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Help diagnosing vibration at low speed

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by JSB_99, Jan 30, 2022.

  1. JSB_99

    JSB_99 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2017
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I recently came back to the prius family after selling my 2008 a few years ago. I purchased a 2010 with 145K miles and after driving 200 miles home there was a low speed vibration like driving over rumble strips I did not notice on the test drive since it was mostly on a highway. I know a lot of people complain about the ride but i'm convinced my issue is not normal. The car drives perfect at higher speeds and does well on the highway and there is no issues there.

    When driving below say 30mph the rear of the car vibrates like you are driving over rumble strips or if your tires had flat spots in them but maybe worse. It is also more noticeable when making a low speed turn when you are putting more pressure on side of the car than the other. I drove in just EV mode and it still does it so it's not engine related.

    Car had some 5 years old michelins on it so we replaced those thinking they had flat spots as they were nearing needing replacement anyways. tires are factory 15" size on factory wheels, all struts and shocks have been replaced and tire pressure was checked this morning and is 35/33 they had been slightly over inflated by the tire shop.

    I'm looking for suggestions on what to check or anyone else with the same issue. I'm getting ready to check the rear brakes and wheel bearings but don't know where else to look.
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Did you replace the rear shocks or did you buy the car with the shocks replaced? Any accidents on the car?
     
  3. JSB_99

    JSB_99 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2017
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I replaced them myself this week with Toyota shocks. Old ones were definitely bad. There was an accident that showed up on the Autocheck from about 4 years ago on the passenger side that was listed as being minor.

    I did pull one of the rear wheels today to check the brakes and wheel bearing just grasping at straws. The sliding pins moved freely but the outside pad only had about 1/4 left and the inner pad had half or more so not sure if that indicates a problem. Wheel bearing turned freely and didn't make any noise.
     
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I would rotate tires and recheck the balance. See if that changes anything. There really isn’t much to the rear end of the car. Maybe even check if everything inside the car is secure (spare tire and batteries)
     
  5. JSB_99

    JSB_99 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2017
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Tires are brand new with less than 50 miles on them. Had the same issue with the last tires and it was thought they might have flat spots plus they were nearing replacement time anyways so we went ahead and got a new set. Spare tire was loose but took care of that the other day and 12v battery is only a few months old so do need to check that.

    Going to go ahead and replace rear brakes since they will need it in the near future anyways but maybe what i'm feeling is just the normal rough ride i've read a lot about.
     
  6. JSB_99

    JSB_99 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2017
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I did some reading on the outer pad being worn about 50% more than the inner pad and everything points to sticking pins. Mine moved freely but maybe not freely enough. I also forgot to mention when I spun the rotor by hand without the wheel on it did seem like maybe the pad was dragging so hoping this is the issue.