My prius used to insulate me really well from the noise of the wheels on the road at high speeds etc. but lately after more than 150k miles it is not as quiet a ride as it used to be. Is there anything affordable that can be done to restore the quiet-ness it had during its earlier days?
Most likely reason for increased cabin noise overtime is tires as they do get louder as they age . Check the pressure first and if not, likely you'll have a quieter ride whenever you'll have them replaced.
What tires are you using? How many miles? Do you rotate the tires? Code: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m-o3PbJ9Pw Is Your Car Too Loud? Start With These Simple Steps To Find Out Why The Car Care Nut Nov 23, 2022 .
Don't forget wheel bearings. They're silent when new and sound like WWII bombers once aged, and it changes so slowly everyone forgets. They aren't cheap to change, but that's where the real quiet is. ..okay the fronts aren't cheap to change, and you only need one loud one to make the whole car sound awful.
Howdy, I was told that's my problem, driver-side front bearing. Did you have yours changed at a dealership or another shop, and cost please? Thanks, Tim
Our Prius is (slightly) too young to have suffered any wheel bearing failures. I have had bearing failures and replacement experiences with other cars. The Prius uses exactly the same type of bearings as most other medium-sized Asian cars. Bog-standard parts same as any Accord, Outback, Altima or Corolla. For this reason I suggest using an ordinary neighborhood mechanic. They should be able to save you a lot vs. the dealer. Again relating our pre-Prius cars- I've paid $200 to have a rear bearing replaced and about $400 for a front as they involve more work. The most important thing to work out in a bearing replacement is correctly identifying which of the four are making all of the howling noise. These things tend to be ventriloquists. There is a specific tool known as "Chassis Ears" which has an excellent track record for helping mechanics correctly spot which bearing to replace. I would ask to make certain your shop had one and used it for your diagnosis- nothing worse than the fingerpointing after replacing the wrong one. Good luck!
Thank you very much. I had a shop look at it and he said he thought it was the one I mentioned, but the shop wouldn't do it due to the regenerative braking aspect of the wheel. Thanks for the tip on the "chassis ears." I hope to find another shop I can trust to do it. I'm new to the local area. God bless you all.
Probably $300 is the low end with cheap wheel bearings (hubs) that may go out in a year. Good oem or Timkens can easily last 8-12 years but may be $500 each installed. The bearings are the same as a gas only car, only a uneducated shop would think regen made them different. They will have an abs sensor built in like any modern car. A hybrid simply makes more use of that wheel speed data.
One of my Prius are in New York City right now. $300 cash, a five-star review, And I taught him how to replace the hybrid packs for people
