How would you know if the ball joints need replacing aside from the mechanic telling you that you should? My car still drives the same as it was and I have had no problems except for the clutch which was replaced and then the mechanics told me I need to replace the ball joints too.
Also I just had my car on a 90,000-mile tune-up in March of last year and every 3 months thereafter I always go to a Toyota Service Center for the oil change and there was never any mention of the ball joints being bad. Is this something that can be obvious visually? Can ball joints wear out in a year's time? I only drive my car to my work about 8 miles to and fro and for shopping in nearby malls.

i own a repair shop and in the newer cars and trucks today ball joints don't wear out like they used to ,they do wear out sometimes,but you,d notice it popping in the front end when going over small bumps,if i was you id have another shop look it over,and don't mention the ball joints to them ,just tell them you need to have it checked out real good and see if they mention them being bad,chances are they wont find them bad,but be sure and don't tell them you already had it checked once,i don't think it would need them but have this done and see what happens,good luck hope this helps.

to test a ball joint, you will need a jack, jackstand, prybar and a dial indicator. jack up the vehicle and put it securly in jackstands. place pressure under the control arm. then set up the dial indicator to measure up and down movement of the ball joint. then put the pry bar under the tire and pull up on it. if it moves at all the ball joint is bad. toyota generally specifies any perceptable movement as requiring the replacement of a ball joint.