We got our P.Prime in mid-May (1st of Dec today). I’m debating whether my impression that the motor-generator sound is getting a little bit louder over time, is real or imagined. That, especially when I “step on it.” Not much difference in sound, best I can tell, during normal driving. Again, maybe not much difference in reality and I’m just imagining it... Any impressions along those lines from you other P.Prime drivers, especially if you, like me, mostly drive in EV mode? iPhone ? Pro
wow, i didn't know austin got that hot. hard for me to compare, my pip starts getting louder when temps drop to the 40's and 50's.
It has gotten down to that range for a couple short stints. I can’t immediately recall how that affected the sound, of at all. iPhone ? Pro
How many miles? The reason I ask is I changed my transaxle oil and tested it at 2K and 7K. I would love to see oil with more service miles. Bob Wilson
Reasonable question. The answer is “a little over 10K (miles).” However, the sound I might be hearing as slightly louder is very specifically that of the motors winding up, especially from a stand-still. It’s that very specific, pitched, “whoop” sound, and not a noisy, grinding-like sound. iPhone ? Pro
Thanks, I'm looking for 15-25k service miles. As for lubrication noise, they come in many different styles and flavors. Bob Wilson
“Looking for” meaning getting close to 15-25K miles on your P.Prime? Again, I’m not completely sure whether it’s getting louder or not. It’s not impossible that I might just be “stepping on the gas” (“bad boy!”) a little less conservatively than before. Not sure... iPad ? Pro
Temperature will affect the production of sounds, and how they travel. Most people can tell the difference between the pouring of cold and hot water for instance.
i can also hear my motor (motors?) winding up when i take off from standstill. i never noticed before, now it makes me wonder if something changed. or if it was always there and i just noticed recently... does everyones prime make the motor noise? kinda like a very quiet whooshy whistle ! conditions: ice/hybrid warmed up, from a dead stop, slow/normal acceleration in EV or HV, (i happen to be in power mode most of the time) not hard enough in hv mode to engage ICE. no ice, no hvac, no stereo. like just momentarily makes the faint electric whistle noise during initial grunt for electric motor to go from zero mph, zero rpm, to forward motion.
With the audio system off, I can hear the motor whirls and whooshes. My car is 2 months old (well, build date was Oct but I picked it up 2 months ago)
My wife thinks that ours sounds like a police siren off in the distance. I keep telling her that it sounds to me like a high-power electric motor. I guess that's because it is. It makes the same sound regenerating.
What people are describing as the motors winding up is probably the speaker that alerts pedestrians that your vehicle is moving. You can clearly hear it if you inch forward in a garage.
I would suggest that you go to your local Toyota dealer and test drive a new one. You should know in five minutes if it makes the same sounds as yours. Of course that is assuming that your Toyota dealer has one in stock and if so, they have learned to charge them before a test drive.
Not even close in my case. That pedestrian tone is only at very low speed and it is a different sound and very hard to hear in the cabin with the windows up. The sound I'm talking about is much louder and is at all speeds and sounds like an electric motor because it is an electric motor. The volume varies with the rate of acceleration or deceleration.
Jerry is right. If you want to hear motors making noise winding up or down, just watch/listen to Formula E racing on FIA Formula E.
