05 Prius running loud

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by thb1000, Dec 23, 2025 at 9:50 PM.

  1. thb1000

    thb1000 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2023
    14
    8
    0
    Location:
    Lyles, TN
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello!

    05 Prius 254k miles, no error codes, no dash light warnings, I just swear it use to drive quieter. No vibrations in the steering wheel. I feel it is way louder than it use to be even at lower speeds. It will be basically silent like always when gas engine is off at stoplight. I feel like this might be front wheel bearings, sound is definitely coming from the front not back. I have tried to make an audio recording and I can post it but I just listened to it and thought it wasn't much help. I have searched here as I have used this site a ton on my previous repairs but I didn't find a close match to my issue, mainly the lack of vibration in my steering wheel even when car is loudest. Tires are about a year old. I live on a dirt road and have for a decade, idk.

    I guess I need to just get it looked at by a pro. Any thoughts on the loud drive without vibrations?
     
    #1 thb1000, Dec 23, 2025 at 9:50 PM
    bisco likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    114,110
    51,999
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    also check for exhaust leaks at the manifold and a little ways back.

    is it speed related? usually with bearings i think
     
    #2 bisco, Dec 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM
  3. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2019
    2,659
    789
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    That sometimes happens here when a thief is interrupted stealing a catalytic converter. Any cut in the pipe or removal of a bolt will make the car loud. Not as loud as when they get the converter off though, which is LOUD.

    If the sound is from the front bearings it tends to get louder with speed. If you can get the car to "sing" on the highway then you can force the ICE to shut off (foot only lightly on the gas, look at the MFD for it to show the ICE is off). If the noise is still there it is the bearings (or bearing adjacent - something else dragging), if it stops it is probably the exhaust. I suppose the ICE motor itself might become noisy, or maybe even the water pump or the pulley, which are also sounds which would go away if the ICE stops. A remote possibility is some sort of obstruction in the air intake, or the intake itself flopping around because it is loose. (Very remote, I have had cars with torn air intake bellows which ran like crap at low speeds but were not more noisy otherwise.)
     
    #3 pasadena_commut, Dec 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)