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Clattering noise from suspension

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by pixelmixer, Aug 10, 2010.

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  1. pixelmixer

    pixelmixer New Member

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    On the wild chance that someone here has had this symptom...
    Since new my Prius V has had a metallic clattering sound that comes from underneath the car. This can be replicated when driving over lane divider dots on a quiet street with the windows down. To investigate, I put the car on ramps and looked around; I was almost certain the sound was coming from a thin aluminum heat shield that is just behind the engine. Tapping this shield made a similar sound to what I heard coming from under the car while driving over bumps and such. The shield is poorly attached with those "fun" push pin fasteners that seem to be liberally deployed all over the undercarriage. I decided to re-attached the shield with a judicious circular application of silicone under each of the holes in the shield and let it dry. The clattering sound I heard previously when tapping the shield was gone. Out for a test drive and........still there!

    I just had the first service done, and of course the tech couldn't hear it on his test drive. Unfortunately I was pressed for time, so I wasn't able to take a test drive with the tech. I will drive the tech around next time and demonstrate it.

    Any ideas or experiences?
     
    #1 pixelmixer, Aug 10, 2010
  2. gpt

    gpt Junior Member

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    I hear the same from Day 1, but I have no idea where it comes from. I thought it is the suspension as well, and I am waiting my first visit to the dealer.
     
    #2 gpt, Aug 10, 2010
  3. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Sounds like the brake calipers rattling. There is a TSB out for that. Just a guess though.
     
    #3 spiderman, Aug 10, 2010
  4. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    Same here. When I hit a divider or bump, I get the usual rattling in what I think is the rear suspension area. Otherwise everything is normal and quiet. If it is the calipers I wonder what the fix would be? I would prefer to do it myself.
     
    #4 GSW, Aug 10, 2010
  5. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Apparently the dealers are placing shims in the calipers to tighten things up. I would suggest going to them for the work.
     
    #5 spiderman, Aug 10, 2010
  6. pixelmixer

    pixelmixer New Member

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    Thanks all for responding. It is interesting to read other's experiences. The sound isn't like "caliper" rattle, it's much more like a thin metal sound and seems to be located towards the front of the car.
     
    #6 pixelmixer, Aug 11, 2010
  7. HI MPG

    HI MPG Active Member

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    I seem to have the same issue... but only after I swapped my stock 15s for the OEM 17s. Not sure if that had anything to do with it, but now I hear the clattering when going over speed bumps or Bott dots. The noise seems to be coming from the front suspension area.
    On a separate note, my parents owned a 2000 Toyota Camry, which had the same rattling issue from the front right suspension area. They took it to the dealer multiple times to have the tech look into it, only to be told multiple times that the tech couldn't find any issues with it....
     
    #7 HI MPG, Aug 11, 2010
  8. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    I had the exact same issue with my 97 Camry. Drove me nuts (short trip). I even went as far as to have the struts replaced. The only thing I didn't have done was have the brake pads replaced because even after 127K, they were fine. I suspect it was the calipers.
     
    #8 spiderman, Aug 11, 2010
  9. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    Thanks Spiderman! I'll check with the dealership.
     
    #9 GSW, Aug 12, 2010
  10. twittel

    twittel Senior Member

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    #10 twittel, Aug 14, 2010
  11. pixelmixer

    pixelmixer New Member

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    Clattering noise from suspension-Update

    My friend just purchased a 2010 Prius, and as we compared notes I mentioned to him the "clattering" sound that I hear from under my 2010 Prius when driving over Botts dots and such. He related to me that he hears a noise from under his car when driving over the Botts dots as well. So we took a ride together and it is indeed the same sound that I hear. The interesting observation is that if while going over the dots you apply the brakes firmly, the "clattering" noise is no longer heard. This is intriguing given spiderman's post about brake caliper rattle. I have searched and cannot find a TSB database that includes any caliper service relating to this sound. The sound isn't subtle; it's very apparent and actually unsettling given 2 cars purchased within a few months make this annoying noise. I'll get it checked at my next service of course. Are there any posters aware of a specific TSB relating to this issue?
     
    #11 pixelmixer, Aug 22, 2010
  12. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Re: Clattering noise from suspension-Update

    Doing a quick search I found this.
    Though this is not exactly the problem, but it might fix it. I will try to find the PC thread related the the rattle.
     
    #12 spiderman, Aug 22, 2010
  13. darenko

    darenko New Member

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    I get the same noise from my car. I took it in for my oil change and told them to take a look and they could not reproduce the sound. I came to pick up my car and asked to go on a ride with a tech. After driving around I was able to get him to hear the noise but he was not sure where it coming from and said he needed it the whole day to diagnose it. I had to leave on vacation so I could not leave the car. I hear this dang noise everyday. I had the TSB stated above done on my car last year which fixed my brake noise, but this noise has been present for the last 12 thousand miles on the car.

    I get the noise from all sorts of scenarios (bumps, potholes, any sort of suspension compression in the front). I think it's coming from the brakes area and not the suspension. Anyway, I hope someone else can get this fixed because I spent 9 months trying to get my brake squeak fixed and it took a TSB to get it fixed (and even then I had to take it more than 3 times to get it fixed as the TSB I think had multiple solutions and they just tried one at a time. what a waste of my time).
     
    #13 darenko, Aug 26, 2010
  14. mmichaell

    mmichaell Member

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    If it sounds non-metallic, it could be one of the many plastic panels under the car.
     
    #14 mmichaell, Aug 26, 2010
  15. Turkf26

    Turkf26 New prius owner

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    I have the same sound and it is definetly a "clunk" from the front suspension. I work at a bodyshop here in Cali and have had multiple people drive and hear the sound. Of course the dealership cant figure out the problem but i have narrowed it down to the strut assembly. The only thing we can figure it may be is the spring compressing and rubbing on the upper and lower mounts. The rubber between the bottom of the spring and the strut housing is no where near what it should be to stop metal from metal contact. I am going to see if i can compress the strut and add some sort of addition to the rubber ring to see if that gets rid of the noise.

    Has anyone else tried this?
     
    #15 Turkf26, Aug 28, 2010
  16. pixelmixer

    pixelmixer New Member

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    In my case after driving 2 nearly identical cars (2010 III and my 2010 V) the clattering noise goes away upon brake application. Based on the amount of responses to my original post, it sounds like an issue that many cars exhibit.
     
    #16 pixelmixer, Sep 1, 2010
  17. vinnie97

    vinnie97 Whatever Works

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    I hear this also...it makes me cringe every time because I can hear the sound echoing off the pavement from what is an otherwise quiet car. Glad to hear I'm not alone!
     
    #17 vinnie97, Sep 1, 2010
  18. techcar

    techcar Junior Member

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    how can I find the TSB myself? I have the same annoying noise and the dealer never hears anything...

    Thanks, and what foglite kit did you use?

    Thanks for the help.

    Techcar
     
    #18 techcar, Sep 3, 2010
  19. pixelmixer

    pixelmixer New Member

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    Here is the latest update:
    Recently my friend had a Toyota Tech record the clattering sound coming from his 2010 Prius. If I understood correctly, it will be sent to Japan for review. In the meantime, the Tech installed something to attempt to quiet the clatter but it didn't work. He's now waiting for Toyota to come up with a fix, as this isn't the first time they've had a complaint about the noise. Also, it appears the front calipers are Corolla-sourced. Have to wait & see what Toyota and the Techs come up with.
    The dealership claims there is no TSB on this problem.
     
    #19 pixelmixer, Sep 6, 2010
  20. Oakmont

    Oakmont New Member

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    #20 Oakmont, Sep 9, 2010
    1 person likes this.
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