My new to me 2007 Base is performing admirably. Purchased it in December with 130,000 miles on the clock. One owner before me and pretty well taken care of. My only real concern right now is the rear suspension. I regularly haul about 200-250 pounds of product in it and the rear end sags terribly. Handles ok empty but with a load, not good. Pulling into my garage the other night I bottomed out with the frame hitting the concrete lip which is about 2 inches high. I’m going to replace the shocks and springs but am curious what others would recommend. Load carrying capacity is very important to me. Suggestions?
There are many options, from rubber spacers to air shocks, and beyond. We had a member, @aelkman who had an interest in lifting a gen2, and had purchased custom springs for both the front and rear. Unfortunately something happened, and in turn they were put up for sale. The company that did the 2" +25% special order is Coil Spring Specialties Not sure if something like this could be sourced elsewhere for less, or if there might be an existing OEM crossover from another model. Please let us know what you come up with, as I also have an interest in increasing the overall durability of my suspension.
If load carrying capacity is important I would buy a Curt Hitch and a small open trailer. You can haul pretty heavy stuff and it will be cheaper in the long run and faster to haul and much easier on the car. I regularly rent a trailer from Uhaul for $25 for the day. If you do buy one make sure a standard wooden pallet will fit on it. At Lowes its handy to load up a pallet with yard stuff and then they just plop it on the trailer with a forklift. Anything you do suspension wise to stiffen the load in the back will result in a very rough ride in the back. Its already very stiff. Also start thinking about the hybrid battery as its at that age where it has deteriorated greatly and towing puts a really heavy load and stress on that battery. Power comes from the hybrid battery. It has not failed and thrown any codes yet so its a good time to start thinking about rejuvenation of that battery. Use the search button up top and search. prolong charger and check out hybridautomotive.com Lots of us have there charger/discharger system and it works well. You can get another year or 2 out of that battery.
I remember someone saying the touring rear shocks and springs were softer than the standard model. If that’s true (I’m not sure) you could put new rear shocks and springs from a regular model on. They sell them fully loaded on Rock Auto. You don’t have to take everything apart, just replace them. Good price too. At 130,000 it probably due for new struts anyway.
you probably have a broken spring in the rear if it is bottoming out. I went with Moog replacement springs and they are much stiffer than stock. I regularly tow and haul in my car and they do a great job. The coil winding is a much thicker gauge than the factory spring. As for shocks just go with KYB do not buy cheaper Chinese shocks as they are a bit of a joke in quality. I ordered some hoping to save money and after discovering they were just half filled with oil I returned them and bought oem.
