2011 prius = the rattle machine

Welcome to the club! All a part of an environmentally aware car.

 

sorry to hear the elevens are not improving. i don't know what they are thinking in toyota city. no matter how much of a beating they take in the public eye, they just don't seem to get it.

 

That is weird. I had rented 2010 Prius on 9 different occasions and each car was different. I never noticed a pronounced rattle in any of them. I did hear tiny rattle sound last time I drove one, but only when hitting a bump. All the rental cars had a few hundred to several thousand miles on them.

And the cars felt pretty good overall.

I ought to rent 3rd gen Prius again sometime and see how it feels now that I've been driving a new Accord for several months.

 

I was thinking about the rattling as I drove home one night. I don't recall hearing many or even any rattles on my last car, a Mitsubishi Lancer. However, there was so much more road noise and engine noise. Being that the prius is so damn quiet, are we noticing small rattles even more than we would on other cars where minor rattles are drowned out by the engine and other noises?

 

well, there are no rattles on my 08. and it's pretty darned quiet.

 

Is the rattling really bad on some of them? When it's cold, mine creaks, but it's just an occasional thing that seems to go away after a few minutes of driving.

 

Have been driving my 2010, 3 days a week communting, spending over 3 hours in it during the course of the day. The only rattle I have encountered was due to a metal water bottle in the cup holder. No problems at all so far.

 

The rattles in my 2010 have been caused by my stuff, and solved by me. I thought the later 2010s (and thus 2011s) largely had the problem solved.

Maybe this is a troll post?

 

is this a troll post or is your stuff rolling around loose in all the storage areas? tip, don leave marbles and bb's under the flying bridge.

 

My 2011 is rock solid. No rattles.

 

Mine's quiet as a church mouse. If the rattling is that bad, it should be no problem to demonstrate to the service manager, and have them fix it. Be persistent, make sure they know that you intend to keep bringing the car back again and again and again until they resolve the rattles.

My dealer worked on a used 08 RAV4 I had for about 40 hours total before resolving a rattle issue that I had. Finally resolved it perfectly. No charge. I was polite and patient, we worked together on it, and now we've become friends. It's nice because I get extra special treatment and a few freebies here and there.

Patience, understanding, and polite behaviour goes a long way ... not that you wouldn't be ... just sayin' ....

Good luck.

REV

 

I used to think the same thing until I realized they're all caused by loose stuff placed by me. For some reason, noises from loose stuff are 500% more pronounced in the Prius and I had a trunk full of crap in my previous car and never heard a thing!

 

No rattles--3 years. The driver side floor mat hasn't moved, either. And the brakes are perfect. Sorry to disappoint.

 

Seeing trolls everywhere ?

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/64314-dash-rattle-already.html

 

@OP, revhigh is right...take it to your dealer and get the dash pad/sky bridge console relined with felt. It might take them a day or two to finish it, but it's worth it. I did that and my dealer was able to eliminate 95% of rattles. I had one remaining "buzz" on the passenger's side I finally solved myself.

It's really odd that some G3s are quiet and some are "born to rattle". I know this because a friend's G3 is rattle-free. It must be related to which shift makes the car. Perhaps one shift does the felt lining at manufacture and other shifts don't. Just a theory and an opinion.

I'm sure those who have complained here about ticks, creaks and rattles have removed their stuff from compartments to be sure it's the car. Common sense would dictate...

 

I am truly sorry for those with rattles. I hate rattles, and nothing would discourage me more. Fortunately, my 2010 IV is virtually rattle free. I say "virtually" because only on one type of pavement do I hear a faint "buzz" in the dash. (34,000 miles)

Some time back this issue came up, and it seemed (totally unscientific poll) that most complaints came primarily from owners whose cars had been made at one specific assembly plant. Many, many responded, and there were almost no complaints from anyone whose Pri had been assembled at 2 or 3 of the other assembly plants. Mine being one .... fortunately.

 

I'm just not hung up on the rattles and road noise issues. But I am hung up on great MPG, technology and low-emissions.

I suppose it's a question of what your priorities are for a vehicle. If the rattle is the result of something broken, get it fixed. If the rattle is the result of fit and finish, use some foam padding. I read some great threads on PC showing very innovative fixes for certain rattles. In fact, someone wants to start a permanent thread devoted to rattles and fixes. Rattles and road noise are just bound to be heard in car with a high synthethic and plastic content, thin sheet metal. I imagine the Prius could be a lot more noisy if it had belts spinning around pulleys and bearings.

I only have 1 rattlle and it's a transfer of vibration across a frame's lateral support (under the windshield) that manifests itself as a harmonic distortion on the dash by the passenger's small side window. Someone on PC found a fix by stuffing rags into the frames rabbit holes, but I'm not going to fuss with mine since it only happens under very specific road/speed conditions.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

 

That was me and it really works, but it might not be for everyone to try. As Tom pointed out: in humid or rainy climates, maybe the rags would trap moisture and cause corrosion in the A frame. Perhaps Styrofoam pieces would work just as well.