Fix 2010/2011 Prius Rattles for 99 cents (Neat Version)

Sounds like a nice XMAS present for yourself, chassis braces

Mike

 

I have had my new 2011 Prius for about three weeks now, and i think I am experiencing the same kind of creaking sounds from the center console that the OP (Carzone) described. However, I can't place exactly where the source of the sounds are coming from...but it's definitely when the car is getting warmed up (the first few miles of my trip to and from work) and when I drive over small bumps/dips in the road. Being that I just got my car, I'm thinking I should mention this to my dealer the next time I am there (for my scheduled oil change) so they can fix this. Any other thoughts from the community?

 

Here's my 80 cent rattle fix: Buy a one yard remnant of felt. Mine was 80 cents. Remove the spare tire. Remove the white piece of Styrofoam found beneath the tire. Wrap the foam in felt. Replace the Styrofoam and tire. I didn't make it fancy and I didn't use any glue, tape or staples, which could cause problems down the road. Definitely killed the rear hatch squeak. I also put the Ikea dots on the hatch and under my license plate. I'm not sure if the felt on the hatch made a difference, but the license plate rattle is gone.

Next, I'll felt line the tool tray which sits atop the tire, and let you know how it goes.

 

The best find was putting the felt dots under the license plate, but the spare tire squeaked as well.

 

Rattles...


Do you want to see some rattle places/fixes on our rattle machine?

Have a look at this

 

Hey, show the pictures. I will be easier to access the right place. I got rattles from rear side. It is freaking dizzy on my head.

 

OK, so I fixed the bridge rattle with the rubber backing from a mousepad by taking apart the bridge with instructions from this site and that is good. Now, I have a squeak/creak that I have been putting up with for around a year and it comes and goes and I asked the dealer and of course they could not hear it so they lubed the hatch latch and called it good, but it was still there. It would only happen when the car was tweaked by going in or out of a driveway or turning in an intersection where the pavement/asphalt had a joint and was not level. I finally got serious about finding it and discovered I could easily reproduce it by backing at an angle onto my lawn where there is a small incline if I put only 1 tire on the grass. I opened the hatch and it still squeaked, took out the tonneau cover, still squeaked, took the mats and plastic floor of the hatch area out, still squeaked, took out the jack and tools assembly, still squeaked, took out the spare tire, still squeaked, had my son climb in the trunk sitting in the spare tire cavity, still squeaked but he thought it was coming from the passenger side rear door so I opened the door, still squeaked, then I laid the passenger side rear seat down, AND, squeak gone! It was the latch that holds the passenger side of the rear seat up. I looked at the latch mechanism with the seat down and it has plastic and metal components. I shot some white lithium grease in there, put the seat back up, tested again, and NO squeak!

Question (rhetorical of course) - why do I have to do this to a car that developed the squeak at less than 2 years old? Did all of the money go into the drive train, which is an amazing feat of engineering, and Toyota scrimped everywhere else?

I bet I am not the only one with this particular squeak and hope others benefit from this!

 

So far, my 2012 Prius Four has only a few rattles on occasion in the middle of the dash in front of the instrument display. Since this car has been in production for over ten years, one would think that Toyota would engineer fixes to the problems.

A friend of mine worked at a Toyota plant as a Quality Engineer. He said Toyota starts out with additional padding in cars when the model is new and then removes padding in certain areas based on customer complaints or dealer repair costs. A $0.50 part over 100,000 cars adds to the bottom line.

SO, if you don't complain about the rattles and add cost to Toyota under warranty for troubleshooting and repairs, they will continue to build the most cost effective automobiles.

 

Sorry to hear that some of the 2012s STILL have this problem. I have taken apart my dash and even removed the main cluster to find all the squeaks, ticks and rattle sounds. The cluster itself is made of 2 dissimilar plastics, and if slightly flexed, creaks and ticks excessively. My solution was to take the back off made of "white" plastic and spray the intersecting areas with silicon lubricant. After that, no more noise! The "binnacle" viewing opening in the dash is comprised of several sections that are screwed together only visible when the dash plate is removed from the car. Each section can rub against the neighboring assembly again creating squeaks, ticks and rattles. The best solution is to line each sub-assembly where it joins the next component with felt tape reducing the potential noises to zero in any weather conditions.

Have you noticed when it gets hot out or during very humid times, the noises go away? Anyway, if I ever go back into my dash, I will photograph all of these sub-assemblies and the felt tape solution.

 

I've noticed the rattle sounds when going over rough road surfaces and bumps. At first, I thought it was the air vents and have moved them in different positions. Since I've only had a car for a month, the ambient temperatures have varied from 40 degrees F to 80 degrees F, and can't discern a difference. Rattles drive me insane, so I will work on fixing them. Thanks for the tips and offer to provide pictures. The Prius has too many hard plastic parts!

I do enjoy the GreenEdge JBL stereo and just turn up the volume.

 

Good solution! I find it embarrassing though when my passengers pick up on the rattles too. Yes, Prius has too many hard plastic components and assemblies that "stab-lock" together without any felt between them. I had hoped by the 12's, Toyota would have solved that problem.

BTW, there is an elaborate central air vent assembly that connects to the underside of the dash-plate. It can cause ticks and rattles too.

 

Any chance you can upload the pictures again? None of them work anymore.

 

Reading this thread is discouraging, because (after test-driving the smaller "C" and hearing the highway-speed wind noise) I was thinking: 'Well, maybe I'll buy a new 2012 Liftback instead; the ride is supposed to be quieter, comes w. SmartKey & heated mirrors as standard-equipment...' and now I learn Toyota still hasn't told their engineers to solve the rattles problem with strategic padding--whatever is required--and be done with that issue. (It's so short-sighted...sales would skyrocket if they solved this issue.)

Anyway, my question: Is there anyone whose dealer actually fixed their rattle problem(s) under warranty, i.e. at no charge? (I ask because I found a local dealer's ad in my apt. building's lobby saying: "Squeaks & Leaks/ You name it we check it for you at no cost!/ Toyota vehicles only." Notice: "check it" for free....that's nice.) I'm an over-60 fella who'd rather not pay $26k+ for a new car and then have to fix the rattles myself or pay ...pay ...pay.

 

what do you mean by wing area?

 

I think he is referring to the rear spoiler. I have wedged some thick felt under mine as well which stopped a rattle. Be careful not to put too much material underneath it or you might pop the rivets out. Use just enough to stop it from rattling.

 

i know this is a 4 year old thread, but anyone still got the pictures. I would like to do them on my 2014.
thanks

 

My annoying rattle, which I thought was the glove compartment lid or latch, turns out to be the a loose junction between the flying butress (that's attached to the dash) and the rest of the center console (that's attached to the floor). Anybody know a way to pop the plastic lid off that thing non-destructively and tighten them together? Or I might try wedging something into the gap between parts.