Ticking noise from passenger rear tire area

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by fwbrc51, Aug 15, 2011.

  1. fwbrc51

    fwbrc51 Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2010
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    Location:
    Fort Walton Beach / NW Florida
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    2008 - <40k miles.

    drove the car a good 50 miles yesterday with no problems. today as i was leaving the house, i kept hearing a ticking noise that was progressive in frequency the faster i drove it. i only made it to the end of my street, went back home to drive off in my gas guzzler for my 50mile round trip today.

    at first i though there was something stuck in the tire, but the pitch was too high and sounded mechanical instead of the sound of a self tapping screw stuck in the tire.

    are the bearings in the passenger rear already bad???
     
    #1 fwbrc51, Aug 15, 2011
  2. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2010
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    Location:
    Grand Forks,B.C. Canada
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Just jack it up and hand rotate and listen. Could be a loose brake part or it may be the bearing? Hal
     
    #2 Hal W, Aug 15, 2011
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2010
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    Location:
    Santa Fe, NM
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Bearings should not be bad, but the passenger side always receives more abuse than the driver. With the parking brake off, jack up the passenger rear wheel. Grasp the tread with both hands, at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, and try to wiggle it. There should be no play whatsoever. Next, spin the wheel and see if there is any axial runout. The wheel should spin true. If you have made it this far and there is still noise, then the next step is to remove the wheel, pull the drum off, and dump out the brake dust. Have a tall kitchen garbage bag on hand for that step and limit your exposure to the dust. Do NOT use compressed air! Look for any sign of malfeasance inside the drum -- usually a leaking wheel cylinder. If all looks good and you still have noise when you turn the hub, then the bearing is bad.
     
    #3 seilerts, Aug 15, 2011
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