1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

What's That Sound My Prius Is Making? (Sticky)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by grinthock, May 1, 2008.

  1. grinthock

    grinthock New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    86
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    (good candidate for sticky)

    Being a new Prius owner i've been hearing sounds, and keep spending time researching and looking, and i've found some answers, but it would be great if we could have a sticky for people who are new (like myself), so i'll start.


    1) What's that ticking noise i hear in front of me sometimes when I brake, or just after I brake?

    --- That's the brake accumulator pump, because the prius engine is not always running, it uses an electric pump to charge up the brakes - and you are hearing it


    2) What's that noise I hear when i'm pressing the brake, it sounds like something is rubbing..

    -- That's the electric motor regenerating, it makes a hum, sometimes a whine noise

    3) Sometimes when I come to a stop at a light the car shakes..

    -- That's pretty normal, when the engine cut's off at a stop light, sometimes it will wiggle a bit.


    Ok who else..... Let's see what you have.
     
    #1 grinthock, May 1, 2008
  2. grinthock

    grinthock New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    86
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Two more fun sounds I heard last night... Need to identify...

    After I shut the car off I was in the quiet garage... After a few moments I heard a quick "Suck" sound and then I heard what sounded like the brake accumulator pump clicking.... Anyone know what that is?
     
    #2 grinthock, May 4, 2008
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,926
    16,146
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I thought that's the clicking you mentioned in #1 in your first post!


    Don't forget to mention the coolant thermos/pump transfer. (The whine before/after start up/shut down)
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, May 4, 2008
  4. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

    Joined:
    May 3, 2005
    4,096
    81
    13
    Location:
    USA | Oregon | Portland area | 97004 |
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Here's a sound for you: I was cleaning my car today and listening to the radio. Not wanting to run down the little 12V, I put the car in READY mode. I opened the hood (bonnet) and heard a peculiar whine. I determined it was the inverters changing high voltage to 12 voltage. With the hood up you can really hear it!

    I'm not going to mention dash rattles...
     
    #4 Bill Merchant, May 5, 2008
  5. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2004
    3,998
    18
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    And then there is that noise which can best be described as a sigh . . . "huuuuu" or "hummmmmmm."

    . . . oh wait, that's just me being content with owning a Prius. ;)
     
    #5 Sufferin' Prius Envy, May 5, 2008
  6. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2004
    3,790
    152
    0
    Location:
    Park View, Los Angeles, CA. U.S.A
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    if the car is on.. yet engine off, you hear the inverter coolant pump. you can see it splash liquid back into the reservoir. it's pretty loud :) hehe
     
    #6 V8Cobrakid, May 5, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)