Prius Doing a Sort of Wobbling,,,,

This is usually down to a fault within a tyre. Can you feel if this "wobbble" is coming from the front or the rear? Changing wheels from front to rear may help confirm which tyre is the culprit. The problem can be difficult to see on the outside of the tyre but if the offending wheel is spun a slight buckle in the tread can sometimes be seen.

John (Britprius)

 

+1 for the tire. I had something very similar happen to me with my previous car. I thought it was something major broken in the front end, and often described it to people as wobbling. it was the front left tire, it was a wort in

 

I see that you are in NY and I am not sure if you have had a recent snow fall. I live in Minnesota and just after a snow fall of greater than say 4" of snow I experience the same vibration after I have driven my morning commute to work and the vibration usually happens on my commute home. The cause of this is that snow gets impacted around the inside of the wheels and gets my wheels out of balance. So, 3-4 times a year I have to go into a manual car wash bay and spray each wheel to remove the ice/snow. I have been able to alleviate some of the issue by removing the tire trim rings from each wheel. This year so far has been snowy and I have yet to have to clean my wheels in the car wash bay. One more benefit that my tire guy appreciates since i removed my wheel trim rings is that I do not get copious amounts of road dust (i travel 10-15 miles of gravel road a day) caked on my wheels also.

 

Yep thats a good one. And before you get new tires its a good idea to clean the back side of the rims as for some reason these rims like to get little clumps of road debris crap attached to the inside of the rim which even small amounts will throw off wheel balance. I find clumps all the time. For me may just be a Florida hot pieces of asphalt thing.

To the OP you seem to have incurred some road damage either to a tire or a suspension component. Or hit a pothole and didn't notice and that may have damaged a wheel bearing. Wheel bearing failure is very common on a G2. Many posts including myself have lost a wb at low mileage.

Just bring the car to a big Tire store as they usually offer free front end inspection. Not necessary for dealer work as the front end of a G2 is nothing special and is just like any other modern car. It is safety related so chop chop.

 

Did you feel the bang as well as hear it? If you hit a pothole large enough and caused the tire to slam the top of the wheel well, it could be that loud... I agree with edthefox, you should definitely get the front end inspected in case you blew a strut or have other damage that will only get more dangerous and expensive.

 

Have your car put up on a lift. Check each tire for a bulge on the tread where it meets the road. Your symptoms to me sounds like a slipped belt in the tire. That is what other's are referring to when they say you have a problem with a tire. That will cause the vibrations you describe. Now the sound is another story altogether and I have no suggestion for it.

It sounds like you have more than one problem. But I would address the tires first. Then after that is resolved, look for a possible reason as to what might have caused the sound. I have heard strange noises on the road too, but when looking at the vehicle never found the cause of it.

But I would get all four tires checked soon. Just because two of them are fairly new means nothing at this point. A tire can fail at any time, so don't discount the new ones. Get all four looked at.

Best of luck to you and "Welcome to Prius Chat"!

Ron (dorunron)

 

While your having your tires/wheels checked, have them look at the tie rod ends, wheel bearings, brakes and other suspension components.

 

yes have all that stuff checked, but unless you trust the shop, don't let em replace anything unless they can show you whats wrong with it.

your wobble is 99% a tire problem. hopefully its one of the old ones that you already know need to be replaced.

the noise could have been anything, if they don't find a problem aside from the tire, forget about it.

 

Tires go bad over time. It doesn't take a pot hole to make a belt slip. Just saying from experience.

Best of luck to you.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Have you checked the pressures lately........ever ??

Also, are you familiar with the symptoms of the engine running rough ?
Might not be a tire problem at all.

 

Tires are easy to check. Just sit down in front of the tire and with both hands feel around the tread area for any bulges or bumps.

 

Tire pressure is low on one or more, or the TPMS sensor in one or more wheels is bad.

 

OR......the TPMS was set to monitor a higher pressure and the shop left them lower than that.
A quick check with a tire gauge might tell the story......OR

You should go back to whoever did your tires and let them straighten it out.
Having the owner's manual handy might help if it is not a Toyota dealer.

 

the sensors are easy to break if you're not careful when changing the tires. set the pressures at 40 and see if it will reset. if it won't reset, they may have broken a sensor when the tires were mounted.