My 2010 Prius just turned 11,000 miles. Recently with colder weather it has become a rattle machine. Last winter it did not rattle at all. I then rode in my friends 2007 with 115,000 miles on it and it was still solid and tight on the same cold weather day. Did the Gen II have better build quality with fewer rattles?
Don't know but my 2nd gen w/~58K miles has some rattles now and I had previously attempted to get some of them fixed before. I don't recall if they were successfully and the current ones that new ones that cropped up later. Get yours fixed now, while still under warranty.
Now that the weather is colder the rattles are ever where! I hate to bring it in and have the dealership mess with it because when it is warmer some rattles go away. MY 01 Saturn with 180,000 miles has better interior build quality. I never thought a Toyota would have so many rattles!
There are easy fixes to cure your rattletrap. Just do a quick search in this forum. You'll be happy you did.
Where can I find these technical service bulletins so that I can bring them to my dealer. I looked on Edmunds but there no TSB on rattle, all mechanical items for the 2010. Is there a site?
David, You sound like my brother. He says if he gets terminal cancer he is going to turn up the car radio up full blast and put down the driver sunshade-visor so he does not see or hear the crash as he drives his car, at high speed, into the biggest oak tree he can find ! Jimmy-Joe @ Jimmy's Popped-Corn Barber Shop
In today's world of cost cutting and trying to stay afloat, I would think that the rattles are due to clips used to hold pieces together rather than the more solid solution of screws. The advantage of course is that plastic clips are cheaper but they're also lighter (esp. if you add them all up throughout the car) than screws.
Actually the BIG advantage to clips over screws is the dumb owners can't figure out how to remove them or break them. If they can't remove them the dealer gets more business, if they break them the parts department gets more business. Hey, it's good for the economy! Seriously though, it looks better to see no screws (and as I recall the 50s and 60s cars had their share of screws falling out and causing rattles). So they (plastic clips) look better, are lighter, faster to install, and probably stay in place longer. And if you know what you're doing it's easier to remove panels and work on the car.
Much easier once you figure them out. I'll take clips for trim pieces any day. I've had my front door panels off 3 or 4 times and they still snap in place like new.
Really? I can disassemble half of the dashboard without any tools and I think only the upper glovebox requires a phillips and there's only one screw. There are plenty of screws (there's two in each door panel to hold the large interior plastic piece in place in addition to the many clips) but it's up to the manufacturer to hide the screws rather than leave them exposed like they are on the Yaris and previous iterations of the Corolla (and I suppose the Gen 1 and 2 Prius).
