Shudder, studder, vibration issue

Is the car running well other than that? If so, I wouldn't be too concerned with it. As you drive your Prius more and more, you'll learn that it is a (imho of course) great driving little car, but very cheaply constructed elsewhere other than the powertrain. I've been having similar issues on my '10 since I bought it. It happens when my "power band" is near the mid line or just above and when the car is in high gear. Irritating rattle near the passenger side. Now it rattles under the dash, near the glove, in the rear, somewhere in the driver's door...POS interior is the best I can put it. It is a little car after all...after many miles on my Prius, I've learned to turn on the radio and try my best to forget about it, especially after taking in to the dealer and having them not find anything wrong with it. Good luck with your Prius, but if I were you, I'd take it to the dealer, if still under warranty, or if it's out of warranty, maybe still take it back if you bought it at a Toyota dealer and have them look at it. Most likely they will not "find" anything wrong.

 

My guess is that the ICE is firing up. Can you tell when the engine starts (while in motion)? It usually happens right at the middle of the bar graph in the HSI. The engine will also spin up around 46mph regardless of what the pedal is doing.

For myself, the engine start up has steadily becoming more noticeable over time (41K miles now). Perhaps the plugs are getting fouled, timings issues, etc. It certainly isn't as smooth as with was when it was new.

I have to admit though, there might be more to it than it seems. Have it checked out by the dealer.

Welcome aboard!

 

Yeah, you want to get it in and at least report the issue before the warranty is up. That might help later down the line if there is a major failure to the issue.

 

I can recreate this engine vibration rather easily.... when driving about mid-30s to mid-40s mph up a very slight incline or accelerating slowing on the flat, and with the HSI display, adjust the throttle such that the HSI bar is right under the "O" in the ECO symbol, one should feel or maybe hear this. In my mind I think of this as an efficiency sweet spot, getting good tractive force for the fuel used, with part of it turning into stored potential energy (almost fully recoverable) when altitude is increasing, ready for the next zero fuel use downhill glide. If this vibration does indeed indicate an efficiency sweep spot, it nice to have aural feedback instead of visual feedback (HSI) for safety reasons. But other sites I've read suggest that "near lugging" is good for mpg or L/100km.

 

concur.

 

A Scan guage helps me keep on eye on the ICE start ups when I see the RPM value go from 0 to a few hundred rpm.
When the radio is on and the aftermarket speakers vibrating around me, I can not hear or feel when the ICE starts up. That being said I do drive with the radio off one day, every 6 to 8 weeks to hear and observe the noises and rattles that might be new to the car.

I can say there are some systems, normal hybrid, noises before the ICE comes on that have gotten a little louder over time. Never in a bad way more like a used car kinda way.

That strange vibration, try driving in Power mode and see if you can feel it more or less?

 

I have exactly the same issue. My 2011 has 230K and this problem just started showing up. All you have to do is run about 45 mpy and ever so gradually cycle back and forth between slight accel and then slight de-accel. You can feel the vibration very easily. It didn't do this at all until now. When using the "ECO" versus "POWER" "Band Chart", its about at the 75% position on the band from left to right. Always at the 75% position. Getting worse.... Wonder how much$$ to fix it.