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Rear Shock Wear

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by The Critic, Sep 22, 2012.

  1. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    In the last few thousand miles, I have noticed that the ride in the rear of the car is rather rough compared to new. For instance, you can feel the roughness and choppiness from the driver seat. When going over speed bumps, he rear end also does not seem to rebound nearly as well as the front. The front struts though, are working just fine.

    At first I tried rotating and rebalancing the tires; the improvement was minimal. At the time I had springs from TRD on the car, so I reinstalled the original Toyota springs from the factory. The rough, choppy ride from the rear now became less noticeable, but is still there. I currently have 43,000 miles.

    A new set of rear shocks from Toyota is $85 and requires minimal work. I think I may try this next. There is no obvious damage to the rear suspension from what I can tell.

    Thoughts?
     
    #1 The Critic, Sep 22, 2012
  2. ikagan

    ikagan Junior Member

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    It is possible that the TRD springs accelerated the wear on your stock shocks.
     
    #2 ikagan, Sep 22, 2012
  3. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    That is a definite possibility, which makes me curious if the Plus Package cars come with different struts.

    However, I did haul my toolbox and floor jack many times, and each time the read end drooped significantly. I'm sure that did not do the shocks any favors.


    iPhone ?
     
    #3 The Critic, Sep 23, 2012
  4. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    In the ideal world stiffer springs would get stiffer shocks, but I doubt that the TRD springs are a whole bunch stiffer than stock so that probably didn't have much effect on it. I think the biggest problem is that you are more closely atuned to your vehicles suspension than most people are. That's a good thing except it costs you more
     
    #4 xs650, Sep 23, 2012
  5. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    The TRD springs delivered a noticeably softer ride than the original springs. F8L has driven it multiple times and agrees.

    I wonder if softer springs would have resulted in faster shock wear.
     
    #5 The Critic, Sep 23, 2012
  6. ikagan

    ikagan Junior Member

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    I'm not familiar with the spring rates difference between stock and TRD springs but shorter springs also
    contribute to increased wear. This is all speculation on my part based on experience with previous cars.

    Also, 45K miles is a typical mileage to experience degradation in shock performance from an OEM shocks (probably made by KYB or Tokico). Bilstein shocks last way past 100K miles, but they have a stiff ride that most Prius owners would hate.
     
    #6 ikagan, Sep 23, 2012
  7. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Update: ordered the rear shocks today from Camelback Toyota. $32/ea delivered.

    After I replace the rears, I may also replace the fronts.
     
    #7 The Critic, Oct 9, 2012
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Let me know how it goes!
     
    #8 F8L, Oct 9, 2012
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Yes softer springs make the shocks work much harder as does hyper inflation of the tires. And bottoming out the car with weight all the time will hammer them.
    And as stated you are very aware of ride quality.
     
    #9 edthefox5, Oct 9, 2012
  10. wotcher

    wotcher Member

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    a few weeks now, did the new shocks fix your issue?
     
    #10 wotcher, Oct 24, 2012
  11. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    The rear shocks were on back order and just arrived yesterday. I will get them on soon.


    iPhone ?
     
    #11 The Critic, Oct 24, 2012
  12. RollinBad

    RollinBad Member

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    Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but figured it would be good to keep same topic together...

    What ever happened with the rear shock replacement?
    I'm planning on installing TRD springs this week and was wondering if I should just bite the bullet and replace the shocks (front and back) at the same time. I purchased my car with 70k miles on it so I don't really know what "new" feels like but to me it doesnt feel like anything is wrong. The shocks aren't leaking or anything either but pretty sure they haven't ever been replaced.

    Would you suggest just doing the replacement or should I wait to see what happens after I do the springs?
     
    #12 RollinBad, Apr 26, 2016
  13. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    Post 12...since you are doing springs, now would be the time to do the shocks to save time (or repair shop fees).

    Briefly, I have found that even if a shock isn't leaking oil, it can leak out any gas charge it may have had.
    Plus the oil in the shock is likely pass it prime and has broken down.
    Then there is father time breaking down all the rubber components.

    With sporting motorcycles, many typically feel the rear go off at 5K mileage. They are usually rebuildable and fresh oil with fresh nitrogen fix'em right up. Some feel first generation Miata shocks go off at 15K mileage. 75K mileage may be a drop dead date for all cars...but that is a generalization.

    So if money and time are no object do the springs first see how it drive then do the shocks.
    Else, I would do it all now and enjoy!
     
    #13 Kenny94945, Apr 26, 2016
    RollinBad likes this.
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