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2010 front knocking..I'm not crazy..am I?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by eliteconcept, Dec 14, 2013.

  1. eliteconcept

    eliteconcept 700 mile club, top tank mpg 69.5

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    The day after thanksgiving I had Michelin energy saver a/s tires put on my 2010 which has 47,000 miles on it. They replaced the stock Yokohama avid s33 tires.
    After getting the energy savers put on I have noticed a very faint knocking when driving slowly (less than 15mph or so) over small bumps.

    I have returned to Tirebarn where I got the tires BBB installed they checked things over and said everything seems tight and looks good. They suggested their free alignment just to double check..but I didn't have time that day to do that.

    I just had it in to the Toyota dealership for an oil change and I asked them to check I into the issue. They stated they could not hear or replicate the issue and that everything looked good.

    Pulling out of the dealer lot I again noticed the noise. I know I am not crazy I did not notice this noise prior to the energy saver as install.
    I'll be going back to tirebarn to get the alignment checked just to mak sure. But I never heard of alignment cause a noise.
    Are the tires the issue?
    What would you guys do?

    Thanks

    GT-I9505G ?
     
    #1 eliteconcept, Dec 14, 2013
  2. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

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    Um. Faint knocking. Slow speed. I presume it goes with tire rotation, not engine speed. New tires, which meant somebody was having at the lug nuts with the usual air-powered (high torque) wrench. 47,000 miles, which, while not old, is not new, either.
    I hate to say this, and I can definitely be wrong, but I wonder if one or more of your CVs (Constant Velocity) joints were damaged. There's two of these on each side: One connected to a stub axle coming out of the transmission, another to a stub axle going into the front wheel, and a shaft connecting the two. They're typically filled with molybdenum grease, a rubber boot over the whole thing, and some oddly shaped pieces of metal with four or so monster ball bearings inside.
    It's not unusual in older cars for these things to go bad, somewhere north of 100,000 miles or more. When they do, one gets knocking noises that go with wheel rotation, typically at slow speed, and sometimes very noticeably when turning to the right or left. Making sure that the rubber boots are intact is a Big Deal during car maintenance inspections, since leaking lubricant/grit getting in are not good for the joints.
    I was in a '71 VW that had its CVs damaged in a sideswiping accident. They lasted a week or so, knocking included, until the joint simply broke. In which case you are Stopped, since running the engine simply spins the shaft going to the broken joint and motive power is gone.
    They can be hard to troubleshoot, especially if the people doing the troubleshooting don't really want to believe it (tire shop) or haven't run into it much (dealer). And they are $$$, both the for the hardware (not cheap) and labor (Wheel, knuckle joint and all, typically has to be dismounted in order to get to the things. After which you will be having a front end alignment, just to get things straight again.).
    If memory serves, troubleshooting involves getting the car up on a lift, twisting the wheel back and forth, and looking for play, but that was years ago.

    Good luck!

    KBeck
     
    #2 kbeck, Dec 14, 2013
  3. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    #3 frodoz737, Dec 14, 2013
  4. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

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    New tires I know this sounds dumb, but new tread, deep tread, stuck rock in tread? click, click, click down the road?
     
    #4 retired4999, Dec 14, 2013
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    could be a bad tyre, it happens.
     
    #5 bisco, Dec 14, 2013
  6. eliteconcept

    eliteconcept 700 mile club, top tank mpg 69.5

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    Thanks for your replies.
    I did more investigating today..with fresh snowfall made it easier to pinpoint the sound with reduced road noise.

    I misheard the sound before..its actually coming from the rear.

    Does not increase or decrease with speed or tire rotation.
    Only can make it do it seemingly over bumps at lower speeds I don't notice it at higher speeds and bumps.
    Seems like maybe its a plastic rattle in hatch?? I checked the spare tire and jack its secure. I removed the plastic bin above the spare tire. I removed all other unnecessary parts and items from interior... Noise is still present
    Anything else in the back end I should take a look at that would have these symptoms?

    GT-I9505G ?
     
    #6 eliteconcept, Dec 14, 2013
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    perhaps something loose in the hatch door itself?
     
    #7 bisco, Dec 14, 2013
  8. Grren4ever

    Grren4ever Active Member

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    there's elves working away at xmas presents in the hatch :)
     
    #8 Grren4ever, Dec 14, 2013
  9. rrg

    rrg Active Member

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    Look at the hatch like in the second half of this video.
     
    #9 rrg, Dec 14, 2013
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