Good day everyone, While swapping on my winter tires yesterday, I noticed the strut boot (I believe it's called) on the passenger side has a large crack, almost split in two. See picture attached. The Prius is a 2006 with almost 370K KM (~231K miles), and I am hoping to keep the car for another 1-2 years, until the PIP2 is out. ;-) Is this something to be concerned about? Thankfully, the strut is not leaking, and the suspension seems otherwise fine. I presume replacing this involves taking the suspension apart, and would be a fairly costly job, even if the part is not? Thoughts? Thanks!
Your boot is not an issue, but your struts are way beyond their expected useful life. I replaced my struts at 150k miles since they were getting soft. JeffD
Thanks for the reply, Jeff. I believe I have replaced one of the struts in the rear a couple years ago by the dealer, but I don't seem to have it in my spreadsheet of maintenance for some reason. I believe my front struts are original, but they seem 'fine', though obviously not as firm as when the car was new. I am somewhat in the mode of trying to minimizing putting money into the car when possible, as I save for the next. But I do drive a lot for work and she still is 'my baby', so I will put money into it if necessary, as there is still a lot of life left, if not much resale value due to the mileage. Slightly OT, the next thing I need to get addressed is the exhaust, as I clearly have a hole and it is getting louder all the time. My private mechanic will be either patching or replacing it with a used OEM one when I can get some time in the shop with him. He doesn't believe in aftermarket ones, nor do I. ;-). Again not urgent, just a bit noisy, which is unusual for a Prius. LOL.
It’s normal for boots to fail. Strut can work years after the boot has failed. So if your strut is still good don’t worry about it. But if your strut is bad (which is likely as it is that old and rusty) you should replace fronts (probably all four of them) and their boots.
My 2004 at 279k miles also has an exhaust hole. It is in the pipe that comes with the muffler as a unit. You can get the OE muffler for just over $210 from Camelback Toyota 2004 Toyota Prius Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping and you also need the exhaust gasket (about $16). I also found a third party "exact" replacement muffler for under $100 at Bosal W0133-1962208 Muffler | Auto Parts Warehouse. Amazon sells a Walker direct fit at a similar price. JeffD
