hi: My prius has about 78K miles on it and is it time for replacement? It is not smooth at all and and I feel bumpy. and also feel that the car is not as power as it used to be. And from my previous experience with toyota, with the suspension become bad, you do not feel smooth when you step on the gas and tried to accelerate. So how long is the suspension usually last?
That depends on the condition of the roads you travel and your driving habits. I generally figure on replacing shocks, struts, and bushings every 100k. If you drive on rough and broken roads or on gravel roads a lot you may need to replace the suspension at 50K or sooner. I replaced the suspension in my 2003 Jetta at 105K. My brother had to replace the suspension in his 2003 Jetta at 60K. His more aggressive cornering wore out the strut bushings. (As an indicator of our driving differences. I'm still using my original clutch and brake pads at 178K miles. My brother has replaced his clutch and 3 sets of pads in 115K miles.)
I take care of my car. but I did not buy this car new. I bought it used and it had 46K when I bought it in September 2007. And I bought it in Boston. then I moved to Seattle in January 2008 and drove my car here. But the thing is in Seattle, it was not snowing often. and when snow, which happen this January, the local government did not clean it up and snow are all over the road. and you know what, people put the tire train on their tire. So the snow on the road has all those mark. and overnight, snow become ice and when I drove my prius on the ice, I was sure it is definitely killing my suspension. it was so bumpy. and I did not want to drive at all during that time. I guess that is why I need to replace it early.
If you see substantial fluid leaking down the rear shocks or the front struts, you can feel confident that they need to be replaced. If you don't see fluid, this doesn't necessarily mean the struts/shocks are good. I changed these out on my 2001 at ~60K miles and the parts were worn, based upon compression by hand after the coil spring was removed.
The ride quality on my 04 is starting to get worse. If I keep the car, I'll probably have new shocks and struts soon. If you see fluid leakage from a shock, it's absolutely shot. But even with no leakage, with age the ride quality goes downhill. Factor in worn bushings, you really have problems. The old Ford work truck at my hobby farm, the front suspension bushings were completely gone. Metal on metal
I have not yet checked for leak. but I do believe that it is bad. I have replaced the struts for my old civic before by myself (with my brother help). and I do not think I will do it myself this time because I still have warrenty that I purchased additionally. I will let the dealership do it for me. I did some research on my own and look like in term of part selection for struts, I do not have that many choices (I like tokico and koni but they don't make it for prius). I can only get either toyota struts (OEM), the touring edition struts or TRD struts, or KYB GR series or TEIN. I will definitly not going for TEIN since it is too firm and too much money and not comforable at all. With warrenty, I am not sure I can get touring struts or TRD. and I guess the OEM struts is made by KYB. So I have to use the OEM with my warrenty (which is KYB). Can anyone confirm that the OEM struts is made by KYB??
I posted in a different thread [Creaking when turning/speed bumps]and mlibanio suggested checking bushings on the anti-roll bar and tie-rod,everything it tight in both those areas but is it possible that the bushings could be worn or would/should there be play if they were, and would they need to be removed to be inspected properly to determine if they need replacing?......Hmm,if i go to those lenghts i might aswell replace them!!
I think you will find that your warranty doesn't cover struts and shocks. Under most warranties, struts and shocks are considered wear items like tires, brake pads, clutches, belts etc. I doesn't hurt to ask though.
KYB definitely is the supplier of the OEM struts and shocks, as their name is stamped into the housings along with the Toyota part number. I agree that you'd probably have to remove the front suspension cross-member to get a good look at the sway bar bushings, and at that point you'd might as well replace all rubber parts that you can get hold of.
the warranty that I purchased include replacement of suspansion and struts, spindle, bushing... well, I paid additional $2500. Don't know if it is worth since I have never used it and this will be the first time I used it. I guess if I did not purchase it and now I would have to pay for it. but I will most likely go for either touring struts or the TRD. definitely not TEIN since it is too hard and not comfortable at all.
