My Prius v's rear suspension "booms" at slow speeds (between, say, 10 and 40 KM/h). At very low and high speeds it's fine, but when driving around town on poor road surfaces the rear suspension makes a very noticeable booming sound as it hits bumps. It's not a clonk as if something were loose, but a boom as the rear of the car seems to shudder as it tries to deal with the impact of the bump. Has anyone else experienced this?
my guess is that it's the low rolling ristant tires "pinging" like basket balls. The suspension is rather "vertical" in design, as opposed to a trailing arm, or independent setup - so road ripples and things like that tend to make the rear axle "hop" or jump over little bumps as opposed to rolling over them... unfortunately - unless you reconfigured the suspension - it's not going to go away.
I have changed jobs and the new complex in which I work has rumble strips across the road in numerous places. I have driven three other cars over these strip, and they all take them nicely. The other cars make noise but very little movement. When the rear of my Prius v goes over the strips the car shudders violently. The front suspension does okay with them, but the rear suspension deals with them so badly that the rearview mirror and headliner shakes.
A sway bar for the back might help a bit, at the cost of some flexibility in the suspension. But it'll help keep one wheel from hopping more than the other. On that subject, try hitting the obstacle at a slight angle instead of straight on.
Are you comparing it to other station wagons that have to have their suspensions able to handle the potential added weight in the rear?
I have a Prius "v" 2. I have not experienced the "booming" that the OP describes. I go over rail road crossings at 30mph with smooth suspension response. I have experienced no evidence of "wheel hop" since the time that I owned a 1965 Mustang convertible with rear wheel drive and leaf springs. I do wish that I had kept the Mustang. I sold it in 1975 for $850.
