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2013 Persona Suspension Issues

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by dcwenger, Sep 10, 2024 at 10:22 PM.

  1. dcwenger

    dcwenger Junior Member

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    Hello All,

    I am having an issue with a swaying type motion with my car that I cannot figure out and neither can any of the mechanics. I bought it a couple years ago with 90,000 miles and now it has 115,500. It sits in the garage most of the time, as I usually drive my '05 Prius.

    It was fine until earler this year, but then I started experiencing an uncomfortable ride.

    Just a couple months ago, I put new OEM (from Toyota) struts and shocks on it. After taking it to now 7 different shops, nobody can figure out what the issue is. Most of them say nothing is wrong, but they're morons. The last shop replaced the ball joints last week and then today installed sway bar links on it. I drove it home and it is having the same issue. It feels very unsafe on the freeway and just doesn't handle smoothly. It is not bouncing, but when going over even the smallest dip or portion of the road that is uneven, it kind of wobbles back and forth as if I were moving the steering wheel back and forth. It is a difficult problem to describe, but it kind of feels like the unevenness of a city bus when it is turning a corner. I don't know if anyone is going to be able to help without driving it and it is probably a general mechanical issue rather than a Prius specific issue. Anyway, I just thought I would put this out there to see if anyone has experienced this or anyone has any suggestions.

    Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for the help.
     
    #1 dcwenger, Sep 10, 2024 at 10:22 PM
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Shifted belts on tyres especially in front. Stock 17? Metal fatigue in strut towers.
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Sep 10, 2024 at 10:32 PM
  3. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Swop the wheels with your other Prius. That's a place to start.
    And with the wheels off, check for anything bent, or broken frame.

     
    #3 ASRDogman, Sep 10, 2024 at 10:50 PM
  4. dcwenger

    dcwenger Junior Member

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    2007 Prius
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    Base
    The tires on the '05 are 15: while the '13 has 17". I don't know if that would work, as I think it would sit too low.
     
    #4 dcwenger, Sep 10, 2024 at 11:23 PM
  5. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The overall outer diameter of the wheel/tires will be essentially the same.

    SM-G781V ?
     
    #5 xliderider, Sep 11, 2024 at 2:54 AM
  6. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    No you can swap the 15s in the 17s the ODs of the assemblies are almost identical tenths of inches so it's not worth the discussion I flip-flop them all the time I have a persona with 17s and four generation twos with the same lug pattern all with 15s now if you lift your Prius and you put 215 65 15's on it then you are 2 in almost over the stock wheel size I have those on the Prius that's in my avatar right now put them on yesterday I have a 13 Persona I can't imagine unless you're in the rust belt and the strut towers are rusting out or something that's connecting the wheels across the car sway bar I wouldn't think end links would cause it unless one was cut and missing literally not connected but there's always that a bent strut possibly could do this but boy I would think you'd be wearing out tires as fast as you put them on then again maybe not it depends on what's bent Is camber looking weird if you know what that measurement is I mean if somebody made adjustments on the car like on the tie rods just because they thought of something? How's the car been slammed into the ground not as in lowering it but it's in dropping over a speed bump and smashing a bunch of metal on the said speed bumper pavement? Usually these cars are pretty ridiculously forgiving in the front end and steering and all of that I've got six cars here two generation 3s and four generation twos and since I've been out of the Northeast I haven't had any of these wavy front end problems like strut towers failing and the two front tires trying to come together at the bottom's or at the tops because well everything holding the front end together is resting away or been extremely bent been in a roller derby?
     
    #6 Tombukt2, Sep 11, 2024 at 8:22 AM
  7. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Post #5
    You are trying to find out what the issue is. Swoping the wheels, you could eliminate them
    as the issue. If the problem goes away on the car with the issue, you know it's those wheels.
    If you have the same problem, then look somewhere else...

     
    #7 ASRDogman, Sep 11, 2024 at 11:13 AM
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