Intermittent crackling noise

My car has an intermittent crackling noise when changing gears from park to reverse, park to drive, and vice versa. It also starts squeaking (coming from the engine) when backing up. The crackling noise almost sounds like sparks.

Does everyone have that issue in their generation 2 Prius? I was told by the service adviser that it was the brakes. I think it sounds like a bad issue, although I was told it was completely normal, and maybe they can clean something. Is this pretty commonplace?

I find it annoying, because it sounds like something is off, even though it isn't. It has gotten worse into a jolting occasionally when going into reverse or drive. It almost jolts, although the car doesn't move forwards or backwards. It is strange.

 

Koolingit, thanks. That definitely didn't seem normal to me either. Also, I did forget to mention that sometimes the Prius even abnormally shakes as I am going backwards. Usually this happens more after the engine runs for a while. That motor mount sounds like a good call. I am going to see which dealers nearby are good. I was surprised that the service adviser told me that the squealing coming from the engine sounded completely normal to her!

Do you think I should take it ASAP? I tried taking it in but the service adviser didn't seem to think it was an issue, and said that their hybrid techs were way backed up (usually they do say that). Maybe Toyota did not hire many hybrid techs, as every time they say they are really backed up.

No codes have popped up surprisingly, although a few codes popped up a couple of weeks ago and Toyota told me it was the relay voltages, and they said everything is ok. The lights went back out. It was the Yellow (( )), VSC, ABS, BRAKE.

 

Hey nh70, You have a really good point. The Prius is CVT. I mistakenly call them "gears" sometimes, even though there are none. Yes, the sound is going into and out of park, although there are sometimes other strange things that happen. Sometimes my car does strange shuddering when stopped (either in electric only or with gas motor on). Was told this is probably just the A/C pump working. (It is intermittent also.) Sometimes going in reverse the car actually does an odd shaking. I hear the brakes occasionally squeal (they did fix the actuator so that may be just strange brakes), although they didn't squeal before. Also the car squeals (from engine) when going in reverse (the noise I was told was normal).

Thank you for your input.

 

Hey Tom,

Thanks for your input. So these two sounds are normal then in the Prius? I only started to notice the crackling sound and the squeaking sound as of recent.

I see what you are saying about hearing sparks sometimes. It just sounds like the clicking or spark noise comes from the engine in front, and not from the back of the car.

 

Thanks for the input. I will look into that. It would seem to explain the random shaking when backing up and the occasional shuddering when stopped. I suppose it could be the oil, although I did have it done by the Toyota dealership last time so they should have done the oil right (it is their brand of car after all). Or the shuddering could just be one of those things that the Prius does every once in a while for everyone, but I am not sure.

 

Thank you, nh7o.

That is helpful. I was debating between the two seeing the various responses. That is helpful. I thought something was not right. I will try to figure it out and update you guys on the information I get.

I appreciate the help. Thanks again.

 

The dealer told me the squealing noise is completely normal, it is the brakes. So I will have to try doing more braking in neutral, as some on Prius Chat have said will clean the brakes....

They tell me the clicking and crackling sound is normal, although it is only in park to reverse, park to drive, reverse to park, and drive to park. They tell me you have to get used to these noises.

As for the shuddering when stopped, they tried to tell me it was the gas engine coming on and off, even though I obviously realize it's not that. I told them I totally know that it's different than that. Sometimes just electric is on and does it. Or gas is on and it does it. They told me it's the brake actuator doing stuff. It was replaced within the last month although I guess it just does weird things.

The jolting when going into reverse or drive I just didn't end up asking them about. I'm not sure if it would have done it those times although I didn't try. The hybrid technician is pretty rude and always treats me as if I don't know what I am talking about. He also told me that all the codes go in the computer when everything goes off.....even though he was the one who found that the brake actuator was bad and there were no codes.

I am not sure if I really like that dealership, and I am starting to question if the hybrid technicians know what they are talking about. If some code does go wrong after the warranty, and they ask for all this work, I am going to tell them that I have been bringing this specific issue to them for a long time. I just question it because when I ask them questions, they just act like I am being ridiculous and do not even know the normal sounds of the car.

Although I trust their diagnosis, (I think), I do not appreciate the customer service. When acting like the customer is done, they are really hurting their own reputation. I think Toyota should realize this with the technicians they hire. Sure, the technicians should be trained to do the work, although the customer service has to be at least decent. That is my opinion at least. I am thinking about going to another dealership instead of dealing with these people (i.e., the technician).

 

Thanks Tom,

I get what you're saying with these issues. Although, sometimes I just don't know if the technicians understand what to do. They said that the codes pull out everything. I do realize the codes help diagnose and figure out what is wrong. He told me codes would go off every time something is wrong with the car, even though before he had to replace the brake actuator when no codes were showing up.

I accept the diagnosis, although I do not accept their customer service. The technician acted like I was not familiar at all with any of the Prius operations. I told him about a shuddering when the car was stopped, and he told me it was the gas engine turning on or off. This was not the case at all, and I realize that the turning on and off of the gas engine is completely normal. When the gas engine was completely off, the engine shudders sometimes when stopped. I heard this could be due to overfilled oil, although I am not worried about it, really.

 

Chandler, AZ. And the service advisers at the one I went to are pretty good, but the hybrid technician was rude.

 

I have a new question. My Prius, when on for 30+ minutes, jolts (almost jerks) when going into park or drive. I have never noticed it before although it almost feels similar to the transmission was slipping on the Nissan Maxima I drove. Ironically, I know the Prius is a CVT, so this might actually be another issue. I was not able to demonstrate this to the dealer, although I didn't really realize the car had not been on long enough.

I was guessing the transaxle, or possibly suspension. It just does not seem like the car should jolt like that when switching between drive and reverse. (Park I don't think matters in this case).

My solution is maybe to just let it get worse until "codes" pop up. Do you know if the "jolting"/"slipping" is normal in a Prius?

 

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the input. This is definitely a valid concern. However, I did some test runs. I made sure to press firmly on the brakes and it still jolts intermittently when going into reverse or drive. I even tried pressing really hard on the brake and the same jolting happen. Other times it will be seamless and work perfectly. Do you know what this might be?

 

How do you know it is a broken motor mount? Sometimes the car will "jolt" almost when going into drive or reverse. As the Prius has no gears, I realize this could not be the transaxle. The car shakes/jolts when going into reverse/drive intermittently