Prius Disappoinment - Road/Wind noise

I consider my car to be very quite for a small car, maybe there is something wrong with yours that the dealer needs to check out. Maybe you should test drive another one and see if it is the same?

TED

 

My 2010 Prius is much quieter than the Honda CR-V it replaced.

 

My vehicle had the aftermarket sound-proofing spray added (not my choice, it had it already, wasn't paying for it) and it still can be loud, depending on road conditions. It doesn't bother me as much, as I've driven some really loud vehicles in my time. I am tempted if I ever get more money than sense to investigate dynamat (I believe that's the name of the product) that professional stereo places use to sound-proof and eliminate sound vibration rattle in door panels and such - see if it helps.

I've just come to accept the idea that the Prius will never be BMW or Mercedes quiet. A lot of cars are simply louder than others. Sorry...

 

On the contrary, I find this car to be remarkably quiet. Coming from a 09 Forester, its night and day.

Opinion is always slanted from your perspective. My Subaru was quite loud - in all things.

 

You have to shout to someone in the rear whilst driving at 60 mph? In that case there is something wrong with your car or your hearing.

The tire noise on the Prius is a little louder than with similar sized cars but only a little and it's to do with the low rolling resistance tires. Stick those same tires on another car and their ride will be slightly louder too, but enough for them to have to shout at rear passengers? No way.

You've also not mentioned the fact that the Prius is much much quieter than a normal car or even a Lexus when crawling in heavy traffic due to the fact the engine will be completely off most of the time.

Whilst on the subject of economical cars, the Prius excels in fuel economy and to get a similar sized economical car you'd need to have a diesel and that would be MUCH louder - even the modern quieter ones.

I know this is going to sound harsh, but perhaps next time you take a longer test drive and don't make assumptions before purchasing a new car.

 

For a 50 MPG machine I think ours is decent in terms of quietness. It is a compact economy car after all. I'm sure there are 14 year old Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, Inifiniti and Lincohlns that are all quieter than the Prius.

As for yours, can you elaborate on the noise? Is it a road noise? wind noise? vibration noise?

Craig

 

Your experience is not abnormal, but your expectations are. You need to stick with luxury cars.

Tom

 

It is not normal - not even close if you are indeed shouting. Did you get a carfax on it before buying - my guess is that the previous owner had something bad happen to it - that is not a problem with the Prius, but rather you bought a stinker of a used car - could happen to any make and model.

 

On the road at all speeds, I find '10 Prius IV quieter than my previous 08 Honda Accord EXL V6. Honda's are notorious for their lack of soundproofing, but I was quite surprised how quiet the Prius is in comparison.

 

Curious too, did you test drive this vehicle prior to purchasing?

Craig

 

We've had our 2010 III since April, done quite a bit of driving on the interstates at speeds well over 60 and don't have this problem at all. On long rides we listen to audio books and there is no problem hearing them, don't need to crank it way up or anything like that.

Did you let your dealer know about that problem? Maybe the rear windows aren't fitted right or something (I have no idea if that can happen, just trying to think of something).

 

I agree with s1njin. My Subaru Forester had a considerable amount of road noise compared to my Prius.

But...compared to our '03 BMW 3 Series, it does have more noise. But, hey we didn't pay 35K for the Prius so we try to keep things in perspective. Now OTOH, that damn dash rattle is driving me crazy!

 

You bought a used car.
Apparently you did not perform due diligence with regard to checking on the vehicle's condition. Sounds vaguely like the car may have been in an accident.hwell:

In any case, I strongly suggest that you go to a Toyota dealer and:
1) test drive a new 2010 Prius and compare for noise levels,
2) take your complaint to the dealer and see what they can figure.

Also, why don't you go back to the seller and try to find out a little more about the history of this vehicle.

 

I think the best advice is to see if you could simply test drive another one. That's the only way you are really going to tell if the experience yourself is simply within the parameters of "normal" 2010 Prius road noise or not.

The Prius is designed for aerodynamics and for gas mileage. So it's light and shaped like a wedge. And not primarily designed for quietness. But is yours above the norm for the model? Best way is to compare and see.....

To be honest. I drive a 2010 Honda Fit. It's a subcompact, even smaller than a Prius, with a full plastic dash. I have no dashboard squeaks, and while road noise is not luxury car quiet, it's well within acceptable levels IMO...so I don't buy the contention that it's simply something that HAS to be that way with a hatchback or "economy" car...and at $22,000-$30,000+ I don't consider The Prius and economy car. It should be able to at least match the quietness of a Honda Fit or Ford Focus. If not, it IS something Toyota needs to improve.

 

my prius is a bit noisier than our hycam, and i would love a lexus version if one was ever available. but i wouldn't trade mpg's for soundproofing. i want MORE mpg's! otherwise, i'd already be driving a lexus. i agree with test driving another tho, maybe something is wrong with yours. i wonder if anyone does decible testing in different cars under controlled conditions?

 

The interior noise level in my Prius is the loudest of any car I've owned--period. If you're comparing it to a BMW you're going to be disappointed. To save weight, little to no noise insulation, plus all hatchbacks are inherently noisey.

Having said that, I have no problem holding conversations at normal speaking volume at any speed, so you may have an issue with suspension alignment, or worse, frame alignment due to an accident.

 

I think there are differences in class of cars. But my Honda Fit is not any louder than my Accord was....

I have no idea if the amount of noise the OP is experiencing is above the norm for the model. Which is why I recommend he test drive another and compare.

But given the number of posts about Prius dash rattles and squeaks? Plus road noise? I don't think owners or Toyota should just be given a pass. Plastic, or lighter or hatchback, there is no reason why a well built automobile should not be relatively quiet, at any price range, in any configuration.

 

I feel like I'm in a luxury sedan !!

As stated earlier, there is no comparison to my traded in Forester. The other car in the family is a Sienna Minivan (2007). It started out quiet, but some years on her + 2 child seats, the children, a stroller, and some other stuff banging around and you get the picture.

I sit in my Prius and go 'Ahhhhhhhhhh'.

 

Same here, I would go as far as to say it is the one thing that spoils an otherwise perfect car for me.
The noise on mine is road noise, there's no wind noise, the pitch of the noise changes with road surface. On a perfectly smooth piece of tarmac it is perfectly quiet (so I don't think it's tyres), but on most other surfaces there is a constant low level thrum. It's as if the high frequency movements of the suspension are being transferred to the body, like if the shockers are hard or the shock mounts are too hard (backed up by the fact that it is worse in cold weather) and it is more pronounced from the front suspension. I've tried different tyre pressures, higher and lower, and it doesn't seem to make any difference.