I noticed the seam between the body and the bumper/fender part on my Prius was gaping ever so slightly today. It looks like there are a few light scratches, so maybe someone lightly bumped me? I tried pushing it in and up in case a clip wasn't catching, but I can't get it to completely close. I know it's a minute thing, but now that I've noticed, it bothers me.
View 17 RepliesI own 2001 2.0 Golf (first car) and lately as I drive I constantly hear this noise, it's very obnoxious, sounds like a washing machine going with a hard object in it. It's not continuous, but it doesn't happen rarely. Whenever I go over any bump, the slightest crack etc. I'm guessing it has something to do with the suspension? I'm not really sure since I'm still learning about cars...
View 1 RepliesI have a prius c 2 2012 and we just got about 8-9 inches of snow and after driving in the storm to work when I start up my prius or step on the gas to merge onto say a highway I have a small rattle noise in the rear/ muffler area under the car. My dad says it could just be build up of snow and ice under the car.
View 10 RepliesI bought the car yesterday as certified used, but today I noticed some tiny scratches on the rear fender. It looks like it was scratched before, and the bumper is repainted, but not the fender. I can hardly see the scratches nor do I care too much about it, but I am going to take the car to GEICO for photo inspection, and I worry if they will deny coverage if someone hits this part of the car.
The first photo is just down to a bit of white primer, the second photo shows a deeper scratch at the corner but I am not sure if it is deep to primer or metal. This may be just a small touch-up job without taking it off. Anyway I will take the car to a shop for an estimation before I go for GEICO's inspection.
I am working on my 2010 Prius, and needing to replace the front right fender. I have the collision manual, however, it does not shown completely what all must come off to remove the fender. I've removed the obvious 4 bolts, etc. Specifically
(a) what all must be removed to take off the fender, and
(b) are there any fender bolts that are concealed or out of plain view?
I'm still learning how to do P&G, it's my first hybrid. When I release the accelerator pedal completely, I see there's a small blue bar in the charge area. I know it in charging stage but does this slow down the car? I confuse if my car is slowed down by this or the wind resistance.
View 19 RepliesI have a 2010 Toyota Prius. I have had it for a little over a year. A couple weeks ago I noticed that the paint on the front fender had "bubbled up" in a strip approximately 8 inches long. It felt like the fender was cracked underneath it. I took the car in to the dealership. Their service department took off the fender and said that it was warped, not broken. They said it was due to some kind of heat damage that it had been exposed to. Of course, they said it wasn't due to any malfunctioning of the car. They say the car must have been "exposed" to some kind of heat source. In other words, it is all my fault and they are not going to fix it under the warranty! I have not exposed it to any kind of heat, except sun light!
View 12 RepliesI just recently bought 2012 CorollaS. Great car inside and out with about 20k miles. I've noticed under acceleration and sudden braking a pop is coming from the passenger fender area. I've replaced the motor mount on that side thinking that might have been the issue, but it's still there. What are the torque specs for the motor mount. Maybe it's simply not torqued correctly.
View 2 Replies89 v6 4Runner. When I turn the key forward you hear a "click" coming from the passenger side fender area. After a few turns the engine will turn over and away you go. Yesterday for the first time after a few clicks I lost all power to my instrument panel, no dash lights no gauges working and no click, nothing. Stereo, cigarette lighter still had power, even reset my dash clock so it lost all connections as well. Every few turns I would get lights back and turn the key to start and click and dead again. Eventually I bump started the engine, drove home and here I sit.
Relay box by the front fender... this is where the click is coming from, looked at a few posts from yoda tech and one person suggested cutting the no 4 line for the ignition system off the relay box and have it go directly to the pos post for the battery. This will be a closed circuit from the battery post direct to the starter relay yes?
Relay box is probably just getting old and wires are beat up. My electrical is not the best for sure. Can I just clean up the wires going to the relay box(es)?
I noticed that there are small dots in the center windshield just above the rear view mirror and wanted to have a tint strip installed to cut some heat and glare from the sun. Is it OK to have the tint over the dots or not? I have seen some priuses around and they just tinted the non dotted part of the windshield between the sides and the dotted center area.
View 8 RepliesA few weeks ago my 2010 Prius was involved in a minor front end collision. The car has since been repaired. Today I noticed that the passenger side headlight assembly (which was replaced) doesn't seem to fit quite right. There is a small gap between the assembly and the body panel at the most extreme point on the side of the car. Is this just a cosmetic issue, or could water seep in at the location and cause internal damage?
View 1 RepliesH2 weeks ago I bought a new Prius II and after giving my car a new wash this weekend I noticed small water marks on the bottom hatchback window. After trying to wipe them off with a microfiber cloth, they were still there. Then I tried Windex but they didn't go away. The only way I could get the water stains out was to scratch them off with my finger nail.
None of my other windows has this problem.
I bought a 2012 prius 4 with 42k miles recently. The car is just too loud. I've determined the "noise" to be the rear hatch bouncing when I drive over small bumps in the road. The bounce creates an air pressure change that is just too unacceptable. I've milled the hatch lock mechanism's holes into slots to I can close the hatch tighter. This made a little improvement. My next step will be to add some gasket material on the hatch itself so it closes tighter. My slots allow the hatch to bottom out so I had to back off the adjustment a bit.
View 5 RepliesI have an '04 EX Limited 6.0L. This past January while driving in CO from TX the truck overheated while driving stop and go in a small area looking for a particular store. The fan kicked in as it should have and it cooled some, but I begin to notice during the trip that anytime I was sitting still it would overheat. I had front and rear AC controls on heat as it was very cold. When driving normal speeds engine temps would cool down. The Heater would begin to blow cold air as the temp would rise when sitting still or barely moving. Got home and found radiator a little low of fluid and filled to just below the modified full line.
Fast forward 5 months. I've had no problems at all since until about 2 weeks ago I noticed the smell of antifreeze every time I would exit the truck. The degas bottle still looked full if you checked it cold or once you depressurized the system. No signs of puking. This past Friday after driving home from about an hour away I had to stop at a particularly long stop light and the AC began to blow hot air. I checked my temps(scanguageII) and it was getting hotter the longer I sat. Checked degas bottle when I got home no problems. I've been trying to get it to do this again but no luck. Suspected that it may be the heater core for the rear AC, but turning it on in any temp hasn't duplicated results.
I have a 2011 Prius 2, with 35K miles, and have noticed a clicking sound in the steering when hitting a small bump or hole in the road. If the car is parked, I can rock the steering wheel back and forth, and hear a clicking sound. I do not remember the noise being there until recently.
Also the radio reception seems to have gotten weaker. If I am on a trip out of town, it now seems that I am looking for stronger stations frequently, as static interferes. I had the car to the dealer for this a few months ago, and they said they could not duplicate the problem
This car is about ready to drop off the warranty, and would like to have Toyota pay for the repair if it is needed.
Ive been using synthetic 5w-20 for about 7k miles on my 09 corolla s, has hit 100k. Was looking under the engine and small amount of oil on the drain plug. I had the drain plug replaced about 15k miles ago and not sure if thats where its actually leaking from.
Should I switch to high mileage oil? Ive used 5w-30 high mileage awhile ago to go with the good ol oil consumption with this year engine and didnt like the dip in mpg's and felt like the car couldnt run as well as it should. I switched to synthetic to take better care of the engine after using high mileage for about 6k miles.
Question 1 - Should I switch back to high mileage?
Questions 2 - Should I use Lucas oil leak product? (I use the gas cleaner)
Interested in possibly changing out the OEM misty grey carpet floor for the darker OEM grey when I have my seats out anyway to install heated leather seats. The carpet I have now shows dirt and stains too easily.
View 2 RepliesI had a friend drive my car while I was in the rear hatch area trying to find a bad rattle. I discovered that it is inside a large plastic panel just where the rear window wiper motor would be. I'm sure if I could safely remove this large panel, I could find out what the rattle is and quiet it.
How to remove this panel? Are there some hidden bolts or screws? I don't want to force-pry it off if that is not the proper way to remove it. I'd sure rather do this myself than go thru the dealer rigmarole.
I have a 2013 Prius II with 35,000 miles we bought certified used from a dealer 1 year ago. When I turn the AC on, there is sometimes a louder than normal noise from the front right of the engine compartment area. Not right near the surface - seems to be coming from a little deeper in the engine compartment. If it is present, it starts when AC is turned on and stops a half second after the AC is turned off. Can't get it to repeat for dealer service tech yet (of course). I recorded the sound and played it for the tech who told me to check pink coolant levels in both reservoirs and then bring in to dealer. Thought it could be a dry or malfunctioning pump of some kind? Today I smelled a slight burning smell when the AC was turned on. No check engine light, AC seems to be working fine. My wife thinks the noise may have also been there when the heat was turned on but I cannot verify.
View 20 RepliesI test drove a new 2012 Prius Three today and heard an odd whining sound coming from the car. Seemed to be from the front area, but I'm not sure. The salesman said it was "sonar," which was added to the latest models so that pedestrians, particularly those who are hard of hearing will know you are coming.
View 16 RepliesVehicle: 2010 Prius with Solar Roof.
Issue: There's a buzz coming from the ceiling approximately over the rear right seating area.
Solution: TBD.