1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Rear Strut spring broken ??

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mrkihn, Apr 2, 2015.

  1. mrkihn

    mrkihn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2010
    7
    0
    0
    Location:
    Erie, PA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have a 2006 Prius with 75k miles on it . I installed a trailer hitch on it last week for doing some light weight hauling of things. I jacked the car up with a heavy duty jack that can lift one whole side of car up and put a jack stand on rear jacking notch I then jacked the other side car up and did same thing . I have done this many times before normally just for rotating tires . After installing hitch I lower the car slowly back down and than I sat down on the bumper to do the inside wiring. As I sat down I heard a big thunk. I got off the bumper and didn't notice to cause that noise so I proceeded to finish wiring and as I shut the hatch I heard another thunk. To make this story shorter , I looked at car and it looked like it was sitting lower in rear . Yesterday I jacked car back up to see what the trouble was and found the strut spring on the rear drivers side broken . Has any body every heard of this . Didn't hit any hard bumps to cause this and like I said earlier the car was lower down slowly and not just dropped down. Was there a recall for the struts or has anybody else heard of these springs breaking . Is there a better replacement for strut and spring assy. Local auto parts store don't even have a spring listed for replacement but they do carry the strut itself .
     
    #1 mrkihn, Apr 2, 2015
  2. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2010
    4,297
    2,348
    33
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    #2 frodoz737, Apr 2, 2015
  3. mrkihn

    mrkihn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2010
    7
    0
    0
    Location:
    Erie, PA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Plan on it but locally can't find a spring only struts . Founds some online but want to make sure they are of better quality than OEM
     
    #3 mrkihn, Apr 2, 2015
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,525
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You should be able to buy a spring by itself from Toyota dealers online. The rear is actually a shock, not a strut
     
    #4 JC91006, Apr 7, 2015
  5. alekska

    alekska Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    435
    138
    0
    Location:
    Atl
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Wherever you get it from, get 2 as you need to replace them in pairs to prevent car from being uneven

    - Alex
     
    #5 alekska, Apr 7, 2015
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,677
    39,222
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    This is closing-the-barn-door-after-the-cows-have-escaped but: is there a rear central jacking point on the 2nd gen Prius? Got to be less stress on the car, and quicker, to just raise the whole rear with central point, and put in the two jack stands at same time.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Apr 7, 2015
  7. alekska

    alekska Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    435
    138
    0
    Location:
    Atl
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Yes, there is a center jack point. Located under the battery approximately.
    jack point.jpg

    - Alex
     
    #7 alekska, Apr 7, 2015
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  8. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

    Joined:
    May 13, 2012
    2,170
    750
    0
    Location:
    Delaware
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    I've never heard of it happening to a prius before, but sometimes coil springs just fail. I wouldn't be concerned that oem springs are poor quality, so buying a new set from the dealer isn't a bad idea. if you want something better, a few folks have installed adjustable coil spring kits on their cars. it would be cool to be able to set the height just the way you like it, but I'd just get a set from Toyota.
     
    #8 69shovlhed, Apr 7, 2015
  9. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2009
    2,214
    902
    0
    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    #9 exstudent, Apr 9, 2015
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)