I am a first time Prius owner. Just picked up my 2010 Prius V on Friday. I am noticing when the vehicle is turned off and I open the driver door, there is a strange buzzing sound. The length of time the buzz sounds varies. Not sure if this is normal or not.
Well, it might not be related to the passenger door. I know the car makes various noises when the car is off. Sometimes, the brakes make noise, I believe the 2010 probably has the thermal coolant tank. If it does then you may be hearing the pump transfer hot coolant into the tank. (Speeds up the warming process of the emissions.)
None of the 2010s have the coolant storage thermos, so it can't be that. Most likely it is the brake accumulator pump, which generates pressure for the power brakes. Does it buzz for just a few seconds? Tom
Sitting in the car with power "Off". Lots of funny noises I never heard before. Even a "clunk" from under the hood. Prius is not just a car. Clearly it's a living, breathing thing, with a brain bigger than mine.
The brake accumulator pump runs at other times, but it is hard to hear over other noise. Stopped with the door open, it is easy to hear. Tom
My 2010 Prius V makes the same noise when I open the driver's door when the car has been off for a bit. It is the only time I hear this noise.
Tom, We're going to have to catalogue the 2010 sounds. They really to differ from my '07. The thermos pump sound is missing, but I think the accumulator is pretty similar. I've noticed a number of other sounds that continue on for some time after the car is turned off. Keep listening, and you may hear a few other noises! It might be a good idea if people listened to the various noises, identified them by location and time after Power off, and provided them in a posting. I'd like it to be used as a reference by all those who are worried about the car acting "up" or "weird" or "abnormal."
That's really interesting. Maybe it's some function that the car waits to perform when it's pretty certain that you won't be immediately restarting it. (Sorry for speaking anthropomorphically here.) This reminds me of the behavior with the ICE only starting on the G2 when the car has been on for longer than 10 seconds. So if you start the car, move it a few feet, and shut it off, the ICE never starts. There are several reasons why this is desirable. But suffice it to say the the car is programmed to not start the ICE in those situations where the car is on for only a few seconds. So maybe the same is true here, except that the car is waiting until you leave the vehicle, or that you probably won't be starting it immediately in the next few seconds (as evidenced by it only happening when the door is opened). Just a thought....
I can tell you that some similar sounds (if not the same) occur even if you remain in the car and have never opened the driver's door. At the same time, Toyota has used the driver's door opening as a key event after Power off, so your assumption is not without merit and is a pretty safe bet.
There is already a catalogue somewhere in the Owner's Manual. But I cannot re-locate it, other than the one indexed item on page 22. 608 pages, so much detail ...
