Parts For Gen 1 With Worn Struts

I'm not saying that the above parts are not worn out, but it does seem unlikely given the low miles. Who did the diagnosis, a stealership? Does it ride rough or make loud rattling sounds when you hit a bump? If you push down repeatedly on any corner of the car to get it to kind of bounce it, does it keep bouncing after you quit? How does it handle around curves?
If the parts are worn out, check on ebay for the OEM parts. I bought a new set of 4 Toyota (made by KYB) for my 2nd gen Prius for about $275, and the mounts were not expensive either. I put new boots on the front for about $20. The $350 labor sounds fair for the work involved, considering everything is checked and done correctly.
A 2nd opinion might be warranted. If they're not worn out, keep the money in the bank until it really is time for maintenance. I'm sold on the KYBs because they hold up well in my opinion. The springs are probably not hurt either.

 

Welcome George. I agree with Greasemonkey for the most part. Tho the stock struts could be getting tire and living near the ocean your springs could have seen better days with regards to corrosion.. Visual inspection is a good idea and then the bounce test. If the car continues to move up and down for a couple of times the struts aren't doing their jobs. Look for heavy corrosion on the springs and struts, and signs of leaky seals on the struts which will present as greasy or oily stains.

Your car is pretty low mileage, but time takes it's toll. KYB struts are the OEM manufacturer, I believe. My experience with them is that they tend to be fairly stiff. Rockauto also carries a brand of loaded struts-no thoughts on the quality. They probably carry the swaybar endlinks, too. And I know they have lower control arms with the ball joints included. bushings, too.

I'd have at least one other inspection. I use the local Midas shop, they don't charge for inspection. (They make it back on other stuff like exhaust repairs & alignments.)

 

You wanted opinions of loaded strut assemblies. I think they are fine if there's lots of corrosion or rubber parts are shot. Mostly tho, we don't need to replace coil springs. Our Pri are light duty, well built machines. You can get the struts of your choice for less money & build them yourself. O'reilly, Autozone, and Advanced (I think) all will loan you the tools you need to DIY. And it isn't that tough (I've been doing this stuff since my 20's) You won't learn & gain confidence if you don't try things.

 

Hawaii - probably corrosion is a major issue given the daily rain.

It is very likely that the front struts and rear shocks are worn given the odometer reading.

You will need to replace the front strut top mounts and the top insulators (which have the pleated cover) at a minimum, besides the parts already itemized.

Use Mini VCI to retrieve DTC and to enjoy similar functionality as Toyota dealer techs. Don't waste your time with inferior alternatives.

 

Had my Cat put on at Midas yesterday. Kinda like their 'courtesy inspection' policy. They let me come into the bay to have a look, too. Pretty nice guys, at least here in Tucson.

 

Torque and the dongle that you plug into the connector under the steering column work okay for checking the readiness monitors and even reading some of the codes. It will clear most of the codes from the ECM. Remember, tho, when ever the codes are cleared, the car needs a drive cycle to reactivate the readiness monitors, won't set codes 'til the readiness monitors are reactivated.

Mini vci works well for more advanced problems. Such as reading the conditions of the battery elements. I find it's a little cumbersome for checking the monitors rolling down the road, tho.

 

Note to George: Pix of first estimate indicates "front sway bar links worn". I suggest replacing the links. They are inexpensive, an easy task to remove/replace, and fresh links do make a noteable difference in the handling. At 15+ years (but low mileage), it's likely that lots of the car's rubber components are fatigued or dried out in places like motor mounts, ball joints, etc.

Replace the A/C and water pump drive belt, while you're at it. Use a high quality belt (Gates, etc). This will keep the A/C happy all summer.

Which island in Hawaii? Visited Kau'ii recently, saw a single silver Gen1 Prius while there...

 

Get complete assemblies off of ebay and do it yourself. Very simple job. Sway bar end links are simple as well. Can get them for about 10 dollars each. Should be able to get all the parts needed for all four corners for under 300.

 

To test Mini VCI, any Toyota with an OBD-II connector will be a good candidate.

 

In case you were not aware, the software provided by Mini VCI does not constitute an official license, so you should disable your laptop Wifi and not allow the software to access the web.

The software will allow offline usage for a limited number of occurrences, so you'll need to reinstall the software once the counter reaches the limit.

I had occasion to obtain a clone of the Jaguar Land Rover SDD software and cable, which offers similar capabilities as Toyota Techstream (of course, for Jaguars and Land Rovers, not Toyotas). In that case the software allows usage for only one day after it is first utilized. Hence the clone comes with "Deep Freeze" which basically restores the hard disk to the condition it was in at the time Deep Freeze was installed, each time the laptop is rebooted.

 

In order for the TS to operate correctly offline, do the following:

Open My Computer, C:\Program files\Toyota Diagnostics\Techstream\Env

Open IT3System.ini file and scroll down to

AVAILABLE FUNCTION SETTING

Switch TISFunction=1 to TISFunction=0 (Zero)

Click File, and Save.

Do not upgrade to V11.xx.xxx onwards as these will not work, even offline, without a Toyota Registration Key.

 

Generation 1 Prius struts are covered under an unlimited warranty. I heard this on the foum here, but confirmed it at Toyota.com!

Official Toyota Prius 2001-2003 Schedualed Maintance Guide:
https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms-s/MSTOY01_MS0002/pdf/MSTOY01_MS0002.pdf

Page 7
"Toyota’s confidence in its products and commitment to customer satisfaction are demonstrated by outstanding warranty coverage — including a lifetime guarantee on replacement mufflers, exhaust pipes, shock absorbers, struts and strut cartridges. When purchased at and installed by a Toyota dealership, these Genuine Toyota Parts are guaranteed to the original purchaser for the life of the vehicle. This includes coverage for parts and labor."

 

Apparently, by default, this warranty is not transferable. They recently bought this used car.

 

Patrick Wong,
I am changing my front struts on a 2001 with 230,000 miles. I am having a hard time finding the top insulators, but I already ordered the KYB SB108 (strut boot).
It seems that I can cut off the shredded bottom portion (the soft rubber bellows) of the original top insulator since the top portion (the pleated disk) is still soft and un-shredded. I will then use the SB108 bellows and bump stop.