I don't know how I miss this thread. A belated congrats and I wish you good luck with it.

A 2008 with I believe that same color sat on a local dealer's floor well into 2009. I really liked it and made a very low offer hoping they might finally want to get rid of the car. No luck though. I always wanted one.

 

Just an update. Oil and brake fluid change at the dealer to keep the dealer service history up to date and have them document no issues pending repair. 75 for oil and 160 for brake fluid. Not aure if techstream is needed for abs pump so had the dealer do it for simplicity and the price was reasonable. No difference in braking.

Shock still functions like OEM. Front passenger side making a clunk occasionally. I have a feeling it will be next.

Orherwise, no issues so far and 6k miles.

 

Seems to be a lot of hybrid batteries replaced in the 2008 model year. Mine was also replaced by the previous owner. High failure rate? Is the replacement battery any better? Fingers crossed.

 

Had to replace a DRL/high beam on the driver side. For anyone doing this, i have small hands and thin arms. YMMV.


Open hood. Remove plastics over the side of the engine bay you need access. Remove 10mm bolt holding washer fluid fill in place. Remove the hood insulation rubber thing, it slides off the clips pretty easy. Remove white cap. Remove and replace bulb (one handed). Reverse order to put things back together.

White cap in place.

 

thanks I have 1 out right now, what type of bulbs u get? Did u change the other side as well?

 

The DRL is a 9005 bulb. I grabbed them at walmart. Passenger side isnt out so i didnt mess with it.

 

Replaced compressor bushings and air filter this weekend. Drove the front on ramps. Compressor is on passenger side. Jist imagine it site just below and behind the headlight. There is a small panel to remove directly under it. Not sure if the larger belly pan needs removed but i removed mine.

Caveat - i have thin arms and small hands for a 6 foot dude.

Easy job. Took 30-45 minutes to complete once i found it. Remove one bolt at a time. The compressor moves away from the bushing. Pull bushing out and replace with new one. Each bushing presses in from the bottom. Replace bolt. Repeat 2 more times. A really long extension helps as one bolt is quite a bit higher then the other two.

Attached to the compressor is a black air hose. Follow it up closer to the headlight. Feel for the end of the hose and tug a bit. The opaque filter will come out of the housing. Replace and slide back in the spot.

Replace covers.

Symptoms. When the engine turns off at a stop the compressor comes on audibly. Sounds like a vibration. now perfectly silent.

Parts ordered online. Shipped to me about $50.

 

138k miles. Another strut. Passenger front started making noise over bumps. I was a bit 😞 as appointed nothing visual like the rear. Plus it still seemed to rebound smooth although I thought a bit slow. The controls arms all seemed good so I took a chance and swapped this. Fixed. It either leaked out the oil already or something internal failed. There were a few cracks in the airbag but it still seemed to hold.

Ordered from the middle east again. Shipped quick. OEM strut.

For anyone searching a how to, it was actually pretty easy. On jack stands. Loosen strut top hat under the hood. Remove th connector. Loosen three top bolts. Back in the wheel well, disconnect outer tie rod. Disconnect air line, a few 10mm bolts holding the speed sensor and such. Lower strut bolt. Strut lowers and comes out the front without much effort.

Install required pushing down the hub. Used a broth handle between frame and lower control arm for leverage. Then finish install. Alignment was done at the dealer although it drove great and seemed straight since I didn't change the tie rod.

No other significant maintenance. Oil changes, tire rotations etc I use the dealer.

 

Did a rear pad slap. Dealer has mentioned it before but I never got around to it. Had the pads in my garage for a good bit of time. Did an oil change at the dealer and they flagged the rear brakes as red. Figured it was time.

They also flagged front/rear diff, spark plugs, brake fluid. Estimate $2700 and offered a loaner. That seemed crazy.


New pads

Yup. Concur. Not much pad left.

Surprised how small and thick the new pads were. Wear sensor wasn't broken so I reused it. Little disappointed the new pads didn't come with the small hardware kit or moly lube.

Either way, pads done. Should have done the rotors also but I guess I didn't buy them.