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Motor Mount Replacement?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by BoldRoot, Apr 5, 2021.

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  1. BoldRoot

    BoldRoot Junior Member

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    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    TLDR: How to know if my motor mount needs to be replaced?

    After having a shield for my catalytic converter installed by an independent mechanic, there was a sporadic muffled grinding noise while the ICE was on. When I took the car back to have the shield adjusted, the mechanic was able to fix the problem by adding spacers to the bolts that fastened the shield to the underside of the car. While adjusting the shield, the mechanic noted that the rear engine mount was "torn". He speculated that the engine was shifting (due to the broken engine mount) and causing the catalytic converter to rub against the cat shield.

    Now that the mechanic has added the spacers to the cat shield, the car appears to be running normally with no unusual noises or vibrations. Should I replace the motor mount even if I can't tell that anything is wrong? If I'm going to have this done, should I replace all of the mounts at once or only the torn rear mount? Would aftermarket mounts be acceptable or are OEM parts superior?

    I searched online but I haven't been able to find any references to replacing the engine mount for a gen 3 Prius. There is some discussion of doing so for a gen 2 here:
    Motor mounts | PriusChat

    Background Information
    • My car has 190k miles
    • Engine replaced by Toyota dealership at 175k miles. Used engine had 35k miles at time of installation.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you ask the mech to show you, and how much to replace?
     
  3. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    I'd replace it with an OEM motor mount. The difference between the aftermarket and OEM one is minimal. It's the labor that's expensive.
     
  4. BoldRoot

    BoldRoot Junior Member

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    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Re to Bisco: The mechanic quoted me $500 to replace the rear motor mount. The mechanic pointed to the motor mount with his flash light while the car was on a lift but I couldn't tell whether the motor mount was broken or not.

    Re to Georgina Rudkus: That makes sense. I'll go for OEM parts.
     
    Georgina Rudkus likes this.
  5. Ed Beaty

    Ed Beaty Active Member

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    Vehicle:
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    "I couldn't tell whether the motor mount was broken or not."

    Might be a good idea to request the torn motor mount after the job is done...