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Fit and Finish on the 2021 Prime LE

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by HanS0lo, Apr 23, 2021.

  1. HanS0lo

    HanS0lo Junior Member

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    Today, I keep hearing constant vibration sounds coming from the steering wheel when I drive on highway, sounds like a loose spacer. It is only less than 300 miles, and I don't expect Toyota have any fit and finish problems. I will definitely keep drive it for a little while before I go to dealer to fix it.
    Have you experience something like this before on Prius?
     
  2. bluespruce

    bluespruce Member

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    Noises are hard to trace so have someone else ride with you. Young kids are great as they hear a slightly different spectrum. Could be anything.
     
  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Do a search, you will find many threads with rattle and noise complaints on both Gen4 and PP. My 2017 had a loose antenna behind the head unit making annoying rattle at any speed. Yap, my dealer fixed it for free. All they needed to do was to remove the dash cover and stick foam insulation around the antenna.
     
  4. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Not unexpected when a car is held together mainly by plastic push-pins.
     
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  5. prime grip

    prime grip Member

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    Make sure your dealer knows about it for your warranty. Nothing should be rattling before 300 miles. I took mine in the same day i drove off with it. Told my salesman i was hearing weird noises driving below 20 mph and even louder noises when backing up. He just started to laugh at me. It was the safety feature for the low or no noise when driving in EV mode. I felt so stupid.:ROFLMAO:
     
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  6. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    VPNS (vehicle proximity notification system) became mandatory in the 2021 PP model and the volume is no longer customizable. For PP earlier than 2020, the volume was customizable, and even at the loudest setting, it was hard to hear.
     
  7. prime grip

    prime grip Member

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    Yeah Salamander, my 2017 PP didn't have it or i didn't notice it. So when i got the 2021 PP i was , somethings wrong here. It's real annoying for sure. It sounds like a tram ride at Disneyland when backing up along with Beeping noise sounding like a mac truck backing up. Like anything else, you get used to it.
     
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  8. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    You had it because I had it on my 2017 PP. It was much much quieter.
     
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    only the prime made at the tesla factory have fit and finish problems.
     
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  10. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    I lived with the reverse beep for three months before finally changing it to a single beep. Backing up the Prime is no longer sensory overload. I’d rather be able to hear another car, instead of my car, beep at me when I’m backing up.
     
  11. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    Did you change it yourself or did the dealer have to do it? The manual on my 2021 Prime states that only the dealer can change it, most annoying.
     
  12. HanS0lo

    HanS0lo Junior Member

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    Just a quick update, the vibration sound went away in my last few day's driving, even on the highway. I will keep monitor any weird sounds...
     
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  13. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    Dr. Prius app and a Carista OBD2 dongle did the trick. My co-worker bought one of the cheaper dongles listed on the Dr. Prius site and that worked as well.
     
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  14. bluespruce

    bluespruce Member

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    Could be a small stone that got stuck in the tread and finally dropped up. Vibrations do not take much to be created.
     
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  15. HanS0lo

    HanS0lo Junior Member

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    I see the Carista website list it as $29.99 plus $9.99 for the subscription. Does the subscription needed? Or just the Dr.Prius app plus a Carista OBD2 would work?
     
  16. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    You will get free 30 days trial subscription with Carista App. You can do all the customizations during that period and cancel the subscription before the change occurs. If all you want is to turn the continuous beep on the Reverse to a single beep, then just ask a dealer to do that for free. On the other hand, if you want the OBDII dongle to monitor other useful information using apps like Dr. Prius or Hybrid Assistant, then you can buy OBDII LX or a similar dongle which is faster than the Carista dongle, although it will cost more.
     
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  17. mrchowmein

    mrchowmein Member

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    If you're going back to the dealer soon, i would just get the dealer to turn off a bunch of things unless you want to get the app and a bt dongle. The rattles for my Prime comes and goes depending the quality of the road and ambient temp. I got the dealer to fix one of them, but my Prime has like 3-4 different rattles. Some of these rattles only happen once or twice a month. some are more frequent. I just gave up in hunting these down and accept the fact that Prii are just a little rattly. I've never sat in Prius that was rattle free from Gen 2 to Gen 4. If the vibrations are very heavy, it could also be a wheel balance thing.
     
  18. raggedphoto

    raggedphoto Junior Member

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    Thanks for all the info! I'll just wait till I take in the car for it's first service.
     
  19. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Yep; working on my 'punch list', for my first service too. This seems as good a place to ask as any.

    My side door glass, 3 of the 4 seems a bit loose. It's not whistling or leaking - just looser than what I consider normal. If you place your hand on the glass, it can be shuffled 1/8-1/4 inch forward and back. I have replaced door glass before and never had any this loose before - especially on a new car. We had 25mph cross winds last week, no issues, just regular expected noises in a small car like this.

    I just wanted to get a head-count. I'm assuming it's normal, since it isn't whistling or leaking - which is the main concern of the dealership.