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Intermittent vibration from rear at low speeds.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by nivekonbass, Sep 9, 2024.

  1. nivekonbass

    nivekonbass Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2022
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    Location:
    illinois
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hi guys

    I have a 13 Prius two with 140k miles. I'm dealing with a weird intermittent problem that happens about 30-45 minutes of driving at low speeds. But not consistently at all.

    I was driving in traffic on a smooth road today and suddenly I felt a vibration/noise, from the rear. It would increase or decrease depending on speed. I thought something was dragging so I pulled over to take a look under the car. Everything looked fine.

    I started driving again and the sound and vibration was gone. And it didn't come back for 70 miles of driving after. This is the third time I've heard this and each time it was under 30 mph and went away. It happens for like 5 seconds then once I slow down to look at it, it's gone.

    What do you guys think this could be? Could this be a wheel bearing? A stuck caliper guide pin? A stuck caliper? Brake actuator failing?

    I do feel a very very subtle slight vibration when I'm driving but it's not violent or loud enough for me to be able to decipher if that's road noise/ bumps or if it's a wheel bearing.

    I took my rear wheels off and honestly it didn't feel like a lot of play.


    I replaced the rear brake pads about 10k miles ago and I am fairly certain I aligned the dimple on the caliper properly with the OEM pads I put in. I'm not sure how good the caliper grease that I used is, it's the CRC brand. I've also checked my tire pressure and all is good there.

    Have any of you guys run into this before?

    I'm at my wits end with this car. I drive Uber and I'm constantly needing to fix little stupid problems.
     
    #1 nivekonbass, Sep 9, 2024
  2. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
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    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Rotate front tires to
    The back and vise verse. If the vibration noise comes
    To the front, it has
    To be the tires and or balance weights.
     
    #2 Grit, Sep 9, 2024
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Just be aware you're not going to stop fixing the silly little problems on this model especially with the driving that you're doing The driving that you're doing if you're a dedicated UberFlex driver etc You should make 300k and then the car will die If you're not so dedicated and you kind of do this just a little bit then you may not make that mileage for the generation 3 doing this kind of work it needs to be in the wind 6 days a week if you're doing four or five then maybe you won't see the 300 I've put a couple of generation 3s down well before 250k and have friends that are doing so pretty regularly can't really blame the car you know it's 10:12 years old coming up you know so there's always that but yeah rotate the tires around and play all those games if it's really very not noticeable I wouldn't worry about it a whole lot You've got other worries probably coming down the pipeline I don't say this in jest at all
     
    #3 Tombukt2, Sep 10, 2024
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Try spinning rear wheels (off the ground), just to verify caliper piston is oriented correctly.

    While it’s up (and safely supported) check the rear suspension. How’s the rust?

    Maybe wheel bearings going? Compare sides when spinning wheels.
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Sep 10, 2024
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