What I don't like about the 2016 Prius

Wald kit? I bought this car for commute not for car show, not perfect but good enough for me

 

As much as there is an inner boy racer somewhere inside me, gets deeper inside me as I get older but there nonetheless. I could never do that to the Prius. ( comical )

LG-H901 ?

 

Neither would I. I brought up the Wald kit specifically for the light pieces and only for the light pieces, nothing else.

I actually thought of fabricating something similar until I saw these. I still might, IF I ever go with the Prius by then. But there will more competing options by then this design screw up could bite Toyota in a couple of years or so.

 

Coast Cruiser, I received in the mail the service ticket for the repair my favorite Toyota dealership did for the buzzing noise.
It says: "Buzzing noise in left of dash in corner near A Pillar and windshield during normal driving.
Reason: Air duct not insulated.
Solution: Insulated Air duct"
Someone else on these boards had that issue. Hope they see this.

 

Thanks Jim. I've been very lucky, I guess. No buzzing, no rattles, no vibrations...

(Now, about that tire noise... )

 

Let's add wind noise again to this thread with whistling.Definitely from driver door area. A whistling noise that one can hear with window up which gets louder with window down. Also the driver door quarter glass wind noise , heard from 30mph and up. Place a rag over the quarter window and noise goes away.

LG-H901 ?

 

sounds like a trip to the dealer for some warranty service?

 

As soon as the title displayed I pressed stop and exited player. Lol

Please don't make me watch that..

LG-H901 ?


























MERGED

They'll probably blame the tinter and I'll probably end up in jail for punching them in the throat. ;-)

LG-H901 ?

 

I actually like it :lol:

 

My gripe, is still the same gripe from day-1: Cabin Noise

I think the insulation man called out sick, on the day my car was coming down the assembly line. If I accelerate briskly, (or even just above normal) the engine sounds like it's sitting in the seat next to me!

The overall road noise is much higher than I thought it would be. Every sound comes in the cabin. Only rarely do I not notice it... but then it will hit me again... "Man, this car is loud!" I'm glad I'm retired. I don't think I could put up with that noise every day, on a long daily commute.

But, I think it's a great car for leisurely driving and running errands. That's mainly what I bought it for. I still enjoy driving it. Can't argue with the excellent gas mileage.

 

Did you have a previous model Prius - is this quieter?

 

No. I came from a 2005 Camry. (But that was not a quiet car.)

Veteran Prius owners have said that the new Gen4 is much quieter. I don't doubt that. I believe them. I'm not that picky... but for me, I guess I was just expecting a quieter car... especially after reading all the "hype" about extra sound insulation and the "New Global Platform", etc.

My new Prius is just as loud as my 1980's era Honda Civic was. And just as loud as my 1995 Camry was. Here we are in 2016....

 

Here's a thought. Find a good independent tire shop/garage, family owned if possible. Checking out Yelp and other recommendations online may help, or ask friends who live in the area. You DON'T want any of the chains like Sears, Meineke, Firestone, etc.

Take your Prius to them and ask them to:
(1) test drive it
(2) inspect the tires carefully for manufacturing defects
(3) balance the tires
(4) check the alignment and align if necessary
(5) check to make sure the parking brake is releasing completely

Pay them for their time.

See if it is any better. From what you say it sounds as though there is something wrong that the dealer is not finding. If they do find something you could try taking the bill to Toyota for reimbursement but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one!

Please post if they find a problem.

I have a great local shop like this and I trust them for all my tire work. They do general mechanical stuff too but their focus is on wheels and tires.

 

Thanks John. I really think it's just a matter of bad coarse roads, and a lack of insulation in the flooring / doors of the Prius?

The tire balance and alignment seem to be spot on. My car tracks like an arrow! and I am still getting a consistent 58 to 60 mpg.

Yes, I wish the cabin was quieter, but since I'm retired and no longer drive much, I can live with it. It's still a very nice vehicle and I'm very pleased with it.

 

But when one part of the issue is remedied by placing a rag over ( not even pushing it in any gaps ) the front quarter window and wind noise goes not sure if it's a character of the vehicle which I can live with or a tolerance fault or a "dick" fault created by window tinter. The seals all look tight and uncut and door panels were not removed. So who knows. I checked all weather seals Inc seals around glazing interior and exterior areas.

The whistling appears to be something else, one can hear it with windows up and down it gets louder obviously. Might be the mirrors or vortex generator next to the mirror.

The question I have to ask myself is simple - do I want the techs tearing the car apart with a view of probably locating the issue or not? From past experiences normally other issues are added afterwards and I tend to decline utilizing my warranty for " things " like this.

The internet and intelligent folks normally prevail given time, and common fixes eventually are documented thus allowing common folk to fix issue.

On a side note, I also noticed the bolt that sits next to the parking brake is loose as hell when parking brake is disengaged only. Thing just moves easily under there and may be a cause for concern or source of noise perhaps





LG-H901 ?

 

Holy Smoke, Fred-dawg, maybe you should stop looking for stuff! You just made me crawl under the dashboard again, and look at my parking brake, and vents, and bolts and nuts and whatever else is under there!

My insulation man called in sick the day they made my car... But I think
the entire crew was drunk when they made YOUR car! LOL!

Just let your wife drive the Prius, and you won't know what's what.

 

There is so much negativity about the Prius outside of Prius Chat that it is disheartening to see a post titled "What I don't like about the 2016 Prius."

 

we're human, we whine.

 

Yesterday, the Premier Australian motoring magazine "WHEELS" June 2016 "First Aussie Drive" spoke well of Prius 4 including:

"A vast leap for Prius ... frugal hybrid drivetrain ... classy interior ... newfound dynamic maturity ... It adds up to a Prius that drives more like a tech leader should."

A couple of minor complaints including "... still some inconsistency to brake feel ... but with the price premium attached ..." (they tested the I-Tech, which is a ridiculous $46,939.00!!). They also mentioned "no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto" - whatever they are - probably something Gen Y understands??

Just a short article at this stage, but very positive.

And they tested a RED one - so there must be other than white in Australia.