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Any thoughts on this weird noise?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by misterenigma, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. misterenigma

    misterenigma New Member

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    Hey all,
    Brand new to the forum as I bought a used 2010 prius last week and I know it's very difficult to describe noises but i just got back from the Toyota dealership today and the tech took the car for a drive and told me the noise i was describing was just "normal road noise for a prius". It's basically the same sound/pulse/vibration that you get when your rotors need machining, except it happens all the time from the speeds of about 20mph thru 65mph. It doesn't build in speed it's just comes in as a consistent speed and stays the same interval of a dull 'wump wump wump wump". i can def feel it on the floorboards with my left foot. the fact that the speed is so consistent leads me to believe it's not the tires or balancing. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions??
    thanks in advance.
     
    #1 misterenigma, Sep 12, 2012
  2. mad-dog-one

    mad-dog-one Prius Enthusiast

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    Your vague description only adds to the enigma. Can you provide more specific details? Does the weird noise only occure when braking?
     
    #2 mad-dog-one, Sep 13, 2012
  3. misterenigma

    misterenigma New Member

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    fair enough... i'll try again. imagine if you will, you are at a stoplight on a freshly paved road. light turns green and you start to pull ahead. you get to about 20mph but still you are still accelerating and you start to notice a dull wumping sound that is very similar to wind buffeting or the sound your rotors make when they are a little warped. you also notice you can feel this on the floor boards which make you feel like it MUST be coming from the front left tire. but it can't be the tire because the intervals of the "wumps" never seem to increase or decrease no matter what the speed is. the intervals of the "wumps" are the speed of what you would expect a noise to be if you had an off balanced tire and you were going about 45 mph. and the wumping happens whether i'm braking or accelerating or coasting in EV mode. other similar sounds could be as if the axle was a little loose. i will admit it's not 'loud' by any means, but it is dull/subtle and def noticeable. my wife noticed it and the tech even acknowledged it. he just passed it off as normal road noise. so i guess i'm wondering if anyone else has experienced it which would go along with the tech's theory. to be fair, the tech did check the tires for cupping and did rebalance, which make no difference.
    i hope that helps shed a little more light. thanks!
     
    #3 misterenigma, Sep 13, 2012
  4. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    Just a wild guess, but I'm wondering whether anyone may think it could be a pump -- fuel or coolant?
     
    #4 a priori, Sep 13, 2012
  5. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    Or one open window in an air tight car. I can set up my windows to give that whump whump sound. If that's not the cause you will have to get used to the fact that the Prius makes a lot of strange noises. If you think your is unique try riding or driving another 10 just for reference.
     
    #5 Munpot42, Sep 14, 2012
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Whump, whump, whump noises are not normal. Since it isn't speed related, I can't imagine what it might be.

    Tom
     
    #6 qbee42, Sep 14, 2012
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    any chance of recording it and putting it up here? i can't think of anything that isn't speed related that would mak a sound like that and if i drove your car and actually could hear it, i don't think i would call it normal.
     
    #7 bisco, Sep 14, 2012
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