Do you hear rattling noises?

Does Toyota read these boards? I am wondering why after all these complaints, Toyota has not addressed them? Apprently, the only way to get their attention is to complain with our wallets....that is buy some other brand.

 

I am siding with Indyking here also. I purchased my Prius based on the experience I had this past winter when I bought my wife a new Venza. After living with both cars for quite a while now, it's hard to believe they come from the same manufacturer and the Venza is made here ! Up here in the northeast its beginning to get cool and despite the fact that our cars are garaged the Prius is singing it's dashboard songs as soon as I pull out. It's relentless. There is so much noise coming from all over the dash that it would be impossible to locate each and every one. NO SUCH ISSUE WITH THE VENZA. It's tight and rattle and creak free.. I don't understand it..If I knew then what I know now, I too would have looked else wear for my hard earned dollars. TOYOTA must be made aware of this ...

 

This is the third Toyota I have purchased new. The other two were rattle free and pretty much had no inherent problems. My other Prius did have a serious alignment problem but that was do to damage incurred during shipping and was eventually fixed. My Toyota pickup (manufactured in Los Angles) was trouble free.

This Prius is a very nice car to drive, I like its highway manners and the handling isn't that bad for an economy car. But the quality control at the Toyota factory has really slipped. In addition to numerous rattles and squeaks I discovered that 5 out of 6 bolts that hold the front bottom cover on were missing and I removed the 6th one with my fingers. I noticed the missing bolts during the first oil change at 1400 miles, I can't imagine anyone else had been under the car since it left the factory. They just didn't tighten them. Not a big deal it's just a cover but I wonder what else didn't get tightened?

I think Toyota needs to regroup and get their quality problems fixed, or maybe they are trying to be just like G.M.

 

I just heard my first dashboard rattle a few days ago leaving work, so the car was cold, but the air temp was mid 70's. Just as I heard the rattle, I said to myself this must be what all the complaints are about. But now that I have read this thread, it seems that the rattles I heard are far less noisy than what a lot of people are posting.

 

I feel the same way. I have 7500k miles and I am tortured by mysterious and hard to find creaks and rattles on a daily basis, especially when the car is cold. I'm PISSED! I would have a hard time recommending this car to anyone with a clear conscience. I love the technology, but it is all spoiled by the cheap dash.

I waited months or years for the Gen III to come out only to find shortcoming after shortcoming. (My previous car was a '93 Acura Integra which I let go with 286k miles.)

During and after purchase of my Blizzard Pearl Prius 2010, I overlooked many things I loved in the Gen II -- an imbalanced sound system (fade is too far forward), a lower resolution navigation screen, less storage space in the doors, a more obtrusive and higher dashboard, poorer quality side rear view mirrors, vertical spokes in the steering wheel (as opposed to radial), and last but not least, the space hogging center console which I despise! Still somehow I talked myself into it.

After getting used to all of the above shortcomings, now I have to put up with the cheap plastic rattles and squeaks and axles that squeak as well??? This is my first modern Toyota and I am SORELY disappointed. I fantasize about trading it in the minute something else comes out with a lithium ion battery. I was really impressed with the Gen II.

Gen III, technology and superior mileage aside, just feels cheaper on the inside. If you're thinking of buying one, DON'T! Wait until they fix these problems. I am insulted by Toyota and this Prius.

 

My solace is that I really drive a lot and it is saving me lots of money at the pump big time. It's amazing, if you see my posts in the first 2-3 months after I got my Prius, I was simply loving the experience, and now I can only say that this was my first and may be the last one, especially because my high-mileage commute is temporary.

 

Reading and rereading all these posts justs makes me wonder why not ALL owners are having these issues?? I for one had a small creak which I fixed with Adhesive Felt and Adhesive rubber tabs. The only other occaisonal rattle is the bridge console and I am tuning that.

I don't know what could be causing all the Dahsboard Squeaks?

Aren't these cars all manufactured in mostly the same facility? If it was a build and fit issue, would not all or MOST ALL vehicles have this problem??

I wish we knew what the real numbers were based on sales volume.

It is disheartening to hear of all these issues, esp with Toyota. I really love the Gen III, but it's baffling this Dashboard issue??

Since we don't have any clear cut answers the post is more annoying not know why they are occuring!

 

I have the same problem, it drives me nuts trying to figure it out. I had a ford explorer with 150K on it and it was rock solid, no rattles. Prius has 5K and I have a door rattle. Wonder if the dealer would look at it ?

 

I am lucky, the dashboard has been fairly quiet so far. There is a slight squeaking from the glove box door, that's it. However, I have a small but irritating high pitch squeak coming from the driver's side door pillar or door insides, a low pitch rattle from the cover of the front armrest/compartment and a major rattle coming from the right passenger side) of the back seat/trunk compartment, around where there is the battery vent. I cannot pinpoint it out yet but it's definitely coming from that section. It's not from the trunk privacy cover as I have the noise even with that unit removed. I am waiting for it to be more constant before taking the car to the dealer, otherwise, if they can't hear they can't do anything. But overall, this car does not have more rattles than any other car I had before (Mercedes, Toyota, Lexus). The hard plastic finish is really cheap though!

 

I'm getting a rattle from the center console on cold mornings, I know exactly where it is coming from because I can get rid of it by pushing down on the plastic, but I'm not sure how to go about getting rid of it permanently. It goes away after about 10 minutes of driving with the heat on, but when it's there, it's annoying.

 

There is an interesting thread on the Main Prius topic. Please visit and respond to the thread: Someonr do a poll, noise and where built

From a very small sample, it appears that the rattle complaints are isolated to vehicles assembled at the "5" assembly plant. The thread will provide instruction how to determine where your Prius was assembled.

To date, 7 Prius responders whose cars were assembled at "0" are rattle free. The poll only has validity if we can increase the sample base.

 

I would have already purchased a new Prius but the rattles and squeaks complaints have really made me think twice. I can't stand listening to them in the car and once I know they are there, turning up the radio doesn't help. Has anyone found that silicone spray or anything else has helped?

[this "rattles" me, pre-purchase. :-/[/QUOTE]

 

I am sure I would be the same way, can't stand the squeaks and rattles and have pieces of cardboard stuck all over in my current vehicle. I was totally ready to buy a Prius and now just don't think I can stand it. Any other suggestions for a car good on gas that doesn't rattle?

 

I have a package 3 w/solar roof, and with the illuminated door sills and other crap I was stuck with, it brought the sticker price to north of $28,000.

The center console/Sky bridge rattles where the light gray piece and the two black pieces of plastic around the controls meet. It drives me nuts. Car as about 2k miles on it.

At first we thought it was coming from one of the glove boxes, but we can stop the rattle by tightly holding the lower plastic part of the center console on the sky bridge.

Also, sometimes the interior retractable panel for the sunroof rattles, especially when it is open.

If I'd paid $22k for the car, it may not bother me as much as on a car that cost $28k. Either way, it's not what people expect from Toyota, and IMHO, they'd better figure out a way to retroactively put the sky bridge console together so that it doesn't rattle. I don't regret buying the car, and there's still no other car I'd rather have, but this is not something that should happen on a $28k car.

 

Wow, at least 2 huge threads on this issue, with a lot of people registering complaints.

This is a problem. I hope Toyota is paying attention.

Evidently there is some rattling, creaking disharmony in the harmony between Man, Nature and Machine.

Get with it Toyota.

 

What are they gonna do about it? They certainly aren't going to recall their cars...my guess is they ignore out complaints no matter how many of us complain...it isn't a safety issue and won't make headlines, so we're stuck with cheap, crappy interiors...doubt I'll buy another Toyota...by the next time I'm ready to buy I'll be able to get a hybrid or similar type vehicle from a company that doesn't sell crap....

 

I have the same rattle as you. But has anyone tried to get it fixed? After enuff complaints i would think Toyota would get a good fix for it. I think everyone is on here complaining and toyota has no idea about it because nobody is bringing there car back to the dealer.

 

I agree completely with your post. No more Toyota's for me after I sell this one. Amazingly I have owned a lot of different brand cars over the years (Honda, Mazda, Subaru, VW) but never a Toyota until the Prius six months ago. It's the only car I've ever owned that had rattles and cheap interior construction like the Prius.

 

Same for me... Prius was the first and may be the last one... it's a very expensive car for putting up with rattles...