Broken Rocker Arm w/ no symptoms?

You could try checking the spring yourself. I would get a second opinion and don't tell them what the dealer said was wrong, just that they said there was an issue. If they come back with the same diagnosis, then they were telling the truth.
I'm not sure how they could tell that a rocker arm is broken without taking the engine apart. Are you sure that's what they said?

 

I had a broken rear coil on my 2005 at about 110k. I also live in NY the state of salt. It was the very end of the coil so it didn't sag or behave noticeably bad. I had both coils replaced and the shocks as well since it was no additional labor. The car drives like new. I can't believe the rear suspension makes that big a difference.

Concerning your control arm it must not have been broken all the way through or I think you would have known.

 

The ICE would not work if it had a broken rocker arm. I suspect they said "control arm" which is a part of the suspension.

 

Rocker arm?

I thought it was the part that controls one of the valves inside the engine. But then, the 1.5L engine has overhead cams.

 

Perhaps it was an idler arm in need of replacement? I, too, live in upstate NY and had the springs and shocks replaced on my '05 last November at about 150,000 miles. Car runs flawlessly. What a difference.

 

o/p is unclear. no knocking or noticable loss of power = ice? no bottoming out or sliding out driving = suspension?

 

Does the OP mean that it's the "trailing arm" on the axle beam? That cost over a thousand dollars just for the part.

The rear suspension doesn't have MacPherson struts.


If you can get them, used parts from a wrecking yard from a Arizona or Southern California low mileage car might be your best bet. Then, the sipping for a large part might be a killer.

 

I noticed that too, but as pointed out earlier, how can one diagnose a broken rocker arm without engine disassembly?

The OP probably misunderstood the rocker arm part of the diagnosis.

SCH-I535

 

I made an appointment to get an alignment last year around mid - October. The dealership had an alignment special too good to pass up. I did not take it to the Toyota dealer. I took it to a Honda dealership. I was told that my right rear coil spring was cracked at the end. Therefore, the car could not be aligned. The crack was obvious at all. The car did not sag nor did it clunk. There was no drop off on mpgs. HOWEVER - the road noise DID increase. I did not realize just how much until the springs and shocks were replaced. I ordered the OEM Toyota parts online through Toyota dealer and had them installed locally. I also asked for the used parts to be returned for my inspection. Car has over 190,000 miles and still going strong!

 

I see you have a 2005. Do you have "coil over" shocks or springs with shocks outside of the springs?

The later configuration is less expensive to replace, since it is less labor intensive.

Because both springs and shocks are worn, they should be replaced in pairs.

 

The front is Macpherson struts (coil surrounds the strut) while the rear is coil over shocks.

 

Yup - replaced in pairs and both sides. Just checked the online Toyota catalog which lists both a shock and a strut for the rear of an '05. The strut is more expensive. The coil spring surrounds the shock/strut. No more labor intensive to replace the whole unit. O/P hasn't elaborated since first posting. If Dave was going for new tires, an alignment would make sense. If so, it would make sense if he had a cracked spring and an idler arm that needed replacement. He must have misunderstood the technician.





REAR SUSPENSION / REAR SUSPENSION / SUSPENSION COMPONENTS / SHOCK ABSORBER
SHOCK ABSORBER Prius; From 5/03 2004-09 MSRP Core ? Save Online Price
$42.88 $0.00 $9.86 $33.02
View Part Diagram -- Item #1



REAR SUSPENSION / REAR SUSPENSION / SUSPENSION COMPONENTS / Strut
Strut Left MSRP Core ? Save Online Price
$68.08 $0.00 $15.66 $52.42
View Part Diagram -- Item #1

 

The two different listings might be because the Touring model (which was available around 2007) has different shocks/struts on rear/front compared to the Base model.

The rear part is a shock while the front part is a strut.

 

That makes sense - coil spring + shock vs. strut although the 2 parts were listed as a rear component for an '05 when no touring edition existed. Unfortunately, the online catalog does not give specific part numbers... Most likely, their error when constructing the material for the web page.

 

Easy to tell what's there. Just look under the car.

I believe that the 2005 has spring "coil over" the shocks.

 

i still don't understand why it might 'knock or lose power' if it's the suspension?