Rattling noise from rear suspension

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by altdel, Oct 17, 2016.

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  1. altdel

    altdel Member

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    I start noticing a somewhat loud rattling noise from the right rear last Friday. It sounded like something was loose and was flapping around as the car was moving. I emptied everything from the trunk and backseat but the noise was still there. After some online searches for suspension noise, I was able to reproduce the problem. When I bounced the rear bumper up and down, I could hear a clear click-click noise coming from the rear suspension area.

    I took the car to the dealer to have it checked this morning. This afternoon they called me back to say that they have identified the problem, but didn't have the parts to fix it. They ordered the parts, which will there in the morning, and I had to leave the car overnight. I'm interested to see what parts got replaced.

    I had a Gen 2 (2006) Prius for 10 years, with 200K miles when I sold it. The only thing I had to replace was a water pump after more than 100K miles. My current Gen 4 Prius 2 is 8 months old with 16K miles on it, but I'm already facing two safety recalls... and this.
     
    #1 altdel, Oct 17, 2016
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i know, toyota quality is loosing it's luster. i wonder if it's because of the new direction they have undertaken with akio toyoda.
     
    #2 bisco, Oct 17, 2016
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  3. altdel

    altdel Member

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    I picked up my car this morning. It turned out that the problem was the top nut on the right rear shock was loose.
    There is even a TSB for it (TSB 0144-16). They replaced the top nut on both rear shocks and the noise is gone.
     
    #3 altdel, Oct 18, 2016
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  4. frankemtp1

    frankemtp1 Junior Member

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    I had a similar problem with my Gen 4 T4 and a torque wrench and a bit of knowledge fixed it. It took 2 trips to the dealer but all quiet now.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #4 frankemtp1, Oct 18, 2016
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  5. altdel

    altdel Member

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    The "top nut" replaced has a Toyota parts number of 94130-61200.
    It's the parts marked "10" in the drawing.
    TopNut.png
     
    #5 altdel, Oct 18, 2016
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Underfoot

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    Is that 3rd gen rear suspension, solid rear beam?
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Oct 19, 2016
  7. altdel

    altdel Member

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    That drawing is from the parts vendor's website and is not specific to Gen4's double-wishbone rear suspension.
    The top nut fits Prius's rear shocks from model year 2012 to 2016, according to the website info.
    The Gen4's double-wishbone looks like this:
    RearSuspension-1024x758.jpg
     
    #7 altdel, Oct 19, 2016
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Underfoot

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    Yeah, that's what I was thinking: different pic but right part. :)
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Oct 19, 2016
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  9. Anastaceyrose

    Anastaceyrose Member

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    I took mine in about 3 months ago and they fixed the same exact part. I had the same rattling too.
     
    #9 Anastaceyrose, Oct 20, 2016
  10. altdel

    altdel Member

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    Wow, it's more wide-spread than I thought. I wish they had made the double wishbone more reliable :)
     
    #10 altdel, Oct 20, 2016
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  11. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    The design is fine.

    The top nut on the rear shock was likely not torqued enough:
    1) with a regular nut.
    2) with a one time use lock nut.

    I bet they replaced the top nut with a lock nut (inside contains plastic that gets threaded when tightened, and is to be used once).
     
    #11 exstudent, Oct 20, 2016
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  12. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    Not torqued right during factory assembly??? You think?
     
    #12 RCO, Oct 20, 2016
  13. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Person on the line probably had the wrong setting, obviously low.
     
    #13 exstudent, Oct 20, 2016
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  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Underfoot

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    Or something it's torqueing against is compressing? Or the nuts are somehow working loose? Seems a common occurrence.
     
    #14 Mendel Leisk, Oct 20, 2016
  15. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    #15 goldfinger, Oct 23, 2016
  16. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    I wonder why they wouldn't use a removable threadlocker like Loctite 243. I keep a bottle around for whenever I am reassembling screws/nuts on any of my cars, tractors, mowers, trimmers, etc. It keeps fasteners from vibrating/moving after tightening, yet can still be easily removed when necessary. (y)
     
    #16 KennyGS, Oct 23, 2016
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  17. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    #17 krmcg, Oct 23, 2016
  18. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    The "real" nut in this problem, is the assembly line worker who doesn't give a damn about the quality of work he does. May have even left the nuts loose on purpose.
     
    #18 Coast Cruiser, Nov 22, 2016
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  19. Nick pakhnyuk

    Nick pakhnyuk Junior Member

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    Those nuts and bolts tend to get lose after driving over many Bumps

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #19 Nick pakhnyuk, Nov 22, 2016
  20. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    I've owned many cars in the past, dating back to 1972, and I've never once had a problem with "loose shock nuts." And never experienced any rattles (or failures) from the suspension parts. IMO, Toyota has gotten very sloppy in the last 10 years, and they probably don't care because they still sell a Zillion cars every year.
     
    #20 Coast Cruiser, Nov 22, 2016
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