230k miles; never changed suspension. Should I bother?

Your ride will be 200% better with some new shocks/struts.

Rockauto has a super deal on AC DELCO Professional complete front end strut/springs/mount kits. $72.79 per side.

2008 TOYOTA PRIUS 1.5L L4 ELECTRIC/GAS Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assembly | RockAuto

 

KYB, they supplied the OE ones.

JeffD

 

When I did mine, I used original Toyota parts for the rear, they were fairly inexpensive compared to the front ones. The rear shock is $61.xx at my local dealership right now (online pricing). This is just the shock price, it is not a complete unit like the deal Rockauto has on the front assembly. Another quality option, I think the KYB brand rides similar to OEM Toyota, but just a bit stiffer.

 

Ive replaced in gen2 and 3 and none of the decently priced suspension parts will give the same ride as OEM. If the ride seems decent and the wheels are staying on the ground I would just leave the OEM on unless you drive on really rough roads. My real impetus was ruining decent tires from when out suspension but we have decent roads here and I think j I should have waited as the replacements are not as good.

SM-G960U ?

 

I'm not familiar with AC Delco strut kits. What is the quality of the ride and how reliable are they? (How long should they last?)

Also, how do they compare to the KYB?

 

I put a set of the AC delco ones on my car, they are very close to the oem ride. Since these are a brand name oem manufacturer product, I would think these will be very durable.

 

I don't know the Delco kits in particular- but at that price I would expect that they are made at the same factory in China that makes the "all in one" strut kits for other AM brands. I usually see decent quailty (ie, expect a 2-3 years), but it's not OE.

Then again, sourcing struts, springs, jounce bumpers, and strut mounts from the dealer for a 15 year old car can often come close to or exceed the car's value.

Really, first thing I would do is have the suspension inspected. Check for looseness, worn bushings, irregular tire wear, ride height, leaks, damper function, etc. Then figure out what you need to replace and go from there.

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KYB struts come with a lifetime warranty. What is the warranty on the Delco struts?

JeffD

 

The professional Delco ones are on closeout, they don’t retail for that price, more like $150+ each

 

I’m curious if anybody has ever claimed warranty on these things, after 10 years, most would throw them out

 

My KYB struts that were installed at 150k miles were still OK at 288k miles when I traded in my 2004 Prius for my 2017 Prius. Since they were still working, I couldn't exercise the warranty.

JeffD

 

I think parts like these are hard to claim. Most people would buy new parts and have them ready before removing the old parts. With a warranty product, you need to remove the part and then go do a warranty claim. The downtime makes it difficult to claim.

But of course a quality part will last much longer than one of inferior quality. That’s why we own Toyota cars

 

The 10-year mark is where I normally start replacing or, at least, inspecting a bunch of stuff for possible replacement including suspension parts. My daughter has a 2012 Sienna that I've been doing this on...boy new parts are NOT cheap!
But be aware that those nuts and bolts in suspensions are one of the most rusted areas so a simple 1-hour job could easily turn into an all-day nightmare! (Ask me how I know!)

 

What about replacing the A-Arms? The stealership told us that the A-Arms needed replacing as the bushings were shot, but if there were no bushings I should hear some clunking and I don't. I think I have all original suspension on our 2008 with 193k miles. It seems to still have a good ride. When the time comes I assume I should replace strut assemblies and A-Arms all at once, is that correct? What else would be on the "while you're in there" list? CVs?

 

Control arms don’t need replacement unless bushings are bad. You don’t want to change out something that is not broken.

New control arms won’t necessarily be better, those rubber bushings can be really poor quality if the replacements are not OEM

 

Depends. Sometimes the control arm bushings can tear and allow excessive movement without making much noise (ie, there's no metal to metal contact yet).

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