I use my prop rod every 5000 miles. Change the oil and any other normal service at that time.

 

you should be opening it at least twice every 5k,

 

Would you mind post the receipt and/or part numbers?

 

Sure Mike! Also, there are excellent videos showing it on Youtube. . . Here ya go:

 

I have struts but the prop rod never fails as do struts.

 

The only time you see the proprod is when you open the hood and use it. It never fails, but gas struts always fail after a while. I recently replaced the struts on my 07 Camry LE. They were $22 for the set from Walmart and took me 10 minutes to change. Your money? Spend it however you want.

 

for prop rods starting at USD 12 at rockauto, you could keep a spare set at home! Thanks for the "tip"!

 

If your Camry has the stupid prop-rod setup, then I STRONGLY suggest you consider installing the HOOD STRUT SET which it really should have come with anyway. I bought the parts at Toyota for a grand total of $150.24, and then it literally took me less than a half-hour to install. SUPER easy!

This way the stupid prop-rod is totally gone and no longer in the way of anything, and the car just seems so much more correct and. . . premium feeling.

That prop-rod setup just makes the car feel cheap. I couldn't believe it had a stupid prop-rod the first time I opened the hood. . .

You must be kidding...$150! I'll sell you the Mississippi River to go with it.

 

When I did it, my car was a brand-new 2024 car (only a month old), so I wanted all OEM Toyota parts. But I suppose you could save some coin by only buying the bolts and brackets from Toyota, and then buying aftermarket struts (AKA "Supports") instead of the OEM ones.

 

You want us to do this to make YOU happy. No.

 

No. . . I don't. (SIGH)

 

Personally, I check the oil & fluids every time I gas up. . . so I definitely notice the difference between having a proper struts-setup vs. having a cheap prop-rod. On a car that cost most of us between 26K-35K, the cost & effort of adding hood struts seems pretty minimal.

A prop rod may last the life of the car, and so will a cut-off piece of broom-stick if you like. Toyota OEM hood struts have always lasted me 16 years and more, so I'm not too worried about having to replace them when due. . .

 

Personally, I check the oil & fluids every time I gas up. . . so I definitely notice the difference between having a proper struts-setup vs. having a cheap prop-rod. On a car that cost most of us between 26K-35K, the cost & effort of adding hood struts seems pretty minimal.

A prop rod may last the life of the car, and so will a cut-off piece of broom-stick if you like. Toyota OEM hood struts have always lasted me 16 years and more, so I'm not too worried about having to replace them when due. . .

Thanks for the info. If my prop rod breaks, I'll get a cut-off piece of broom-stick.

 

I prefer prop rods.

 

Here is the parts list I used when I put struts on my 23

5344006180 Hood Lift Support (Right)
5345006150 Hood Lift Support (Left)
5333606080 Hood Lift Support Stud (Right) $7.38
5348206140 Hood Lift Support Stud (Left) $11.41
5333706070 Hood Lift Support Stud (Left) $7.38
5348106160 Hood Lift Support Stud (Right) %11.41
4 x 90119A0479 BOLT, WITH WASHER $1.29 x 4
The parts with prices I ordered last night from Toyota Direct - Total with shipping (and 10% off with current sale) was just over $40. Ordered my struts off Amazon for around $40 as well. Lots less than the $122 on eBay.

 

Love the hood struts which came stock on my 18 XSE V6. Feels like a step up from a prop rod. Fair enough to those who don't feel its necessary, but its nice to pop the hood with one hand and watch it open itself while you're drinking a garage beer.
If mine ever weaken or crap out, I'll replace with Amazon struts... I've wasted more than $40 on less important things in life.

 

I bought my parts on eBay. He sells the OEM hardware and aftermarket struts in a kit.

 

Stick - Free!!!!! Props that the car never needed for $150 Oh Hell NO

 

I guess you could go on Ebay and find Rare Exotic Endangered Wood from the Amazon stick for $150 signed by Greta Thorberg and Marlin Perkins and be happy.

 

OMG...I haven't heard Marlin Perkins name in so long, I forgot that he existed once...(shame on me). Thanks for the memory! And hey...there's more than ONE use for a stick, too. You can always SIT ON IT, if'n you get 'bored'! (There's a pun intended there, somewhere.) 😜

 

I installed the hood struts after my hood was almost blown over my windshield in a strong wind gust while filling the washer bottle. The prong completely dislodged and went flying back. Thankfully no damage! I would rather replace those, than deal with potentially expensive body and/or window work to be done.

 

Wow! I never considered that. That alone would have made me want to do away with the stupid prop-rod setup.

It actually reminds me now of a true story: My brother-in-law back in the 1970s had a little Fiat convertible that my sister and he were driving across the country from NY to California. It was summer time and the temp gage started reading a little high on a long highway stretch, so he pulled over onto the shoulder to take a look under the hood. He lifted the little hood forwards onto the prop-rod. The hinge point for that car's hood is at the front of the car, instead of at the windshield end of the engine bay, so it opens forward instead of backward like most cars. As he was looking around for possible leaks, a big old tractor-trailer zoomed by in the right lane at full speed. The hood flipped all the way over in the gush of wind from the truck, and my crazy-mad Italian brother-in-law went running, screaming, and cursing down the highway on foot like a lunatic, chasing the rapidly disappearing truck while my sister sat laughing hysterically in the car waiting for him. . . I'm pretty sure though that she made certain not to still be laughing by the time he walked all the way back to his heavily damaged car. Not funny for him!

 

More info on same topic

 

Good share right there! Great post with useful picture.
And I like your avatar: Mean people DO suck. . . but I don't often let them disturb me. Armchair warriors are real loud and brave when they're anonymous online. Most of them wouldn't make a peep in real life.

 

On my previous car I had a prop rod that had two settings one normal and one for servicing which had a separate hole that allow for better access during maintenance. For someone that is a DIYer, I'd take prop rod all day over struts.

 

That's where Honda has it over Toyota.........The Service Hole As this thread is unfolding or unravelling one of my hood struts is failing. Just waiting for a broomstick to appear in a dumpster at work....PS price Help! struts at your parts store or Amazoon. I'm still battling with Rock over a KYB front strut rattling after 10 miles. KYB used to be the best, never ever had an issue when I was wrenching. Monroes were leaking in 6 months.

 

Hey. . . jus throwin this out there:
If anyone wants to change over from their Hood-Struts setup to the Prop-Rod setup on their 8th-Gen Camry, (you know, because the Prop-Rod is so much better) I'll trade you my extra Prop-Rod setup for your Hood-Struts setup. We'll each pay our own shipping. But something tells me that I'm not gonna find a single troll who wants to trade. . .

 

The prop rod on my 10th gen Corolla has a knob and groove that won't come loose if you simply lift it straight up. You have to unhook it. My 8th generation Corolla has a bit of a hook that works the same way. My old '72 Dodge Colt never had it's prop rod slip loose and neither did my 1980 Challenger's. Same for my '86 Corolla and "86 Camry. That's a long record of nothing bad happening. I don't need to change them for someone else's ghost story disaster. If you really need followers so bad, take up sheep herding.

 

2022 LE with prop rod. I had never thought about the wind causing the rod to come loose. I tried an experiment to see how secure the rod was by shaking the hood up and down and the rod stayed in place. To release it, the end must be slid in it's mount. I check under the hood weekly and the prop rod is fine with me.

 

Thanks, I just placed my order for the above listed set of parts. Delivered to my house for $125.28 😁

 

You're welcome Mike! With the stupid prop-rod totally gone and no longer in the way of anything, the car just seems so much more correct and. . . premium feeling.
Here's a GREAT video to help you through the easy process: How to add hood support struts to your 2018-2023 Toyota Camry DIY
Good luck, and let us know how you make out

 

My factory hood struts failed and couldn't keep the hood up. Local Toyota dealership wanted $380 CAD for them and they were back-ordered indefinitely.

Ended up getting this set of Amazon for $60 CAD.

A-Premium Front Hood Lift Supports Gas Spring Strut Compatible with Toyota Camry 2018 2019 2020 2021 Driver and Passenger Side 2-PC Set, Lift Supports - Amazon Canada

A-Premium Front Hood Lift Supports Gas Spring Strut Compatible with Toyota Camry 2018 2019 2020 2021 Driver and Passenger Side 2-PC Set in Lift Supports.

www.amazon.ca

Five minute install and they're much stronger than the factory ones.

 

I notice you are in Canada. . . It seems that the hood struts are always more prone to failure in the cold. Used to be married to a girl in Chicoutimi Quebec, and I think the cold temps may cause the o-rings to get stiff.

 

My research says that the struts should be installed with the rod down and the tube up. This keeps the oil around the rod end of the tube lubricating the seal. It also helps to cushion the travel when extending. I'm not sure which way Toyota installs them, but it could explain the short life.

 

So the thicker side up? I did mine as per OEM: thick side down.

 

Correct. The thicker side is the hollow tube that's filled with oil and pressurized. The rod moves in and out of the tube. There is a seal on the tube where the rod exits. F you point the rod down the seal has oil against it. The other way around puts the oil at the closed end of the tube away from the seal. It does get some oil when the hood is closed, since the whole assembly is horizontal, but the oil moves away as soon as you open the hood. With the rod down it's submerged the whole time.
Maybe they put them that way so they fail more quickly.

 

OK this is great advice! Thanks and I'll swap them this afternoon!

EDIT: I just googled Camry hood struts and every image shows the thick part down!