Where Is the Sway Bar Located On a Car?

Reviewed by

Richard McCuistian, ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician

Technical Reviewer at CarParts.com

Written by CarParts.com Research Team - Updated on September 12th, 2025

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Summary

The sway bar is a metal rod at the front and/or rear of the vehicle, fixed to the frame with bushings and joined to the control arms, steering knuckles, or struts by links.
The sway bar steadies the car during turns, and many vehicles, including SUVs, have one at both ends.
Access to the sway bar requires lifting the car, disconnecting the links, and unbolting the bushings from the frame.

The sway bar is bolted to the control arms via links and swivels in bushings bolted to the frame. You’ll find this metal rod on the front and/or at the back of the vehicle.

The diagram shows the sway bar on a 2012 Ford Mustang. You can see how it passes through bushings bolted to the frame and is connected at each end to a sway bar link. The upper end of the sway bar link connects to the strut or upper control arm, depending on the design of the vehicle suspension. | Image Source: Richard McCuistian

The sway bar ensures that the vehicle maintains its stability during swerving and turning maneuvers at speed. Sway bar links connect the sway bar to the control arm, steering knuckles, or struts.

The sway bar itself is a piece of spring steel and many vehicles have sway bars on the front and the rear for additional stability. Rear sway bars are fairly common on SUVs.

Tips On How to Access the Sway Bar

Typically, the only time you’ll need to do anything to the sway bar is to remove it for access to something else or to replace worn-out sway bar links (see photo). | Image Source: Richard McCuistian

Accessing the sway bar involves lifting your vehicle using jack stands to get a good view of the underside.

To remove the sway bar, you’ll need to disconnect the sway bar links and then unbolt the bushing saddles from the frame.

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