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"groaning" sound & feel when slightly turning the wheel at speed

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by ghosteh, Dec 3, 2016.

  1. ghosteh

    ghosteh Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2010
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    The title pretty much describes the issue. It's noticeable most at about 35-50 mph, and occurs when you give the wheel even the slightest correction, such as in normal driving due to drifting a bit in the lane. The noise can be describes as a "groaning", almost like the sound of the power steering pump, but it's the feedback that is (to me) more noticeable... although still slight.

    I don't think this is the power steering because when the car is on/running, you can turn the wheel from lock-to-lock and there's nothing wrong. It's only when rolling at city speeds that this becomes noticeable. Besides, don't these cars have electric steering, not power/hydraulic?

    I'm going to go drive it around a little and see if I can define where the problem is before I take it to the dealership for diagnosis. I never have luck with getting them to duplicate the issue once I leave a car with a dealer. Typical, right? Oh, and the car is a 2012 with 69K miles, I bought it new, it's never been in an accident or hit anything, and I've been very good at keeping up with the maintenance.

    Any ideas would be appreciated.
     
    #1 ghosteh, Dec 3, 2016
  2. ghosteh

    ghosteh Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2010
    146
    57
    0
    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    You guys are useless. I suspect it's a CV joint.
     
    #2 ghosteh, Dec 8, 2016
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,671
    39,221
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Hey, not totally: I'm capable of making porridge, gonna get right on it in a minute. We've got about 6~8" of snow of snow here this morning (semi-rare), and of course I actually have to drive somewhere.

    Are you hearing a pulsing sound, in particular when making turn, basically in time with the drive shaft revolutions? That could be CV joints. Swing by dealership, and see if you can get a mechanic to come along on a test drive, should be under warranty still?

    It is kinda weird, that no one responded sooner, btw.
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Dec 10, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2016
  4. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

    Joined:
    May 22, 2011
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    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    Limited
    Sorry about the slow response. I just saw your post this morning. Some other things to check, wheel lug nuts properly torqued, tires properly inflated, could be a wheel bearing although the mileage is rather low, brake disks shiny (no rust), back to tires, no tread separation. Wheel alignment? Could be something with the electric power steering based on the feedback through the steering wheel. I don't know enough about it to guess further.
     
    #4 AzWxGuy, Dec 10, 2016
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