Front Suspension replacement for 2001 Prius

What's the odometer reading on your car? I had changed the struts/shocks on my 2001 at around 60K miles.

At minimum I would say that you need to replace the struts and the rubber pleated covers that keep dirt/water out. There's also a rubber piece at the bottom of the spring which you may want to replace, as the end of the spring will usually wear a hole into the rubber.

If you have high miles logged, then it might be appropriate to replace the strut mount with bearing located on top of each strut. I don't know why you should replace the springs unless you see that the car is sagging.

 

I think that I would double check on the springs. But if you need them, I would use the opportunity to buy gas shocks and the Eibach progressive spring set, about $250.00 list, along with the Eibach front and rear alignment kits. The progressive springs start out just a bit softer than stock linear springs for better highway ride, then get progressively get stiffer when pushed harder, so they provide much better control over potholes, etc. and also resist sway and leaning in turns. They also resist bottoming out a lot more and help prevent wallowing when loaded with passengers or gear. Overall, handling would be greatly improved. Progressive springs also lower the car about an inch, which will increase gas mileage and provide a lower center of gravity, while the progressive qualities of the springs will prevent the car from going lower than stock over bumps, and will actually keep the car higher than stock over bumps. Check with www.eibach.com for the part numbers for Prius and also dealers.
An added benefit are the alignment adjustment kits which allow adjustment of alignment, which is severely limited otherwise.

 

OK, at that odometer reading I suppose it is possible that the springs are beginning to collapse. The Toyota repair manual should have a spec for height of the body above ground (for example, the 2005 repair manual shows this on p. 26-6.) If your car is below spec then this would be a good reason to replace the springs. However I don't know why you have a choice of two heights.

Since your odometer reading is so high I would say that it is quite reasonable to replace the strut mount bearings now.

How about the rear shocks? If they haven't been replaced yet it seems that this would be a good time to do them as well. Good luck.

 

The Eibach does not show parts for gen 1 prius.