could it be a wheel bearing? Tires?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by GasSavings, Nov 22, 2024.

  1. GasSavings

    GasSavings New Member

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    hey everyone, how are you? I've got a 2010 Prius (not sure of the model, it's got a nice stereo, no nav, alloy wheels...how do I tell which one it is?

    The fuel economy is pretty good at 5.4L/100 and that's driving it faster than I should!

    There's a sound in the back, a je je je sound coming from the rear. It *sounds* like a metal no metal wheel bearing. The car's got 89k km on it, not a lot. Prob the orginal tires, maybe they're flat spotted?
    I'm trying to find the manufacturer date on the tires but can't seem to locate it. They're Michelin 195/65x15's, still decent tread but with a treadwear of 820, these things are hard and last forever!

    Thanks for reading!
     
  2. Buzzhead

    Buzzhead Non-Interference w/ devel of pre-Warp civs

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    Rotate the tires front to back. If the noise moves, it's the tires.
     
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  3. GasSavings

    GasSavings New Member

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    Okay, I'll try that, thank you. The tires are March 7, 2017, ~7.5 years old.

    How long do wheel bearings normally last on this car? It sat around a lot, not being driven if that matters?
     
  4. Frontporch

    Frontporch Member

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    That's getting older, although some tires sit on a shelf for a year or two after the manuf date. if that's the install date, probably time to give them the once over looking at tread depth and sidewall condition. I usually go by mileage and look for uneven wear.

    Just to rule out the brakes, any change in sound when brakes are applied. I know that is kind of a trick question as there is regenerative breaking and friction breaks. I would suggest a more agressive braking so that the mechanical brakes are applied.
     
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  5. GasSavings

    GasSavings New Member

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    OK, I took it out for another test drive and I tried applying the brakes And it doesn’t seem to change the noise I just noticed it a bit less as I’m slowing down.

    I recorded a file on my phone, which I could try uploading here and if you turned up your volume to max, you might hear the thing And the noise I’m talking about
     
  6. GasSavings

    GasSavings New Member

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    OK, you guys are going to think I’m crazy. You really can’t hear the noise in this file but here you go.

    For some reason the file dialogue box won’t come up when I click upload file… it was working. I’ll post this reboot and try it again
     
  7. Buzzhead

    Buzzhead Non-Interference w/ devel of pre-Warp civs

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    We had the right rear on the 2010 go out at 125k miles (some noise and abnormal tire wear). The rest still going strong at 135k.
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    You’ll need to upload to YouTube, then post a link here.