Cracked strut boot?

Good day everyone,

While swapping on my winter tires yesterday, I noticed the strut boot (I believe it's called) on the passenger side has a large crack, almost split in two. See picture attached.

The Prius is a 2006 with almost 370K KM (~231K miles), and I am hoping to keep the car for another 1-2 years, until the PIP2 is out. ;-)

Is this something to be concerned about? Thankfully, the strut is not leaking, and the suspension seems otherwise fine.

I presume replacing this involves taking the suspension apart, and would be a fairly costly job, even if the part is not?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the reply, Jeff.

I believe I have replaced one of the struts in the rear a couple years ago by the dealer, but I don't seem to have it in my spreadsheet of maintenance for some reason. I believe my front struts are original, but they seem 'fine', though obviously not as firm as when the car was new.

I am somewhat in the mode of trying to minimizing putting money into the car when possible, as I save for the next. But I do drive a lot for work and she still is 'my baby', so I will put money into it if necessary, as there is still a lot of life left, if not much resale value due to the mileage.

Slightly OT, the next thing I need to get addressed is the exhaust, as I clearly have a hole and it is getting louder all the time. My private mechanic will be either patching or replacing it with a used OEM one when I can get some time in the shop with him. He doesn't believe in aftermarket ones, nor do I. ;-). Again not urgent, just a bit noisy, which is unusual for a Prius. LOL.