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Front driver side sagging a little

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by cooscoos, Aug 12, 2019.

  1. cooscoos

    cooscoos New Member

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    Location:
    Knoxville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi everyone: My front driver side is sagging about ¾" compared to the passenger side.

    I had replaced the struts with OEM units about 4k miles ago, and didn't measure the before/after. I don't know if the car has been this way since I bought it use in January. The car has 188000 miles.

    I have read a lot about rear sagging springs, which I did replace out of caution with the front struts.

    Has anyone had a front spring fail? I really don't want to rip the front end apart again and replace the springs.
     
    #1 cooscoos, Aug 12, 2019
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
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    Occasionally an owner has reported that part of a coil spring broke off due to corrosion. Take a look to see if that is the problem with your car. If it is, it would be a good idea to replace the coil springs on the front.

    If you don't notice a spring is broken then you might choose to live with the suspension as-is.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Aug 13, 2019
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Well... You car is 14 years old... And sometimes you can find a fix, but sometimes the wear & tear of all those years with the car heavier on that side due to mostly solo driving is gonna create that slight effect...
     
    #3 PriusCamper, Aug 13, 2019
  4. cooscoos

    cooscoos New Member

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    Location:
    Knoxville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
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    N/A
    So I jacked it up a bit: Both springs are good, no broken parts.

    I'm going to continue to drive it as is because I usually just puts lots of miles on it and just rebuilt the front strut assemblies (new bumpers, upper/lower isolators, strut bearings, strut - even the little crappy white cushion from Toyota) and then aligned it.

    For anyone on the fence: I highly recommend doing front springs when you do a high miles strut job. I did the rears out as preventative measure but didn't see anything on the fronts. Now I know :)
     
    #4 cooscoos, Aug 14, 2019
    PriusCamper likes this.
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