2008 rattle at highway speeds

[librayacht]

I have a 2008 base Prius which now has 34,000 miles on it. Just recently it developed a rattle at highway speeds which appears to come from the left hand end of the dashboard. I took it to the dealers yesterday and they told me that it was the ABS pump located under the hood. They also said that many Priuses have this rattle and that Toyota are aware of it but have not issued a recall and will not replace this pump under warranty.
Does this mean that I am stuck with this rattle for as long as I own this car?. As you can see I do a lot of miles and cannot envisage being stuck with this annoying rattle for ever or keep my speeds under 65 mph. I find this very difficult to believe. Has anyone else experienced this rattle or can anyone be of help?
John Scales

[howardbc]

No, I haven't heard the rattle ... yet. I have the 2008 Touring model but I only have 10k miles on it. But thank you for telling about the ABS pump. It will be interesting to see what Toyota does about it.

[Tammy7287]

I also have a 2008 Touring Pkg #4 and I've got 23,000 miles so far. I drive mostly highway going to and from work, about 34 miles one way. I haven't experienced this rattling yet and I too am annoyed by things like that.

Have you tried calling Toyota and complaining?

[firepa63]

Have you tried pressing on the dash when the rattle occurs to see if you can get a better location? I have serious doubts about the dealer's story.

[acacia987]

I to have an 08 prius. i also have this rattle sound that happens. It probably started a couple weeks ago. i have 40k miles on my prius. the noise happens speratcily but usually at speeds over 30 mpg. i have not been to the dealer yet because it is not constant. But it definitively comes from the top left side of the dash and no its not the normal sound the prius makes (capacitor discharge i think it was explained to me when i bought the car). next oil change i will bring it up.

[librayacht]

Originally Posted by firepa63

Have you tried pressing on the dash when the rattle occurs to see if you can get a better location? I have serious doubts about the dealer's story.

I have tried pressing on the dash, hitting it, trying to reposition the air grill, all to no avail. Those tactics do not change the pitch or nature of the rattle.

[acacia987]

Originally Posted by librayacht

I have tried pressing on the dash, hitting it, trying to reposition the air grill, all to no avail. Those tactics do not change the pitch or nature of the rattle.

it happens every time you go over 65? and is a constant noise?

[jbmitchell]

I have one too!! 10K miles and I hear it off and on over 20 mph...but that varies depending on the quality of the road. It is also on the left side and it gets much quieter when I push on the dash next to the air vent. There are photos in another section of the Chat on replacing the radio that shows how to remove the dash, but I am going to a dealer for the next oil change and have them do it under warrenty - with a printout of all these complaints to counter their expected response that this has never happened to anybody else!!!! Unless someone tells me it is very easy to pull off the sections of the dash to see what is loose.

[librayacht]

Originally Posted by acacia987

it happens every time you go over 65? and is a constant noise?

The noise is very constant over 65 mph, occasionally below that speed.

[qbee42]

The brake accumulator pump noise is a buzzing or rattling sound from under the dash on the drivers side. The sound is intermittent, and usually occurs after the brake pedal has been depressed. It lasts for about two seconds at a time.

A continuous rattle from the dash will be just that: dash rattle. This is fairly common with the Prius and it means you have one or more loose fasteners under the dash. Some people fix this by replacing the fasteners, sometimes they add small pieces of padding. Either way you have to dismantle the dash.

Tom