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Prius c high pitch sound at 62 mph and higher

Discussion in 'Prius c Technical Discussion' started by 751woodbine, Nov 20, 2013.

  1. 751woodbine

    751woodbine Junior Member

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    I have a 2013 Prius c #2. At 62 mph and faster there is a high pitch sound that gets louder the faster it goes. I have asked two other Prius c owner's and they don't hear it. Has anyone else experienced this? You will need to roll up the windows and turn the radio off to hear this.
     
  2. mahout

    mahout Active Member

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    Thats a new one. Since itsrelated to speed I'm thinking tire treads or wheel bearing. Its also possible in the intake air stream so check filter seating and piping.
    Does it change frequency when turning, especially comparing left turn and right turn.?
    All windows fully up?
     
  3. mdgates

    mdgates Junior Member

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    Does the pitch rise and fall with engine RPM as you go up and down hills? If not, you can rule out anything related to engine, induction, and exhaust.

    The HSD makes all kinds of cool sounds, but I don't really hear any of them at highway speeds, sadly.
     
  4. AliIzad

    AliIzad Member

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    We have a 2012 C2 and a 2012 C3; the C2 we bought at the beginning of 2013. I have always heard this sound only in our C2, some days more than others. It's faint and it fluctuates with speed; almost like the old days when you would put in an aftermarket stereo and you would get engine whine through the speakers. Well, that's what this sounds like to me. It's definitely not coming through the speakers, more like from behind the dash or the vents. I mostly hear it at higher speeds, with the radio off, as I'm accelerating. Again, it is so faint that I don't worry about it, but it's a bit odd as our C3 doesn't do it. I wish I had an explanation for you, but I wouldn't really worry about it. After all, it is a Toyota. I'm sure sooner or later, someone will figure out what it is.
     
  5. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    My inverter gave off a very high pitched whine whilst braking at speed down a hill - about 6 weeks before the inverter failed on me (about half a mile from the same hill!).

    Maybe have your dealers double check no weird error codes are stored. Thankfully you are probably within warranty.
     
  6. AliIzad

    AliIzad Member

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    Good idea, thanks.
     
  7. Matt H

    Matt H Active Member

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    The sound is MG2. If you modulate the accelerator just right, you can make it pretty much go away. It's there if you're giving it the juice, or taking the juice. Completely normal.
     
    RGEYER0 likes this.
  8. Oldwolf

    Oldwolf Prius Enthusiast

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    Yes, I hear it. Right at 60 mph or so I can get the drivetrain to sing. It sounds like the inverter too me. At higher speed the road noise gets too loud to hear it I guess. I like the sound. I think your is fine.
     
  9. Snowball

    Snowball Junior Member

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    I've also heard the ultrasonic-like whining sound occasionally while driving. My cousin as a passenger once asked me what the sound was.

    Separate from that, I hear the high pitch noise everyday. I am usually lightly depressing the brake pedal while stopped at lights and I will heard that high pitch noise, but if I press down further on the brake pedal, it will usually go away. But occasionally it won't.
     
  10. Mr Gee

    Mr Gee Member

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    When we first had our Prius, we kept glancing around for the invisible ambulance. lol
     
  11. priusCowner4

    priusCowner4 Junior Member

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    I have a Prius C 4, 2013. I definitely hear the high-pitched whine when going between 60-65 mph. It is very irritating and disconcerting, although I've gotten used to it (resigned myself that it won't change). I'm sorry that I did not detect it during my test drive of this car or I would probably not have bought it. I have reported it to Toyota Corporation and the dealer. The dealer looked at it, acknowledged the noise, and simply said that unfortunately, that's the way it was built. Toyota claimed they had not heard about this. Perhaps if enough people write to them about it, they can look into changing the design to get rid of the noise completely.
     
  12. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    I haven't noticed that one, but I kind of like the different noises my c makes.
     
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  13. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Have you tried turning the radio on? I've never noticed it before.
     
  14. mahout

    mahout Active Member

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    If I have a window not completely closed I've heard a high frequency whistle.