Took the Prius in for an oil change today, then a few things were brought to my attention. They say I need new serpentine belts (?) and one of my "brake shoes" was "completely missing." Is that a fault from the previous shop who tooled with the brakes? Also they say the struts on the back are leaking and may need replacing (pictures below)...any idea on how much these might cost, and do they look like they need replacing? 2004 with 118,100 miles on it. Thinking about ditching it soon if this stuff gets too up there price wise. Thanks!
With 118K on the odometer, there's no doubt that the front struts and rear shocks need to be replaced. At the Toyota dealer, that will probably cost you $2K or so. There is one serpentine belt, and that should cost around $20 for the part and maybe an hour of labor or less. I'd suggest you ask to see the location of the missing brake shoe. That seems unlikely. More likely is that the lining has worn down to the point that the shoe needs to be replaced.
I would like to see that missing brake shoe also. If a shoe was missing the piston would come out of the cylinder and all of the brake fluid would escape. to check the struts: stand on the bumper and use your legs to get the car bouncing as much as possible; jump off at the lowest point. The bumper should come to rest at the top without any bouncing. A small amount of strut leakage is harmless. Also, garages have been known to squirt oil on struts and claim they are leaking. I have known struts to last over 300,000k on Jap cars. If the belt is badly cracked, it might be a good idea to replace it, but not at this place.
The group might be interested in Toyota's guidelines regarding when struts / shocks need to be replaced. TSB SU007-06 is attached. These guidelines indicate that fluid leakage is Toyota's way to decide whether to replace those parts under warranty. Based upon those guidelines and the OP's photos, the rear shocks are clearly bad. The "bounce" test for shocks is not effective on Prius or for that matter, most modern cars. It might be OK for a 70's vintage Detroit car that has very soft springs. Substantial fluid leakage is proof that the strut has failed. However, lack of fluid leakage is not proof that the strut is good. You have to remove the strut from the car, take the spring off, and compress the strut manually to see. At that point of course, you'd might as well replace the strut anyway since the labor invested to get to that point is relatively high. I've had experience replacing the front struts and rear shocks on the 2001 and 2004 Prius that I have owned. Those parts are quite worn out past 60K miles. However, it's certainly possible to continue driving the car beyond that point since the difference in ride quality is subtle.
2 grand? Wow! Yeah i ran across a couple threads saying they need replacing somewhere around what mileage I have. Thanks for all the answers
I have to take it back, the shock on my drivers side rear has given in. Replacing backs tomorrow $64 each plus tax, Fred Haas Toyota In Spring TX. Not sure how much they would charge for labor, but probably an hour per side at ~$95 an hour.
