Hi everyone! I am new here and just have a question. Fyi, I'm not very knowledgeable about cars in general, so apologies in advance. I have a 2012 Prius V Wagon and recently had a 90k mile check up at a Toyota dealer. One of the several notes made to me under the recommendations were "Struts and shocks soft." I have definitely noticed that my car has been quite jumpy and bouncy lately especially on uneven surfaces, and that the car shifts a lot sometimes when I brake (perhaps that is a different issue). So anyways I feel like the struts and shocks are definitely something that I want changed. In any case, I called the dealer today to get a price quote on a struts/shocks change for all four wheels, and they said the price would be around $1,600. This is a lot of money for me, so I want to ask, is this a reasonable price and is this the best procedure to do right now? Does anyone have suggestions based on the information I provided? Thank you all very much, I appreciate any help and suggestions.
New struts from a auto supply might run $200 - $375 a pair and rear shocks maybe $120 a pair. Find a local mechanic or front end shop you trust and have it done for no more than half the dealer price. Check yelp or cartalk.com for a recommendation if needed. Nothing special about shocks and struts. But let the mechanic evaluate the existing suspension first. Mechanics Files | Car Talk
I would just sleep on it. Could it be the dealership makes a comment, and it gets the ball rolling in your head. Did they say anything about leaking shocks? They might be fine.
Get your car looked at by an independent shop that isn't being pressured by owners to sell unneeded maintenance to customers that bring their car in for a 'check-up.' Normally....a six-year-old car with 90k miles and an adult driver in a nation that has mostly paved roads would not need new struts and shocks. In the case of cars that are used for movie stunts, driver's education, or households that have drivers that think that movies like "Fast-n-Furious" are documentaries..........strut and shock replacements are sometimes warranted. Here's what you may expect to pay: Toyota Prius Strut Assembly Replacement Costs | YourMechanic Estimates So. In my never-to-be-humbled opinion? Your dealership is operating in a morally sub-optimal fashion. Put another way.... They're blippin CROOKS. YMMV
AirLift bags ($105 at Summit Racing) made a BIG difference in the rear coils......They don't sell a specific kit but measure the inside dimension of the coil spring and the height with the tire off and the car on a JACK STAND. Local shops charge $100/ hour so I did it myself, instructions say it is an hour job, it wasn't but I had to (wait for it) "Modify" the instal, don't know if it helped but I washed the grunge off the coils before squeezing the airbags into them, found a spring stretch/ compress kit at the parts store which helped too. The airline, I discovered after getting the bags into the springs pointing down, can be run out the top of the spring but they have been on the V for 2 years now, I keep 8-12 psi in them and the mushy feeling is gone.
Do you know the part number of the AirLift system you bought? I'd be interested in putting these on my wife's V. She's in sales, and 95% of the time her car is loaded with 350 lbs of product.
The shocks/struts on Prii are reliable and a majority of it's owners drive conservatively, but they are still wear items. When I unloaded my 2010 @150,000 miles and started driving my 2015 at 40,000 miles the difference was very noticeable. That said, the 2015 will get refreshed before 100,000 miles. But then, I do my own work too.
