Original shocks and struts and 250,000 miles

The Prius is known for it's 'choppy' ride, as expressed by some critics. You might want to do a search on this site for some aftermarket shocks, struts that offer a softer ride. I don't think oem is going to help much...

 

The Gen 2 Prius suspension is bargain basement. MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam in back. So you're just going to have to learn to grin (great fuel economy!) and bear it.

 

You may be able to improve the ride with some quality tires and air pressure adjustment. What tires do you have now? Brand, size, how much tread is left? Are they evenly worn? What is the PSI?

 

if the shocks are oe, inspect them for signs of leakage. most likely 1 or more have the oil coming out if them. or just go ahead and replace them cause they're worn out. the prius is really an econobox, and it rides that way. good tires should help some too. once you get used to it, you will love it.

 

Struts/shocks at 250,000 are worn out. You will feel a difference with stock replacements. Doing custom "for feel" is going to be hit and miss.

 

KYB is the Original Equipment maker for Toyota. Most here seem to go KYB when time for replacement.

A buddy of mine went w/ a complete set of Monroe's, and he's happy. I would say his car seems to ride a little softer then mine w/ KYBs.

Both KYB and Monroe have "lifetime," warranty on the struts. However, in order to use the "lifetime" warranty, the struts/shocks will need to have completely failed (lack of gas pressure, oil seeping out, or other covered conditions that each manufacture specifies). This means you will have been using the struts way past their design life, using the car w/ less than ideal suspension ride/handling ability. As one mechanic best stated it, lifetime warranty means when the part fails, that is the life of the part. Most people don't make "lifetime" warranty claims b/c they don't have the car anymore, lack documentation, etc. Manufactures know this and count on this; it probably helps that they have a laundry list of exclusions to deny claims of lifetime warranty.

All strut manufactures stress 5 year/50,000 mile replacement interval to maintain OPTIMUM ride/handling quality. After swapping out my fronts and rears, I'm a believer in the strut manufactures claim. Before I had thought this was their attempt to get people to change the parts out unnecessarily; kinda like some shops still saying 3months/3,000 mile oil change intervals (absurd given vast improvement in oil quality and engines). To convince yourself:
Read post #48 for fronts. Hints Regarding Replacement of 2G Front Struts | Page 3 | PriusChat
Read post #3 for rears. Replaced Rear Shocks | PriusChat

You will likely have other suspension components that need to be replaced beyond the front struts and rear shocks.

Good luck.

 

I purchased Monroe with lifetime warranty for my Wife's now retired Durango. I just brought them into the original Parts store and exchanged them as needed. Receipt is in the computer and they kept the new boxes for return shipping. Shocks/struts are not lifetime, just like fluids are not.

 

That’s probably reason here we don’t have anything with lifetime warranty. Peoples normally safe their receipts and would probably advertise that car has lifetime warranty parts in it when selling it.