Last week I started hearing a rattle/knock from the left rear. At first I thought it was something with the jack I didn't put back correctly when I changed the blowout from the previous week but it turned out to be the loose shock nut from the TSB. I contemplated bringing it to the dealer but decided to just go ahead and tighten it up myself. I had to make a special socket to tighten the nut while allowing a hex wrench to slip through the center and hold the shock shaft. Total time, including making the tool, was about 90 minutes.
There is a replacement part number for the nut but I won't replace it unless it gets loose again. I believe the TSB requires the use of the new nuts. I used blue loc-tite on the threads and don't expect it to move again.
Yeah, that's why you should allow the dealer to do the work. If something goes disastrously wrong, like your shocks working their way loose while you are on the highway, the first thing they are gonna do is look at who did the work and hand off liability to them.
It's a shock, not something I'm overly concerned about. It could fall totally out and I wouldn't consider it disastrous.
Jack the car up allowing the suspension/shock to fully extend, then remove the wheel. Next remove the two bolts from the top shock mount (red arrows), then compress the shock and pull it out from under that flimsy fender liner. Now pop off the black plastic cover (yellow arrow) with a flat screw driver or putty knife and the nut is right there. The bottom of the shock doesn't need to be loosened at all to do this as the grommet is flexible enough to allow the shock to move.
I had this problem on my 2016 four touring. Brought my car into local Toyota dealership - downtown Oakland Toyota Subaru. I explained the problem and showed them the TSB. They wanted to replace the rear struts, on a brand new car! They gave me rental car, and did nothing. Then nothing and nothing and nothing. After 8 days I demanded my car back. I took a wrench to the strut assembly and also the rear hatch. Problem solved, no more rattle. Lame lame Toyota dealer.
Good question. I never checked but, I will now that you've peaked my curiosity. I did check to see if it could be done without removing the tire and it actually can. I'd just throw a towel over the tire to keep my arms clean. Knowing this, I could probably tighten the nut in under 15 minutes.
ok tks. i suspect it might be accessible but perhaps the access hole is smaller than the diameter of the black plastic cover and therefore blocking the nut? in the gen2 there is no black plastic cover so the access hole lets you directly reach the nut
I may try this repair myself, any idea of the tightening torques for the screws holding the shock tower to the body?
I’m grateful for your confidence, but for something like this, I’m hesitant to give only a torque value, without the rest of the procedure from Toyota’s Repair Manual, which has other important information like the correct tightening order for the two bolts involved—and as much as I’d like to, I can’t reproduce the whole thing here.※ I encourage anyone considering a safety-critical repair like this to consult the Repair Manual, which is available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com, or perhaps for free from a local public library that sponsors free access to the ChiltonLibrary service for its patrons. ※ Perhaps @Danny could take a license from Toyota for all the Prius repair content and make it a benefit of the coming-soon-for-years paid subscription to PriusChat, but unless that happens, my hands are tied.
So, I went ahead and got a 2 day account on techinfo.toyota, was planning to try to download the whole manual but that is clearly not going to happen. I did download the relevant rear suspension info and the TSB. According to the TSB it only applies to very early cars below either VIN JTDKBRFU#G3006967 or VIN JTDKARFU#G3007491. Even though I took delivery my car in April of 2016 the VIN is much higher than the numbers listed. So, I guess I will continue on with hunting the rattle/click. Any ideas?
just to update that my rattle is fixed. 3rd party dealer here in singapore wanted me to bring it in for a few hours job. prob would have charged me higher. managed instruct the tyre rotation shop guy how to do it instead for 30bucks n a 30min job since the wheels were already off anyway. as a matter of good procedure he also checked the other side rear nut and said it felt tighter than the one that was giving the rattle. he screwed both back by feeling. no torque setting. kudos to this forum. one of the factors for choosing this car. thumbs up.
