Best Rear Spring / Strut 2005 Prius

Hi Everyone,

I'm really hoping I can get your feedback guys. I recently had both rear struts/springs replaced on my 2005 prius. It was making a loud pitched noise everytime I would go over a bump specially if I have weight on the back.

I've gone to two different mechanics and nobody can seem to nail down the issue. The first shop replaced my rear shocks / springs with UNITY brand shocks, after that the sound is still there, everytime I go over a bump the loud pitched noise happens.

The first shop says that the struts are not defective and that it's a problem with the car, they don't really care to figure out what the issue is. Looking around where the strut goes, there is no rust or body issues that would cause this. They will replace the strut on the driver side (which is the one making the noise) but the mechanic has no faith and no interest in figuring out where/how/why this is happening.

More than likely I'll have to get this repair done again somewhere else, I read a post where peope weren't too hot on Monroe, KYB seems to be popular and MOOG as well. I wanted to find out from someone here someone with experience what would you do, which brand would you recommend, what should I look out for?

Just need some advice as this sound is driving me nuts, I can't take my family with me in the car since adding weight to the back of the car only makes the sound worse. I'm at the end of my rope and i've considered just selling the car (I bought it 3 months ago and have already spent a thousand bucks between replacing rear shocks and lower control arms) so I don't want to keep throwing money at this if there's no solution. Absolutely love the car but just can't afford to keep going.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

Thank you very much for your help. I was able to turn a sound file into a video and upload the video file as well to Youtube, I'm hoping this gives a good indication of what I'm dealing with.

The mechanic is convinced it's not the strut since the sound was there prior to changing it, the spring/strut was changed because the springs were busted before, but since the new install it's making that sound, from the driver side.

Again, thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate your help, this is driving me absolutely insane.

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback, today I went back to the shop, they supposedly had a replacement strut for me to replace the one that was making noise only to get there and find out that they received the wrong part.

They did however remove the strut that's there before they figured out that the replacement part was incorrect. When they placed it back I now notice that the sound isn't as bad and can't be triggered as easily, I went over several bumpy roads and tried to hit as many pot holes as possible in the hopes of making it happen. I got home, put my son in the back seat and that finally triggered the noise however it's not as bad as before and and requires a bigger bump for it to happen.

Could the issue simply be positioning? When it was re-seated it got much better although not perfect but much better.

@fotomoto if it was the wheel bearing which is original I'm sure (i bought this car used it's a guess) would it still be making a noise inside the car? That sound you heard was recorded inside the car. Based on my description and the noise you heard do you believe that it could be a bearing causing the issue? Someone else, a friend mentioned that it could be the bearing but considering that it's making the noise inside the car we're not sure. The sound is more pronounced when there's weight in the back seat.

@PriusCamper yes the bolts were inspected and tightened. There are no rattling sounds just the high pitched noise you heard every time there's weight in the back of the car. The noise appears to be coming from the driver's side only.

Guys I really appreciate the feedback and if I come back with questions I'm not disputing your opinions, just thinking out loud. Thank you all for your help, I have another appointment with other mechanics this afternoon to see what happens.

 

@fotomoto Thanks for the advice, I will mention it to the mechanic when I go in a little later see what he says, other than the temperature is there any other way for them to tell if the bearing is the issue?. Not sure if this means anything but I did hear a sort of squeaking sound coming from that side, it was like a sound of something squeaking when turning not sure if the two are related.

I can't say this enough, I absolutely love the car, it's quiet (otherwise) it's smooth, it's extremely cheap on gas, great ride, I love it, it may be old and all but the previous owner did try to keep in good shape and I'm trying to do the same. I'm getting to a point however that it's becoming a drain on my time and money to try and solve this problem, I would simply leave it but I can't take my family on a car ride because the sound is unbearable for everyone in the vehicle.

If you're saying it's a common thing it's definitely something to consider. Thanks again I'll keep you all posted.

 

That turning sound was coming from the rear, stops when you press the break so I'm thinking it may be rear breaks? In any case, not a huge deal at the moment, the strut sound is way more of a priority.

Again, thanks for your input, I will get back to you later today when I know more.

 

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to thank everyone for your feedback. This has been a costly adventure but I'm happy to say a solution has been found. The first shop called me in to replace the rear strut only for me to arrive, hear one of the mechanics verbally insult the fact that according to him it wasn't the strut and not only that, but after they had the strut removed, they opened the box and found out that they had received the wrong one.

I went to another shop and one of the guys decided to grab the bull by the horn. He took the strut apart and found that there was a gap and that the strut nut at the top was loose. The way he explained it was that the rubber wasn't keeping everything nice and tight, once he added a little extra rubber to it and tightened everything up the car is quiet as a mouse. So the lesson learned here is don't buy cheap parts (I didn't have a choice, I personally would have started with Monroe or KYB) the shop used cheap parts for a high margin and it back fired, I will never take my car there again and that goes for my wife's car, my dad's car and my sister's, not only that but I can no longer recommend them the same way I did before since they demonstrated that they were quick to repair, quick to get paid but showed very little interest in finding a solution to the issue. The owner of the shop did offer to see about getting a credit for trouble, I'm guessing that's from place he got the parts, however, I'm not holding my breath, sometime you send a louder message by not saying anything and simply taking your business elsewhere.

Again, I wanted to thank all of you that took the time to read my post and provide feedback, I'm hoping that someday this post may help someone else. I have always said, I love the car, love the way it drives, no complaints there. Tomorrow I'm going to pickup a set of original Prius rims (without the beauty ring) that come equipped with a good set of winter tires, all for 300 bucks which I thought was a steal, I really wanted the original rims to replace the steel rims I have that have Mitsubishi hub caps (previous owner gave it to me like that). I will remove the winter tires from the Prius rims, put them on my steel rims and move my all seasons over to the steel rims.

While I got you guys here, completely unrelated, I ordered this:

NEW GRILL & FOG LIGHT TRIM PACKAGE FITS 04-09 TOYOTA PRIUS | eBay

My front grille was blown off after hitting a chunk of a tire in the middle of the highway. Just wondering are these difficult to install? Do I need anything in particular besides what you guys see on the ebay posting? My car does have the lower fog lights.

Thanks again everyone!