Trunk Hatchback Lift Supports

My hatchback lift supports were weak and I decided to replace them. The supports that I was removing were the original OEM supports and they were made by Stabilus so I decided to purchase new Stabilus supports. I looked at several different models on Amazon as well as reading the reviews on Priuschat. Eventually, I called Stabilus Customer Support to figure out which is the correct model for my Gen 3 Prius. The Stabilus model SG329044 is not the correct model. The Amazon site title says "Compatible with Prius 2008 to 11/2010" but this is not correct and they are not compatible with Prius up to 11/2010. When I mentioned this to the Stabilus agent she told me that they have tried to get Amazon to correct this error but it has not been done for years since Amazon creates the web listing for Stabilus. There is another item on sale at Amazon with the title, Stabilus 4B-015513. This is also not the correct model and the AmazonConfirmedFit correctly states that this does not fit the 2010 Prius (Gen 3). The correct Stabilus model has the Amazon title of: "Qty (2) Fits Prius 2010 To 2015 Hatchback Trunk Lift Supports (Exc V, C Models)" and the correct Stabilus model number is: 4B-136715. This Amazon listing shows other OEM numbers for other vehicles that are compatible with the Stabilus model 4B-136715. I installed these and they fit perfectly and work like the original without any problems. They are exactly the same length and diameter as the originals. There is no right or left side as the top rotates either way to fit either side. The install only took a few minutes and the hard part was lifting out the security clip on the top of the old lift with a small screwdriver. (Wear safety glasses as the clip can shoot across the room or hit you.) For the install you can use a second person to hold up the hatch while you change the lifts because it will drop once you remove one of the old lifts. I used a small rope and attached it to the ceiling of my garage and then to the hatch latch. For the install, there is no need to touch the metal clips as the new ones just snap onto the connectors on the Prius.

 

I purchased the Prius 14 years ago and I have forgotten what the lifts were like originally. What I can say is that I got tired of pushing up the hatch every time I opened it. Now, after the first slight hand lift the hatch rises up with its own power. I think that I keep my hand on the hatch door all the way up. I am completely happy with the way that it lifts automatically and I don't have to put in effort any more to lift the hatch. My distant recollection is that it is very similar to how the original lift supports worked years ago, but I can't be sure.