Car squeaks when pushing it forward/backwards?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by marblekit, Oct 19, 2011.

  1. marblekit

    marblekit Junior Member

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    I have a 2005 Prius with 166,000 miles on it. I recently discovered a squeak when the car is parked and I move the car forward and backwards. The harder I push, the more it squeaks. I went to a mechanic who told me the struts were "bad" and needed replacement. I spend over $1000 to have all the struts replaced (front and rear). The squeak went away, but after only a week it has returned.

    I'm a bit frustrated that I may have spent $1000+ on unnecessary repairs that did not solve the squeak problem.

    Note that the car is in park and OFF when I am pushing the car forward and backward. It is also noticeable while in drive and reverse when going up or down slight inclines, but not on a flat surface.

    The noise is louder when I perform this procedure on the car after it has been driven around about 15 minutes or more. If less than that, I cannot produce the squeak pushing the car around..... :confused:

    Now I am thinking the transaxle is the source of the squeak. I bought the car used and had no maintenance records so I didn't know if the transxale fluid was ever changed so I had it changed recently. It was quite black coming out. Perhaps I have a transaxle squeak?

    The other possibility might be the axle itself squeaking? Anybody have a clue what this might be? Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!
     
    #1 marblekit, Oct 19, 2011
  2. northwichita

    northwichita .

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    I had annoying squeaks caused by the connection piece between the sway (anti-roll) bar and the front strut, the sway bar link.
    Moog Brand New Sway Bar Link Kit K80230 | eBay

    I isolated it by turning the wheel all the way one side, holding that link and pulling down on the car, very obvious when very close. The car is of course turned off when doing this.

    I doubt it very much your transaxle is the cause. My fluid was very dark at the first change as well, will soon do my third at 240k. Also, your struts were probably due for a change, helping handling etc.

    Also, be sure to go look up your car (vin number) at toyota.com to find out if the safety recall work has been done on it.\
    https://auth2.toyota.com/owners/SSCInfo-index.html#
     
    #2 northwichita, Oct 19, 2011
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    166K on the original struts, that is fair enough to have them replaced, whether or not it was the source of the squeak. You have not wasted your money, though it is frustrating to still have the problem.

    Have you isolated the noise to the front? Have you ever had the brakes serviced? In the rear, it could be dust in the brake drums or the HID headlight level sensor.
     
    #3 seilerts, Oct 19, 2011
  4. DonVentura

    DonVentura SoCal Prius Driver

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    Simply STOP pushing your car back and forth:)

    Problem solved !

    It could be the parking brake squeking?
     
    #4 DonVentura, Oct 19, 2011
  5. marblekit

    marblekit Junior Member

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    I hadn't noticed it until I had the windows down while parking in my garage. When I put the car into park, the car slowly went backwards due to the incline of the garage floor. That's when I heard it. I then wiggled around in my seat forward and backward to reproduce the sound. All this of course with the engine off and in park. I then turned the car off and it still made this sound.

    Interestingly, if I let the car "cool down", and I tried this later, it would not make that noise. So probably not the parking brake. If the noise was still there after cool down it might be easier to find.

    The car runs fine. No other unusual sounds (other than all the trim panels rattling when going over bumps) and I get about 47mpg just driving normally.

    I suppose I shouldn't be this concerned, but it is a car with high mileage and I want to make sure whatever it is won't haunt me down the road as something that was overlooked and could have been a minor fix now versus a major (costly) fix later.
     
    #5 marblekit, Oct 19, 2011
  6. hybrid101

    hybrid101 New Member

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    #6 hybrid101, Jul 19, 2018
  7. hybrid101

    hybrid101 New Member

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    I have the same problem its both struts and one of the engine mount.
    before you buy the mount open the hood and push the car front and back if the engine moves from its position with squeaks its ypur engine/motor mount.
     
    #7 hybrid101, Jul 19, 2018
  8. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    It is likely caused by worn lower control arm bushings that are separating from the metal sleeve. To verify this, spray a large amount of silicone spray onto the rearward bushing and see if the noise goes away or lessens.
     
    #8 The Critic, Jul 20, 2018
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  9. Deonte

    Deonte New Member

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    Did you ever find the issue ? I have a Camry with the same issues as you have described and I’m about 600 $ in on false repairs
     
    #9 Deonte, Sep 12, 2019
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