Driving down the road my Prius sounds like it has all terrain swamp/mud tires as if on an off road truck. -as I speed up the noise gets londer -shift to neutral while driving/moving does not alter sound at all -Veering right noise quiets -Does not click like typical CV joint when turning either way -Vibrates a bit as well. CV boots are good, no tears no grease. No play in the front end on either wheels- I jacked up and pulled on both, no play at all. Thoughts anyone??
Change those CV shafts. Make sure you spray the rubber boots with 303 Protectant. That will make them last for almost ever. The main reason for CV joint failure is rubber boot failure which allows dirt to get into the joint and causes extreme wear rather quickly. Keep those boots fresh and you will never have to replace a CV shaft ever again. Do the same with your tires. I spray my boots and tires 4 times a year...every three months. Have had tires with over 175,000 miles on them that look new and ride new. Never have had to replace a CV shaft since spraying them with 303 Protectant. I do not work for the folks who make 303 or make any money off of the sales of 303....just passing along helpful information.
I am thinking the way this sounds (no pun) is that the tires are cupped because they haven't been rotated every 5,000 miles.
good point, swap tires around and see if there is a change in sound you can play with pressures as well
LEFTY2000, assuming its not some cupped or poorly wearing tires I would suggest jacking up the wheels and checking the wheel bearings by spinning the wheels. I have a cheap stethoscope that I use, but if the bearings are bad enough you will hear it without a scope. I happen to have a rack at home so its a little easier for me. Both rear bearings on my Prius failed around 200K miles and were making noise. I am now at 250K miles and I think one of the fronts may be starting to fail as I have a noise that starts at about 45mph and gets worse. So far I can't duplicate the noise on my rack by spinning the wheels by hand. I just purchased a set of "Chassis Ears" and are going to use them to check the noise further. Good luck and let us know how you fare. The rears are very easy to change, I think the hardest part is figuring out how to disconnect the connector for the speed sensor, and dealing with corrosion since I see you are in Illinois.
You can get some generic direction here, but have a qualified Mechanic look at things before you start shot-gunning parts at it.
