The sound can be consistently reproduced when taking foot off brake when car is stopped and then braking hard enough to cause the car to stop suddenly. Basically going from about 3 miles an hour to zero. Sound seems to come from front driver side. I'm thinking the body of the car 'rocking' is somehow playing into this. I think this because I can hear the sound over some dips in a road surface while driving and also when the car has some 'roll' going around left turns. It is a noticeable rubbing noise - almost sounds like a seal barking at seaworld. The car has only 43,000 miles on it (an 08'). Haven't hit anything nasty in the road and was aligned and had new tires put on at 36000 miles. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I read most of the posts even slightly relevant. I'll check a few easy things tomorrow like strut oil leakage. Thanks in advance
I can imagine the sound you're hearing. When it happens do you feel anything through vibration? I would definitely check the undercarriage and struts as you mentioned.
I recorded the sound using my iphone. May need Itunes to play it. I basically let foot off brake and pressed fairly hard to stop car. You hear an initial sound as the car's motion wants to cause the vehicle to keep going even though the wheels are complete rest. Then you hear the sound a second time as the body returns to rest. Oddest thing was that a few seconds after at rest the sound occured twice again. I'm pretty sure that my foot didn't change pressure on the brake pedal so I don't think it was a brake noise that I was hearing at that point ???? Now that has me even more concerned. Thanks
I am not one of the Prius experts unfortunately, but hopefully you will get some nice advice soon. In the meantime, did you check the brake fluid level ? You might also want to get under your car and look for leaks. The sound you recorded makes me think of oscillating pressure. Good luck! Please keep us informed when the eventual diagnosis and repair is clear.
A sound recording. Nice. Unfortunately I am at a loss. For this situation, the best I can do is leave you with my 3 favorite words: Patrick, please advise.
Since you can demonstrate the sound, I suggest that you take your car to your local Toyota dealer and see what they can do for you. If the sound is coming from the LF side of the car, maybe it is the strut in that corner, maybe a loose suspension part, who knows.
Does this happen when you floor the brakes? And does it happen only when you're slowing down (even from 3 mph to a stop)? Or does it also when you're completely stopped and you floor the brake pedal?
check the splash guard behind the front bumper, after i got my car back from the body shop they didn't secure it properly, i felt a slight vibration going over bumps and sometimes turning. felt like it was coming from the front of the car. The other day the left side of the panel fell down and scraped on the highway on my way to work. I was able to rescrew it and its back to normal.
I checked the struts - no leakage, splash guard and other body parts seem out of the way of tires and not loose to touch road, checked brake fluid as suggest no problem there ? Thanks so far for all the suggestions
