2011 prius = the rattle machine

My 2012 is quiet as well... passengers have commented on the lack of noise... maybe the service department can take a ride with you on roads you travel on to try to duplicate it but cars seem to be like kids going to the doctor for some ailment - once in the office they "appear" healthy!

 

I chalk it up to harsh tires (inflated hard in many cases) and a forum with a distinct lack of things to complain about.
I get my daily dose of schadenfreude from tdiclub.com.
I'm very happy with my Prius and its comfort and noise level.

 

Only rattle I have is the glove box door, but i'm too lazy to fool with it. Can't hear it with the music on anyway.

 

77k on mine and it rattles like a can of beans in winter months. I am thinking of pulling pieces and trimming with felt tape and putting quilt batting in the door panels to lessen the vibration from the speakers.

 

I did this for each door, but unless you have a heated garage, it could be difficult this time of year:

 

I have a couple of rattles, but when I am on the highway road noise seems to lessen the rattle distractions.

 

Well the red bomber comes up on it's 4th year with us at the end of February, with over 54k miles and no rattles noted. Time to get new tires, too. May go with something rated better (smoother) riding than the original Yokohamas.

Did that Dynamat make a big difference phoenixgreg?

 

Yes, the Dynamat in the doors made a big difference in road noise thru the doors. It's not an easy job though. It also made the OEM speakers sound better, IMO.

 

Only time I notice rattling is in the winter months, but then again all my other cars in the past did the same thing. It gets me from point A to point B so I don't feel the need to worry about a little rattle every now and then.

 

Higher tire pressures=more rattles.

 

also cold and dry weather = more rattles

 

I have 35k on my 2013 and have no rattles. Quietest car I have ever owned.

 

Just bought a used 2011 IV 63k miles and there is all kind of noise inside. Tire pressure as recommended 35/33 F/R. For now, If anyone has solution for:
-creaking noise by driver side door when car takes off or slow down.
-popping noise on center storage on rough roads. Rest elbow lightly on it will stop the noise. It's not the rotating plate underneath, nor cup holder.
-noise from the rear area but I can't tell exactly where they are from.

Please advise.
Thx

 

But it all seriousness, I'm not sure there's much that can be done. I find the that the only thing that rattles in my car is the cup holder. I usually just tolerate it otherwise I maybe would shove something around the openings. Or maybe even look into removing the lid.

 

I have had multiple rattles with my 2010 IV which I bought new. The center storage unit can easily be removed and the internals stuffed with rags or other material. There is a plastic piece directly in front of the removable cup holder. The piece can be pried off to reveal a bolt. There are 4 other bolts under the felt at the bottom of the storage area. Once the bolts are removed, the whole unit can be slid back to pill it out of it's clips.

As far as the rear noise, check to see if the spoiler is loose. Here is a link to a thread that includes a post by me about my spoiler rattling and videos about how to access it:

Is there any wiggle in the rear spoiler? | PriusChat

As far as your creaking by drivers side door, the fender clips may be loose. This was common in the 2010 and 2011 Prius. Toyota revised the clips and issued a technical service bulletin about it. Unfortunately it is an expensive repair out of warranty. Here is a link to a discussion about it:

Right fender area RPM rattle/buzz - FIXED | PriusChat

One suggestion that I have is to have someone else drive the car while you sit in the passenger and rear seats. That may help you locate the rattles better. Rattles can sound like they come from different places depending on where you are sitting.

 

Thank you so much for the replies and sorry for the late response. I was expecting instant notification but didn't get any. I have to check my setting. Anyway, I spent the couple of hours on Saturday fixing the noise at the center storage and the bridge. Had to add foam everywhere. That console design was a big flaw with a lot of loose panels. Last night I figured out the loose left fender clips. It was strange that even I tightened them down, they still made noise as I pushed in the area just before the mirror. I added rubber (from bike's tube) pieces in between the 2 metal surfaces before bolting down. This morning drive was much better. Now I can use the links above to fix the rear fenders and the spoiler. Thx again your help.

Edit: I didn't get to the clips area as mentioned in the tsb. The bolt (by the windshield) that I tightened with rubber piece in between did stop the noise for one day but it came back, though not as loud and not consistent as before. I want to get to defective clips but I am a little concerned about removing the fixed window.

 

Cars rattle after they have been wrecked, suspension altered can make things rattle a lot more than usual.
I had a rattle in mine in the back, I just found it, the piece of black trim bellow the rear bumper part of it was broken, I removed it until I can buy a new one.
What kind of tires are you running, how much air in them, what kind of roads, bad roads can take their toll on a car over time.
If your car is a rattle trap, it probably was wrecked before.
Silicone does wanders.

 

The po put on some cheap tires and I have them at recommended 35/33. My car is much quieter when the interior is warmed up.

Rattles that most went away when interior is warmed are usually caused by cheap hard plastic and the way they are put together, some cars are worst than others but all expected. The Prius is probably one of the worst based of my observation after looking at the interior: the quality of the plastic and the design of the assembly. People who park their cars in the garage generally have less complaints. All my cars I have/had when brand new, I always identified the rattles and fixed with foam tape or grease.

For those who wants to reduce road noise, instead of using expensive MLV, I used Acoustical-Barrier-DB34 for $30 from HD (sorry, no link allowed yet). If you are lazy, cut them to shape of your mats and place under the mats. It does help noticeably. It only weighs .75lb/sf vs. 1lb/sf for MLV but it's cheap and easy to work with. It's not as effective as MLV but on the good side, it's lighter, lol.... To reduce road noise, floor treatment is much more effective than doors if you have to choose one but doing both is of course better.

 

I did that:
http://priuschat.com/threads/dynamat-2-0.116408/

 

Wow! dynamat the whole floor ? That must have taken a lot of time and labor. When I did my brand new Outback, I just removed all the seats, lifted up the carpet and slide the barrier layers underneath. I didn't even use the decoupler since the Outback's carpet was pretty heavy duty already. I also did the tiles on the doors (just 50% of the surface) and the car became so quiet at high way speed. I only did it because I found the cheap stuff from HD with very good rating. I won' do the Prius since it's going to be my son's car and he always drives with loud music. Thx for the link.