The dealer (on a recall for airbag visit) told me my control arm bushings are broken (lower); should I replace both upper and lower, since the work on the lower will be done anyway?

And can you tell me if I can confirm them being broken myself, just by removing the tire. Same for the ball joints; how can I tell if I need them too?

Tnx

Year, Make, Model, and Mileage?

If you have over 125,000 miles on a front wheel drive vehicle, such as a Honda, the most important of those parts to replace are the ball joints. It's catastrophic is one fails--the whole front wheel, steering knuckle, and half-axle will be ripped off. Go with Moog ball joints; they will make a huge difference that you will be able to notice.

As a generalization, I would replace both lower and upper bushings.

Personally I would... only because I am that sort of person... however you don't generally HAVE to do it. Uppers and lowers don't always wear at the same rate on a particular car. As TXGreaseMonkey asked what car is it.

And example being Older Mercedes Benzes... you will usually go through several upper bushings without ever doing a lower... and thank goodness because the uppers are quick and easy and the lowers are very labor intensive.

I would however do always both sides in a repair as a matter of safety and principle.

There are ways to check for this however they are easy to describe, but difficult to judge in practice without experience doing it.

Its all a matter of yanking, pulling shaking and leveraging... and knowing what's normal by sense of feel, and being aware of what else is going on... namely some of them are going to affect the steering column and there is movement there that will be normal to a certain extent.

If you have a concern it might be worth taking to a second mechanic to get a second opinion.