TSB Issued for Buzzing rattle in dashboard

I have the same exact issue. My Prius was delivered to me in June 2016.

Another way to describe it, is that it sounds like a piece of plastic that resonates with the vibrations coming from the engine bay (that is, at specific rpms, not always). Especially under load. When it is cold, the sound is less noticeable or even absent. Once the engine is warm/ambient temperature is higher than 15C, the noise starts.
For me, btw, it is clearly coming from behind the steering wheel or the steering columns, not from the dashboard. And only from the driver's side, not the passenger too.
And it is driving me insane...

I have talked about it with the mechanic at the dealer 2 months ago (for another noise issue from my front left brake).
He said that if it is from the dashboard they need to dismount the whole thing. I don't want them to do that until it is clear what it is. I don't want other noises to come out of the operation because something else will go loose in the process.
But I will need to have them look into it when I need to take my car in for service at 30.000km end of this year, because it is extremely irritating! The only way not to hear it is to play music.

 

The lower heating duct outlets on the 2016 rub together and buzz. It sounds like it's coming front the dashboard, but it's actually below. There is a TSB out on this issue. Dealer just replaced mine under warranty.

Now on to the other buzz and rattles...

 

I have a buzz that happens every once in a while. I can't identify where in the dash it is coming from. I took it to the dealer and it didn't buzz during the test drive. After the first 25 miles of the trip home, it started to buzz.

It's not something that happens all the time and my stereo sound covers it just fine. I usually always play my stereo as a result.

 

What is the TSB number?
TSB have no effect in Europe, it has to be an official recall from Toyota Germany, but if I can see what it is and what needs to be changed maybe I can "fix" it or I can show it to the mechanic and they can do something in warranty.

 

In the U.S.A., it’s T-SB-0193-17, “Buzzing Noise From LH Side Under Dash,” issued March 2, 2017 and applicable to 2016 model year Prius cars with VINs earlier than JTDKARFU#G3523018 (Tsutsumi Line 2) or JTDKBRFU#G3017940 (Tsutsumi Line 1), but only if they have the buzzing noise. Toyota explains the cause: “The pin that secures the center section of the HVAC duct together may be loose.”

The countermeasure is to remove and replace the No. 1 Air Duct, part number 87211-47190, but the replacement part must have a packing serial number (printed in the lower-right corner of the Toyota Genuine Parts label) of 6F10 or later, corresponding to a date of June 10, 2016 or later. The bulletin does not give detailed work instructions, but instead refers to the Steering Column Assembly section of the Repair Manual. Some of the relevant steps appear there, but it’s not necessary to remove the steering wheel or steering column, just other parts of the lower instrument panel. The bulletin allows 0.5 labor hours for the whole job.

I’d noticed packing serial numbers on Toyota parts labels before, but this bulletin is the first place I’ve seen the coding scheme explained: the first digit is the last digit of the year, the second digit is the month (A–L for January–December), and the third and fourth digits are the day of the month. It’s interesting that Toyota would have the field rely on these dates, rather than just superseding the part with a new part number, but perhaps they weren’t planning to issue this bulletin when they made the parts change.

 

Wow! OK, there you go. Thank you electroguy.

So far after 5 days I'm not hearing the suspect sound any longer.

 

Is there a link to said TSB so I can look at it?

 

Unfortunately, it seems to be available only by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com right now; I didn’t see it on the NHTSA site or any of my other usual sources for free access to Toyota bulletins.

Other than a photo of the air duct with an arrow showing the location of the pin (between the two outlet vents closest to the bottom of the part), there’s not much more information in the bulletin than in my summary. I realize it might be helpful to have a copy of the bulletin itself when making a case for repair to a dealer outside the U.S., of course, but the copyright laws prevent my sharing it verbatim.

 

Thanks, I will have to have this done next service at the dealer. Thanks for posting the TSB!

 

I have the buzz in my 2017 and it's driving me. Hopefully there's a TSB for Canada.

 

Thanks in any case for the info and the TSB number. At least I can refer to it when I go for my next check. I also looked myself "down there" and honestly there are many flat plastic surfaces there that could start resonate and vibrate causing the sound to move up to the air vents or the steering column. At least good to know it is not "inside" the dashboard.
I might be wrong, and maybe now the cold air of the A/C somehow has an influence, but after simply touching around, it seems that the noise is reduced. I also saw that the OCBD connector is not super tight at all - but when there is the noise, if I touch it - it doesn't go away.
It is very difficult to troubleshoot something that can be heard only when driving above 35-40mph // 50-60km/h and when the engine is under a specific load/rpm....!

 

I touched near the OBD connector and the HVAC air tubes and somehow the noise is gone. At least for the time being, with high ambient temps (I.e. Low temp air coming from the A/C).
The OBD connector is also not rock solid secured, I wonder if itself or the holder can resonate and vibrate loudly according to the ICE rpms or I touched something else that did the trick.
I am glad it is gone and I know where to look now if it happens again
Thanks for the hints!

 

I had my dealer replace/fix the heater ducting outlet issue. See TSB. I just got home from 12 hours in my car and still several dashboard rattle/buzz driving me crazy. There is a panel below the steering wheel; it covers the ductIng outlets, knee airbag, and the OBD junction. It's kinda loose, and if I slide it forward push the plastic panels together the buzzing stops. For a while.

 

I've even removed the inspection / service panels on the ends of the dashboard. (Open the door the pull off the triangular shape panel) I looked and felt inside as far as I could. I think there are loose wires and plastic panels in there. These are likely to get worse over time wrt to making unwelcome noise. Not unlike a fly buzzing in your living room window that you can't seem to catch. Im almost ready to open a can of foam insulation and fill the whole inside, seal in place

 

yikes, this sounds exactly like 2010 all over again.

 

An early adopter of both 2010 and 2016 prius' I will respond. My 2010 had one very annoying buzz in the dashboard, I fixed it. My 2016 has multiple rattle and buzz. I love the car. I just want to pin down and eliminate every single noise and defect. Call me obsessed. Rest of you can thank me later.

 

I probably wouldn't attempt foam (it's not easy to remove and can create pressure damage as it expands, plus I'm not sure about fire safety).

But my old (was 26yr old at the time) VOLVO had quite a few pieces of duct-tape and double sided tape under the dashboard to quieten buzzes.

 

Foam comment - not serious, only joking.