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What's causing this noise/vibration?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by kevelev, Jun 11, 2018.

  1. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    My car is a 2011 Prius II ~100k miles (not the plug-in). Last fall I had snow tires installed just before winter. I had an alignment done at the same time. Now I've had my all season tires placed back on the stock wheels. These tires are the ones that were on before I had the new snow tires put on, so they are used. Also, since they were on before the alignment, there is some uneven wear on the inside of what is now the rear passenger-side tire. I notice that there is some vibration when driving, and I don't know if its because of the tires, or the brakes. There is a pulsation in the brake pedal when braking, but there is also a vibration felt in the gas pedal, and there is some noise too. The sound occurs even when the IC engine is off and I'm rolling down a hill, etc. so I doubt it's the engine. What I think is the noise is from the tires, the pulsing brakes it just worn brakes, but I don't know why there is a vibration feeling without the brakes depressed? What about wheel bearings?

    On a side note, the issue is with the rear brakes only. I've replaced rotors and pads last year, and the noticed that the slide pins were rusty and dry, so I cleaned them up and put some SilGlide on them. I made sure the calipers could slide in and out but now a year later and the rotors aren't evenly worn. It looks like was never much pressure put on the rear rotors to grind them to a clean finish like I see on the front. Part of this is because the regen braking, and I try to use this as much as possible, but is there anything else I can check on the caliper to make sure it's functioning properly?
     
  2. solrunner

    solrunner Member

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    I've dealt with vibration on my 2013 II. Have you done basics already like wheel balance or Hunter road force balance?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there is a special alignment method when replacing the rear brakes, did you follow it?
     
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  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    +1;).

    I’d pull apart the rear brakes and inspect to see where the piston is oriented with the pad. There is a knob that has to align between the grooves on the piston. If not, drag and early wear result :(.

    Not saying it can’t be a wheel bearing, but check the brakes first as that is the low hanging fruit:).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
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  5. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    Pulsation when braking is a classic case of a warped rotor.
     
  6. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    I think there is a bearing issue, but I'm not sure which wheel it is. I jacked up the car and grabbed each wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and at 6 and 12 o'clock, but couldn't see any differences between all the wheels. I can almost hear a difference when I turn to the left, leading me to the think the problem is the front passenger side wheel, but is there any way I can be more sure before I start replacing unnecessary parts?
     
  7. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    Try jacking up the front of the car with both wheels off the ground, start it up and with it running in electric put it in gear with the wheels spinning take your toe carefully stop one wheel from turning and then go to the other side and do the same thing to compare the sound, it should be obvious.
     
  8. Starship_Enterprius

    Starship_Enterprius Active Member

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    +1 on the brakes.

    G3 brake pistons tend to seize at the exact location you mention first before the rest follow. Quick check is to compare the heat coming from each wheel after driving. If the passenger rear is warmer than the others, then you know it's seized. Then refer to the G3 stickies for the fix.
     
  9. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    Kinda like this?
     
  10. david elm

    david elm New Member

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    Rust / dirt between weel hub and brake rotor?
     
  11. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    I did that and noticed that the driver side front wheel was noisier. This may be a dumb question, but that means the driver-side wheel bearing is the bad one, right?
     
  12. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I changed mine at 100,000 miles and they jut keep getting louder. My right one was noisy, sounded like driving a big truck with those big tires on it.
     
  13. Lucifer

    Lucifer Senior Member

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    Brake pedal shudder is warped rotors, tho op resurfaced the rotors...did the op properly torque the rotors back on, if not warped rotors.
     
  14. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    Just in case, do you guys know of any warranty on these wheel bearings Mileage is about 100K. Also, is MOOG a good brand? I see they are 170 at Autozone. Also, are left and right the same part?
     
  15. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    I don’t know of any warranty.

    Moog is a good brand, but they are made all over the world. I replaced the front wheel bearing hub assemblies on our 2010 with 180 l miles on it. The drivers side I did with the Dura Go on Rock Auto and on the passenger side I went with Moog as the Dura Go machining on the end plate didn’t fit:(.

    After 10 k miles the Dura Go is quiet but I can hear the Moog now:whistle:.

    So it’s a crap shoot.

    Good luck with your decision (y).
     
  16. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    How about 1A Auto, they have decent prices. I also found a set on eBay. The PAIR was $55 with a 10-year warranty!
     
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  17. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Go for it :).

    Keep us posted on your experience as the miles rack up(y).
     
  18. kevelev

    kevelev Junior Member

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    Follow up: I wanted to check again and had someone press the gas (still in EV mode). I put a log under one wheel and had them speed up to 10 mph. I thought they almost sounded the same this time, but both seemed to have the whirring noise. Its hard to tell with the slower speeds. I also checked the rear and all I could do there was spin them by hand, but nothing stood out. There was no play in any of the 4 wheels. Is it more common that front bearings wear more quickly than rear? I think I'm going to replace both front bearings/hubs and rotors and pads in the rear. I'll go from there. Let me know any thoughts.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  19. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Switch the rear and front passenger tires, if the vibration moves up front then its the rear tire that was originally in the back. Don't buy replacement parts yet, begin troubleshooting from no cost first.
     
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah check the runout on all four rotors. You need a dial indicator with magnetic base:

    IMG_8799.JPG

    (Note, be careful with magnetic base; keep it away from speed sensor.)

    And for thickness:

    IMG_8798.JPG

    Spec's are in the attachment:

    Sounds like brakes have been neglected? What the maintenance history? The US schedule is to inspect the brakes every 3 years or 30K miles. Complete inspection, pulling off the calipers, checking rotor runout and thickness, clean and relube pads, caliper pins.

    So with the rear raised, if you gave the wheel a good push it would spin one or two revolutions? That would indicate the caliper piston orientation is probably ok. See the attachment for this too.
     

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