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Loud humming noise at 30+ MPH

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mjnels, Oct 4, 2016.

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  1. mjnels

    mjnels New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2016
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    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello!

    I have a 2008 Prius, and recently there is an extremely loud humming noise coming from what sides like either a wheel well or under the hood.... its kind of hard to tell as it sort of permeates the whole car.

    My wife describes is as the sound a car makes when driving over cobblestone or bricks at high speed... just sort of a droning/humming. We have had the car for 3+ years about 180K miles on it.

    I thought it was the tires, but after getting 4 new tires the sound persists.

    It usually starts at about 30 MPH, and the strange thing is that it totally goes away when we turn even slightly to the right.... but when turning left and going straight its extremelly loud, and really annoying. Any insight as to possible causes would be great!.

    Thanks for the help!
     
    #1 mjnels, Oct 4, 2016
  2. Frontporch

    Frontporch Member

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2015
    397
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    Location:
    Nj
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello. Saw your post hanging around and even though I haven't had similar issues with the front of a car, I did have a Mitsubishi Eclipse with a bad rear wheel bearing. Sounded like a helicopter. Crazy loud. I did notice a pretty dramatic change when I made turns. This had little more effect on the rears other than changing the loading. The wheel on the inside of the turn had less weight and quieted considerably. You might be able to rule that out by turning on a sloped surface like making a turn going up a hill.

    I have had other issues like knocking CV joints, but that was mostly on turns, bad brakes, but that would probably change when the brakes are applied.

    Maybe you might have some luck trying to check for play in the front tires jacking each side and grabbing on top and bottom of the tire... attempt to rock back and forth.. should be no play on good bearings. Might also be able to hear some noise or subtle vibration when rotating tires.
     
    #2 Frontporch, Oct 11, 2016
    bisco likes this.
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