Degraded vehicle shock absorbers represent a risk for road safety. The exact effect of degraded vehicle shock absorbers on road safety is still the subject of research. The aim of this work is to estimate the effect of degraded twin-tube shock absorbers of passenger cars on the lateral dynamics of vehicle axles. An axle model was built using a shock absorber model to simulate different degradation levels. A realistic parameter space was estimated on the basis of test rig measurements and database analyses, which is intended to represent the vehicle field in Germany, to parameterize the model. Within the parameter space, simulations of the axle model were carried out, which calculate the transmittable lateral forces of the different axle configurations depending on vehicle speed, road surface, shock absorber conditions and suspension parameters. Degraded shock absorbers have the greatest effect on transmittable lateral forces at high speeds and on poor road surfaces. If a vehicle is travelling at a speed of 100 km/h on a class D road, two degraded shock absorbers reduce the transmittable lateral forces of an axle by 25 % on average. For individual parameter configurations, this value can increase to 50 %. The axle parameters that most influence the effect of a degraded shock absorber are the vertical stiffness of the tyre, the unsprung mass and the stabiliser stiffness of the axle.