Mine is 2010 gen 3 Prius. I bought it brand new and about 6,500 miles. From the beginning, I sometimes hear a grinding and rattling sound coming from the right passenger side. It is not from plastics. It is mechanical sound. But the problem is it does not happen all the time. So we were hesitant to go to dealer because they will never find it. But it got more frequent with cold weather. Now, it does make rasping buzzing sound like a loose fan usually after I start a car in the morning and the heater is kicked in. I don't think it has something to do with fan because if I just run it itself in highspeed, you cannot hear it. It is just some bad combination that makes this sound that makes you go crazy. We are afraid that something big will happen after the warranty is over but as we expected the dealer said they do not hear the sound. The sound comes out in low accelerating and disappears in high accelerating. Now I really regret having bought Hybrid. It looks like the dealershop has no clue where to look at. I think the sound gets worse with the cold weather.
Hello and welcome aboard! Sorry you are having this issue. The dealers response is standard operating procedure. Continue to report the problem and make sure they document it. Take them for a test drive to see if you can reproduce it. Every vehicle make has its problems. Relax.
sounds like vibrating sheet metal that expands and contracts with temp. or, it could be plastic. perhaps a shroud or cover?
Is it near the right corner of the dash, nearest the pass side windshield wiper? If so, have someone else drive over a rough road and push down on the speaker and see if the noise goes away. It does for me. Now I just need to find a way to better hold down the speaker to keep it from rattling.
Could this be your problem? If you think it could be you should make a copy of the pdf and take it to the dealer, or at least give them the number. They are not familiar with all the TSBs.
That's a tough situation. You describe the sound using these adjectives, Grinding, Rattling, Mechanical, Rasping Buzzing. Pretty hard to narrow down anything with the unfortunate shot gun blast of symptoms and precise but intermittent environments inwhich it seems to be manifesting. You just need to keep working at it. I agree with the advice to continue to report it to the dealership and have them document in your vehicle history your complaint. I'd also carry something with me to record the sound if it manifests. If it's a problem of a mechanical nature, the bad/good news is it will probably get worse. Getting worse, means it should eventually give itself away. Have you had someone ride with you in the mornings and try the simple second set of ears test? Or the simple press everything in the vicinity while you safely drive, trying to see if anything suddenly affects the sound. You're really just stuck in a continue investigation mode. Since your biggest concern is getting this evaluated while you are still under warranty, I think establishing that you recognized this as a problem before your warranty expired, is wise. Good Luck.
I was having a similar issue with an Audi, temperature related as well. After the same response from the dealer, I took to carrying a small tape recorder on the passenger seat. Next time it happened, I hit record and was able to deliver a recording of the sound to the dealer. In my case it resulted in a new heater/AC blower motor and the problem solved.
Some dealers don't give a f*ck about recordings you may or may not make, though. Their by-the-book attitude will demand they themselves have to repeat it before anything can be hoped to be done under warranty.
I agree with Tumble Weed and would start with the mentioned engine mount TSB. I recently had it done with both our 2011 Prius Cars. While our noise was mild, it did address some cold weather vibration/rattle noise. I also had them redo both back brakes per another TSB and they replaced the back brake pads and shims, ect. Our's were making a slight noise when we back up or stopped.
That sounds similar to the issue I'm still having with my 2011 Prius. It's louder in cold weather and happens only at certain lower rpms. It sounds like a buzzing or rattle coming from front-right when you hit the gas just right. The noise gets smaller when the car is fully warmed up and I took it into the dealership once already but no luck. The technician said he had trouble hearing the sound. I'm thinking about leaving the car overnight when I take it in so it's louder when I show it from cold start. I tried to get them to fix this TSB but they said to bring it back when the noise is louder. Fender Rattle/Tick Noise (T-SB-0064-12) Some 2010 - 2011 model year Prius vehicles may exhibit a condition where there is a ticking/rattle type noise from the A-pillar area on either side of the vehicle. This noise has also been identified as a ticking/rattling type noise from the instrument panel. Revised upper fender retainer clips have been developed to address this condition.
Thank you. Looks like my issue is either one of these two. Fender Rattle/Tick Noise (T-SB-0064-12) Vibration from Engine after Cold Soak (T-SB-0204-11)
