers.

Is this a normal situation? Both sides of the car are like this.

The car was purchased new, only serviced at the dealer, and has no obvious signs of suspension issues (noises, etc), but, it just doesn't "look" right.

If anyone here has a similar model vehicle, could you take a quick peek and see if your car is similar?


Thanks in advance!

you have a floating front suspension, basically the weight of the car holds the strut in place, the plate is there so the struts dont fall out when you jack up the car and the weight isnt there to hold the strut in place.

Thanks for the reply!

I didn't think anything was wrong, as both sides were similar.

Thanks for the education.