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Intermittent Vibration/Shuddering -Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon)

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by BikingBrad, Oct 10, 2014.

  1. BikingBrad

    BikingBrad Junior Member

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    2012 Prius v wagon
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    N/A
    In the past month I have had 4 instances (approx. once per week) of vehicle vibration/shuddering. The first time I thought for sure I had a flat tire and pulled over immediately and had a look at my tires. All was fine and I continued to drive with no further vibration.

    My Prius v ( lowercase v for the Prius v wagon ) has 50,000 kilometers. Has had all required service at our local Toyota dealer. It has always been a pleasure to drive, smooth and quiet. Has only been on paved roads and the tires are in excellent condition.

    This vibration has occurred three times at speeds of 50-60 kph and the most recent time at 100 kph on the highway. Continuing to drive, changing speed or braking does not stop the vibration. Coming to a full stop and then continuing is the only way to stop the vibration. All roads have been smooth and straight. It is a very strong vibration that seems to be coming from under the car and is very noticeable to all occupants. My father, who is a mechanic, was in the car during one of these instances and he commented that something was very wrong. It's really is like driving with a flat tire.
    Our local Toyota dealer has inspected it and found nothing wrong. The dealer has not heard of this before and checked service bulletins Canada wide and found no similar reports.

    Any ideas what this could be?
     
  2. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Dry CV joint?
     
  3. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Rotate the wheels and see if it changes. Tires can do weird things, and a defect in one will change how it feels if you rotate.
     
  4. schmuly

    schmuly Member

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    I had that in an old Datsun pick-up, I tried everything, wheel alignment, balancing, u-joints, and it was the tires themselves...tread squirm in an harmonic..Google ...death wobble.
     
  5. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Tread separations can do that too.
     
  6. BikingBrad

    BikingBrad Junior Member

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    Thanks for the replies, but the first paragraph is key to my car's problem. It is an intermittent occurance that stops once I pullover and stop the vehicle. And it doesn't happen again for about another week. If the tires were the problem, it would not be intermittent, correct?
     
  7. schmuly

    schmuly Member

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    No, my wobble was intermittent, only started at a certain speed or after hitting a bump. It did not do it all the time, it was hard to track down. But through the process of elimination, weeks of time and money, it boiled down to the simplest thing...the tires. The tires looked good and balanced well, but the wobble only stopped after changing the tires.
     
  8. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Incorrect. A defective tire can do almost anything. Rotate and see what it does.
     
  9. Myron

    Myron Junior Member

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    Try cleaning the mass air-flow sensor and the thermistor next to it. Use a spefific MAF cleaner aerosol. Do not touch the MAF sensor resistors. Do not use the MAF in car until it is 100% dry. With MAF cleaner, wait 30 minutes for cleaning solution to evaporate.

    Might work. Had similar issue and this sorted out the problem.
     
    #9 Myron, Oct 13, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2014
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    probably close to new tyre time anyway.(y)
     
  11. Paul Schenck

    Paul Schenck Active Member

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    I bought the $79.00 code reader to record data on my Gen II . Well worth it to get access to all the sensor data and not just the idiot lights. My money is on tires though.


    iPhone ?
     
  12. Myron

    Myron Junior Member

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    Still, no harm in cleaning the MAF. Something that is overlooked on services. It caused intermittent lumpiness and some intermittent vibration. The poor ECU was being lied to on how much air was entering the engine. Finally after a few weeks caused a P0172.

    The mechanic-in-a-can cost me slightly less than £8.
     
  13. BikingBrad

    BikingBrad Junior Member

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    I have 55,000 k's on the Prius now. No new instances of the vibration/shuddering since my original post in October 2014.
    Didn't change the tires or do anything else. It just stopped happening.
     
  14. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Could have been a rock temporarily lodged in the tread, just enough weight to throw it out of dynamic balance.
     
  15. Julien

    Julien Junior Member

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    My prius v 2013 has 155000 miles. I just had this problem for the dirt time today, that's why I got into this user blog.

    The thing I that I had this issue when I was parked, not moving. It seemed that the problem started when the gas engine got started.

    The tire response is inaccurate, because the problem is intermittent, not constant.

    I thought it could be a failure on some kind of rely that triggers the gas engine to turn on.

    I'll appreciate any advice on this issue. Thanks...
     
  16. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    It is possible to get a bad shutter at startup if the engine is not properly running and synced with the hybrid's cvt and valve timing. I have had it happen on an older prius where I simply shutoff the engine and started again and everything was normal. These cars have variable valve timing and stepped rpm engine operation that is all synced by computers and the cvt transmission in conjunction with the cvt's electric motors. But if it does not throw a code / set the check engine light, I would not worry too much. Some people would suggest the 12v battery might be weakening.
     
    Julien likes this.
  17. Ren28

    Ren28 New Member

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  18. Ren28

    Ren28 New Member

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    Hello! Are found the problem? I have the same issue at 128,600 miles on Prius v 2013