If you're used to the quietness of a Mercedes interior, the Prius will be a much different experience. I've been fortunate enough to own some fantastic cars (multiple Porsches & BMWs, Mercedes AMG, etc.) but the interior rattles & creaks of my Prius are in a league of their own, unfortunately. I knew full well that driving a Prius would be a compromise from what I've been used to, but decided to do it for the ecological reasons many do. Frankly, most of the driving experience has exceeded my expectations (a combination of low expectation setting, and great Toyota engineering in the Gen 3 Prius), but my biggest disappointment has been interior noises.
Huh. I thought there were more Eco plastics than that in the Prius! Oh well, am I right in thinking that they are lightweight plastics? I still think it has something to do with the way the dash piece is molded or installed. The past couple of days I have experienced lotsa noises, but I think it's from the ice and snow glazing the car right now. Seriously, my Prius is very quiet and the fit and finish seems as good as any Toyota I've owned, and far better than the Dodges and Fords I used to drive! Perhaps this noise issue is in part influenced by the kinds of cars we are used to? The Prius III is by far the most expensive and advanced vehicle I've ever bought, but many others seem too be coming from luxury cars where cabin quietness and details are very much a priority for their customers. I don't doubt that some Prius' come off the line with bad rattles, but how come so many of them end up in the hands of former luxury car enthusiasts? I say this with tongue planted in cheek, I'm just jealous!
Geesh, testy, testy. I actually appreciated your information. Judging from other responses I'm not the only one who thought there was a greater amount of Eco-plastics being used. No one if forcing you to read or respond to my posts, feel free to ignore them if you wish, but why bother with a unsolicitated personal attack? Posting your information was helpful. Thanks...I think...
You are comparing the interior of your Prius with pretty good cars... in my case, I have driven pretty nasty cars so far, including an old 82 beetle from my dad and other similar creatures but nothing, absolutely no car I have driven whatsoever, owned, from friends, or rented (probably more than 100 cars) have the level of interior noise of the 2010 Prius. It is ridiculous… it rattles even in the smoothest hwys...
I agree with you 100% since my previous car was a CTS. I love the ride of the prius but the rattling from the center dash is very annoying.
+1, the Prius is the most expensive car I've ever owned by a long shot and by far feels like the cheapest one.
I've noticed the same thing. If I press down on the center cup holder's cover the rattles (which seem to originate from the dash) stop. Yet it is still upsetting to have a guest in the car and while praising the wonderful technology of the Prius have to listen to constant rattles whenever the temperature falls below the upper fifties.
Tried the solutions.. nothing is working.. I'm just going to wait until my 10k servicing and complain again about the noises
this is one of the biggest issues scaring me away from the 2010. i disagree on quality tho, my 2004 and now, 2008, have had no quality issues whatsoever. and definatelyno rattles.
I have the same dash rattling on the driver's side. I also thought it comes from the speakers area but one day I opened the drivers windows while I was waiting for my wife. When she came I closed the window and started driving to car, and to my delight the rattling was gone! So the rattling might be caused by the window being shut not tight enough. However later the rattling comes and go. Sometimes I fully open and close the window and the rattling stays, sometimes it goes away. REALLY FRUSTRATING One more thing, if you keep your left knee touching the door while you are closing the window, you'll feel the door bulges into your knee a little bit when the window was fully closed. I suspect this might cause some sort of misallignment inside the door panel and thus causing the subtle intermitten rattling.
My 2008 corolla rattled from the lot when I bought it. My old 1999 camry didn't though. Neither does my moms 2007 highlander. Toyota is hit or miss in terms of quality. I can understand the corolla as it is a lower end car but I'd have expected the Prius to not have had excess rattling.
Bought my new Gen III Prius V today. Silent on all my test drives, after purchasing it I hadn't gone 100' before a rattle in the dash (seemingly behind the steering wheel or near the speaker) appeared. Not a good first impression. (Although perhaps it was just Halloween evil spirits mucking about...)
we've had 6 toyota's in the last 15 years. almost no quality issues. i don't think it's hit or miss, but this dash rattle is a definate issue and toyota should be trying to deal with it.
So far, it's the quietest car I've ever owned. I def plan that my next car will be a Toyota too. (a PHV Prius!)
3k miles and other than the rattles caused by stuff I put somewhere I hear none. Maybe my hearing aint what it used to be or Im lucky for a change.
i'm sure your hearing is fine. i doubt it's a majority of vehicles, but it seems to be the major complaint.
The Gen III's spring is so hard that the rear view mirror image is vibrating all the time when the car moves. Min dash is is not making any sound now but no for long with the super hard spring.
I have the rattle in my 2010 Gen III IV. Started on passenger side but now I hear it on the driver's side too. Took it in today and they said they did a multitude of tests and are now having the remove the dash. It will be a two day event. My husband said he would have put up with the rattle rather than have the dash pulled out but for $30,000, I'm not putting up with a rattle. Does anyone who has had this fixed know exactly what the cause of the rattle is or is it various causes?
When I first had my rattle on my day old Touring, I made a foam shimmy and shoved it in the gaps of plastic where the noise was coming from. Problem solved. No one does that anymore?lol.
