Strange Humming Noise from Driver's side

couldn't hear the buzzing, are you sure it's not the brake accumulator?

 

The vibrating noise I hear in the clips is exactly what I hear coming from under the driver side dash. I don't hear it much this winter because im guessing with the heater going more things are warmer down there. I asked the dealer to look into it at my last service but as I expected they couldnt reproduce it, sadly I dont think they really tried very hard, the appointment was downgraded from a full second service to just an oil change.
The conditions I get it to reproduce are when the engine is running and at around half throttle and at cruising, goes away while accelerating. It can get rather loud and intrusive.
I plan on trying what earlier posters in this thread have tried.

 

One of the benefits of getting old and going hard-o-hearing is I don't hear anything in either clip.

 

glad to hear it, thanks.

 

I've just started hearing the same 'buzzing' or mid-frequency 'rattling' noise on mine! I can hear it on your videos and it sounds the same.

I'm based in the UK, Excel model, since October 2016.

It is intermittent at the moment, unfortunately. Seems to be coming from the central vents on mine.

Your post has been helpful in confirming I wasn't going mad!

Please post any details you might have on the parts used in the repair.

 

I couldn't hear the buzz in your clip either. But I also had the same buzzing problem in my 2016. As others have said, it's actually white plastic heating ducts under the dash where they blow throu two square cutouts in the lower plastic panel. It sounds like it's coming from the upper dash, I know. I solved the problem by rolling up pieces of cotton toweling and wedged between the ducts and the panel. The noise stopped. Btw, I found the the issue on both driver and passenger side.

 

I can hear the buzz in your clips. The closest sound that I can compare it to is "the flapping sound made by the wings of a fly trapped between the window pane and a window shade". I'm going to listen to my gen4 Two on my commute home tonight to see if I have it too.

 

I can hear it because i have that issue and know what it is. It is in fact the white plastic air vent. The air vent under the dash, drivers side, is composed of 2 pieces that clipped together to make one. The tightness of the 2 halves is not tight enough and it allows them to rattle against each other. You can confirm this by placing your foot against the vent when the issue happens and this will provide enough resistance to the 2 halves to prevent the rattling. Ive just been too lazy but squeezing the 2 halves together and putting some duct tape across it should hold it just fine. Or Toyota could replace it with a vent that has a stronger clip on it and will prevent the 2 halves from rattling against each other.

 

Just as a public service, the above could also be expressed as:

The outlet forks into two ducts

(Had to look that one up.)

 

Thank goodness for that. I thought it was a posh swear word!

 

That's it, exactly... A fly in the window, buzzing desperately for a few seconds, stop, nothing for . . . Then buzzing again . . . Etc . . .

 

Did you read post #31 in this thread? The answer and, maybe the solution lies there.

 

Didn't see the post, slow internet, slower owner.

thanks Elt..... Duct tape, or super glue, to the rescue.

 

You might try hanging a sheet with the words printed on it... ...since your Prius obviously doesnt know the words!!!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I have this exact same issue. I brought twice into Rochester, MN dealer for 6-8 hours total of my time and they can't replicate it. Plus they won't fix it unless they can replicate it. So I tried to contact corporate Toyota and just got passed around with no resolution either. I provided both the videos and fix description yet they refuse to fix it unless they can replicate it. Needless to say, I will plan to try to fix myself and in the future I will stick with Hondas as my experiences with them have been FAR BETTER.

 

Toyota make good cars, but the US dealer network generally leaves much to be desired. Toyota is succeeding in the US in spite of their dealer network, not because of it.