Creaking sound from rear suspension on 06

[Sarge]

Hey guys,

Just thought I would update on this long-standing issue I have been dealing with for way too long.

After about 4 different visits to two dealers - with my help explaining how to prop the car as discussed earlier to reproduce the noise - I believe we have finally found the problem...

A cracked rear sway bar.

Attached are two pics, one from behind the car, and a second one of a closeup of the cracked area, which is pretty visible, once he sanded away the paint/dirt/rust. Not only that, but the rust along the crack is pretty obvious that it has been this way for a LONG time, probably since the time I got the car, but my chances of proving that to Toyota are pretty slim... BTW, I have 128K KM on the car now, so I am long off warranty.

Anyway, as it turns out this is not a commonly-replaced part, so they have to order it in, and the "closest" one is in California, which seems strange. Anyway, they should have it in within a week.

I will update again once the job is done.

Thanks again to everyone who offered tips and suggestions...

[Patrick Wong]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the update. This is a new one. Hope that the sway bar replacement fixes your noise issue.

[jayman]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Just thought I would update on this long-standing issue I have been dealing with for way too long.

If you have been to dealerships and this problem was documented under warranty, with "cause not found," now it turns out to be a cracked swaybar, not sure how Toyota Canada can deny coverage

[Sarge]

Yeah, I was thinking about it earlier this morning, and I am going to contact Toyota Canada about it and plead my case. I know I reported "creaking noises" on a few different occasions (well before the warranty expired) during dealership visits, and they could never figure it out. In fact, I believe it has been there since day 1 (it was a demo car with 6K KM), but it was a lot more subtle then, only appearing a slight squeak as the car settled, such as when parking on a slight incline. Of course, at that time, I just thought I was being obsessive. :P

Fast forward to now, and the creaking is pretty constant, such as when cruising at parking lot speed, which is quite aggravating considering how quiet the car otherwise is!

Anyway, definitely can't hurt to try to get it covered, I will update with the results...

Thanks.

[Ceres]

Thanks for this very informative thread. I also have noticed a creaking sound coming from the rear of my 2007 recently. My case is different from Sarge's since I only hear it when I get in/out of the car and don't hear it at all while driving. I think it has something to do with the parking (emergency) brake because with it off, I don't hear any creaking getting in or out of the car. It sounds much louder when someone gets in/out of the back seat.

Should I be worried about this creaking noise? I tried pushing on the parking brake pedal harder to have the brake more tightly engaged, but that did not affect the creaking.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice/suggestion.

[Sarge]

Well, after putting up with this annoyance for 3+ years, I finally have closure and a silent Prius - the way it's supposed to be.

I did contact Toyota and was bounced around between my original dealer and my "new" closer dealer, and in the end Toyota wouldn't offer any support since it was so far off warranty. However, the service manager at the dealer from whom I purchased the car and had most of the service performed (including all the earlier reportings of this issue) felt some responsibility, so he offered to cover the cost of the part (C$187) if I paid the hour of labour involved (C$103). He even suggested that for my convenience I can have the work done at the closer dealer and had them invoice him for the part, which I took him up on. I got the closer dealer to give me an additional 10% off the labour, which is reasonable deal IMHO, since they really did nothing wrong, so they should be entitled to their revenue.

But most importantly, it's QUIET. Ahhhhhhhhhhh...........

Interestingly, I did ask to see the old part afterward for curiosity, and they actually gave it to me outright (whatever). Upon closer inspection, it appears the sway bar is cracked about halfway through (!), which is a bit alarming. I haven't taken a picture of it yet off the car, but will try to do so this weekend.

Ceres - Not sure if this is good news or bad, but what you describe is how it started for me - just a very small creak when the car was parked or when someone sat in the car. It didn't creak while in motion until later on... so you may very well be dealing with the same thing. I would recommend doing the test described earlier in the thread about jacking the car up and using a piece of wood and brick as a lever to activate the suspension - if it is the sway bar, you will definitely hear it, and it should be the same from either side of the car. If so, have the mechanic inspect it very carefully and push to get it replaced, particularly if still under warranty.

Hope that helps...

[Ceres]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Ceres - Not sure if this is good news or bad, but what you describe is how it started for me - just a very small creak when the car was parked or when someone sat in the car. It didn't creak while in motion until later on... so you may very well be dealing with the same thing. I would recommend doing the test described earlier in the thread about jacking the car up and using a piece of wood and brick as a lever to activate the suspension - if it is the sway bar, you will definitely hear it, and it should be the same from either side of the car. If so, have the mechanic inspect it very carefully and push to get it replaced, particularly if still under warranty.

Hope that helps...

Sarge, thanks for the advice. I'm due for an oil change very soon, so I will have my mechanic take a look back there. I'm still curious why it would only creak with the parking brake on, while it is silent when in "P" but with the parking brake off.