I have a 2013 Prius. I was noticing a high pitch coming that I could hear when I had the driver side window down and the sound was reflecting against things I was driving by. It was strange because it didn't change pitch at different speeds, and it would be there most of the time regardless of whether I was speeding up or slowing down. And regardless of whether I was using the brakes or not. I've been told this is the sound of the inverter. I also started noticing that high pitch sound at about the same time that I had noticed a clanging sound coming from the front wheels when I hit a bump, or sometimes braked as if something was loose. This was in the first couple months of having the car. At the 5K check up I reported this and the dealer looked at it and said they found some suspension elements a little loose. The clanging sound was a little better but it was still there after they did that. And the inverter sound was definitely still there. At the 10K checkup I again reported the clanging sound. This time they said that I needed a new shim kit for the front brakes. They ordered it and I finally got around to getting it worked on yesterday. The clanging sound seems to be gone, AND I am noticing the high pitch inverter sound is much quieter. It is still there a little but I am happy that it is less loud. What do the brake shims have to do with the high pitch sound?
If it is produced by the Inverter assembly, nothing to do. All Prius Inverters do make that type of High Pitch noise, it is the nature of the electronics.
Are you distinguishing the inverter whine from the pedestrian warning noise maker (VPNS), a.k.a. the 'spaceship noise'? As you age, your hearing cuts off more and more of the high pitched noises, bringing more tranquility. I can no longer hear the obnoxious horizontal rescan of CRT TVs. Dad couldn't find his pickup keys last week because he can no longer hear the whining key-in-ignition warning buzzer.
Prius makes all kinds of strange sounds. Park in a garage and power it down, then stand back for a few minutes and listen to the car go thru it's routines It's alive Mike
I actually call mine "The Spaceship" for those reasons. It's amazing shutting down this vehicle and climbing out. As you might recover bits and bobs from the vehicle before you walk away, you can hear a whole series of noises one after the other as the onboard computer systems of your Prius "road going spaceship" continues to carry out its preprogrammed shut down sequence. Indeed I am reminded of THAT scene in Star Wars Episode V, after the Millenium Falcon has landed on the Landing Pad at Bespin Cloud City and makes a wide range of noises, venting gases, and other systems audibly shutting down even as the crew disembarked! It's at times like this that I realise what an amazing amount of work went into the Prius - literally ANY Prius. Yup......t'is indeed very like a spaceship iPad ? HD
