I have a 2012 and just passed 14,500 miles. I was driving home recently and heard a flapping type noise on the drivers side and thought something was stuck in my undercarriage or even in my tire and the wind was causing it to flap. I pulled over to check, saw nothing, so I kept driving home and stopped into my local Toyota and they didn't see anything loose or out of place. We went on a test drive and of course, there was no noise. Later that night as I was driving, it started in the middle of my drive, I parked and when I drove again, no noise and I haven't heard it since; this was 3 days ago. I thought it was just at highway speeds, but I've heard it at different speeds. Has anyone experienced this or have any clue what it could be? Any input would be much appreciate!
Most times when I hear a car flapping down the road, I look over and see they have a loose/broken under-panel. Have you scraped over anything lately that could have torn anything loose? Had anything repaired where they might not have put all the screws back in the panel?
Haven't scraped/run into anything and no repairs. Toyota said there was nothing loose and that nothing was displaced or different from the right side. I'll keep an eye and ear out since it's been a few days since I last heard it.
Check your tyres as a screw can often cause a tapping noise as you drive. Otherwise have you checked that all the windows are fully wound up? I know I have sometimes knocked the rear window switch when winding the front window down. The rear window then looks fully up but is actually down a couple mm's and makes a fluttering noise. If it's neither of those and you've checked the underneath of your car, I'm at a loss.
I had an issue with an occasional flapping sound. It turned out to be the rubber strip on the drivers side of the roof. I carefully pressed it back down, I felt it snap in. Has not been a problem since. Good luck.
Thinking about this. Do you wear your seat belt? If not, have you checked the metal part of the seat belt isn't gently rattling against the plastic between the seat and side of the car? Long shot I know, but they do rattle like that and it annoys me (on the passenger side as I wear my seat belt).
That makes two of us. My solution: craft store felt with adhesive backing. Cut out and apply a rectangle-sized piece that covers the area where the buckle hits the pillar and BAM! no more noise.
I have similar issue since ....yesterday: more pronounced flapping -more like a knock at every rotation. The higher speed, the faster/louder knock @ driver front wheel. Prius s only @ 12K miles. We have had quite salty winter in NYC! Does my wheel bearing need to be looked at? Thanks! P.S. I do not see anything stuck in the tread or any bulging on sidewall. P.P.S. I just realized I posted in a C thread, my bad
A wheel shouldnt knock so get it looked at if you're not confident enough to investigate it yourself. It's rare but you don't want the wheel falling off or the tyre blowing out on you! Generally I'd check to see if any nail or screw or even a stone is stuck in the tread. Rotate all the tyres carefully. Sometimes it can be very obvious, other times almost impossible to see unless you're looking close.
Hi Leeshy. I know this is an old thread but just wondering whether you experienced this issue again or got to the bottom of it as I just experienced something virtually identical in newly acquired 2010 prius. Heard a banging/flappain noise from the right side car but got out and saw nothing trapped or in contact with the wheel and when started the vehicle it was gone. I have just sent the vehicle in to the mechanic to look at wheel arch liners and possibly clip them. Thanks
Same issue and fix for me. It always happens after a car wash too. The high pressure water stream pops out the rubber strip and if I forget to press it back down it flaps in the wind.
I had a similar noise coming from the front drivers side. I'd pulled into a gravel driveway (garage sale) and then back onto a 65 MPH thoroughfare. The source of the noise turned out to be black duct tape that was sticking quite well to the center of the tread. It was invisible from most angles.
