Brought my 07 in to get the rear hatch lock assy replaced (melted rubber handle) and right before that during an oil change I did I noticed both front suspension struts were covered in oil leaking out of the strut rod seals so asked the dealer to check those too. The dealer replaced both the hatch lock and the struts under the 3/36 warranty. They did a great job and even washed my car when they were done. No more very minor clunking up front when I back out down my driveway and put the brakes on. Check your struts for leaking. You can see it by just peering over the top of the tire. Clearwater Toyota Clearwater Florida BTW, the new hatch rubber grip feels strange too. It feels and has the texture just like tire inner tube rubber. Like there's a thin sheet of inner tube rubber over a metal grip. Weird. Somethin' not right there. But if it doesn't melt I'll be happy with it.
Why are the struts failing so early? What are the driving or road conditions? Lots of bumps or potholes? What is the tire pressure? Or maybe the hot climate is bad for the rubber seals in the struts?
All city smooth driving. Tire pressure at 36 lbs. Felt fine. Only indication I had was a very mild clunking backing down a hill and applying brakes. There was a lot of fluid coating the sides of both. The new struts do not feel any different at all just no mild clunking when doing noted above.
Thanks man. As you well know its the Kennedy Library in Boston. We love Boston. Wife from there. Thanks!
When I replaced mine at 100k miles, there were no leak in any of the 4. I now have 33k miles on my Tanabe Sustec Pro NF and so far so good. I bought another set of KYB struts / shocks before Bing cash-back deal expired. I'll post a video comparing the old stock vs. new KYB.
Much better. I can't quantify it but it felt like a different car. I just got iPhone 4 so I will be able to get some quantitative numbers with Rev Lite. I have a friend with the same 2006 Prius that I can compare with. We have different tires though.
Bob Wilson experimented with something similar (I forgot whether it was an iPhone or iPad that has a built-in accelerometer) and decided that it was more a toy than a reliable measurement device. Would be interested in knowing your experience with the iPhone 4. Good luck and let us know.
Here are the videos of the comparison between the old (100k miles) vs. brand new KYB replacement. Rear Shock Absorber: Front Strut:
