Prius C :: Road Noise Deadening In Cabin
Feb 20, 2014
Was wondering if take out the carpet and added dyno mat or fat mat yet. Does this make a big difference in road noise? Or very little? My C2 seems pretty loud on the freeway.
View 9 RepliesWas wondering if take out the carpet and added dyno mat or fat mat yet. Does this make a big difference in road noise? Or very little? My C2 seems pretty loud on the freeway.
View 9 RepliesMy 2012 RX350 now for over a year and like it a lot.........BUT.
There's seems to be a lot "road noise" that's transmitted back into the cabin, like driving over expansion joints on blacktop or rough road surface, is this normal?
I drove a 2000 RX300 for 100,000 miles and don't remember it being this noisy. Interior noise is great and quiet.
I noticed when driving on a rough surface/road (gravel, snowy road with sand) the there is a considerable amount of noise coming inside the cabin on the rear end especially.
When I was doing a quick wash today I just realized the sound is coming from the wheel base. On the rear and front end there is a plastic covering the wheel base. Sound proofing / undercoating wheel base.
It's only at higher speeds ( read highway travel ) that I have an issue with the road noise intruding into the cabin....mostly emanating from the rear, as best I can tell. I can live with it but I prefer not to.
I took my car to a buddy who operates a shop dealing with high-end stereo conversions, etc. Surprisingly, he said he deals with these issues all the time....including vehicles in all price ranges. He uses a product that he claims to be very effective at deadening the transfer of road noises. I had him look over my SF and make recommendations.
The product comes in fairly large sheets that are easily trimmed to conform to the spaces being treated. These sheets appear to be some sort of rubber based material. The product is applied to the inner surfaces of the car's exterior metal. Once applied ( primarily a gluing-on process ) the stuff adheres there, according to him, " for life ".
For application, he has to remove all the interior plastic pieces so he can get to the exposed body metal behind them. In my case, he would also do the rear doors so the interior door panels on those doors will also come off. Once he has access to all the areas he wants to get at, he preps the metal and glues on the product. According to him, getting all the plastic parts and door panels off, and then back on, is a snap.
I'm trying to figure out what is wrong with my Prius. A few weeks ago, there was a big rainstorm in California, and I accidentally backed into what I think was a storm drain under very deep water. I heard a big thunk, but there was no visible damage to the car. A few days later, I noticed a low groaning noise that comes from inside the cabin, somewhere around the center console/front passenger side. I usually only hear it when I am moving at low/moderate speeds and turning the wheel to the left, although occasionally if the road is bumpy I hear it with my wheels straight ahead. For a couple weeks, I thought the noise only happened when moving-- however, last Friday, I was sitting in the car, which was parked on a hill with the wheels curbed (steering wheel all the way to the left). I turned the car on, and immediately the car started groaning (even though the car was in park). Then, after about 30 seconds, the gas engine turned off (I think that's what happens when the car gets much quieter after idling for a bit) and the noise stopped. SO, it happened when the car was in park as well.
View 6 RepliesAfter replacing the cabin air filter I heard a loud noise from the fan area in the car. I rechecked the installation which was ok. I then reached down into the fan assembly, and there was the problem, some leaves had fallen into the fan when I removed the old filter. Took out the leaves , and all is well.
I replaced the OEM filter with a Fram Fresh Breeze filter which interesting enough only had half as many folds. I figure a big company like Fram must know what they are doing?
I am a fairly new 2013 Prius C (Four) owner and I was wondering about cabin noise, specifically plastic clicking and popping. My questions is about, plastic clicking and popping sounds coming from the dash area?
It's hard to pinpoint exactly where but most of the sounds comes from the far left and right corners, close to the window vents where the windshield meets the dash. I do also notice some noise around the middle of the dash as well. This occurs on any type of road condition but is of course aggravated with rougher road surfaces. I don't believe it to be a small piece of plastic bouncing around but more of loose panels or something of that nature but I'm not sure.
I recently turned on my AC and heard a "flapping" noise from the cabin air circulating fan blade. After a minute or so, noise gradually subsided. Two days later, I turned on the AC and a smell most foul filled the cabin. Being a farm boy, I know the odor of ripe dead animal and I'm guessing a mouse. Is there any reasonable way to gain access to the area where the fan is so I can attempt a clean-up?
View 4 RepliesI own a 2007 Prius Touring w/120kish miles. We are currently experiencing a huge booming resonance at idle and low RPMs. The noise isn't subtle, almost sounds like we're in a Huey with the doors open. Here's what I believe I know:
- No DTC's are being thrown
- ICE seems as smooth as ever
- No apparent changes in fuel economy
- Plugs were replaced 40k ago and coil ignitors are original--not running rough or missing though
- Visual inspection of exhaust shows no leaks or contact with body
- Motor mounts pass the test I looked up [in drive/reverse, depress brake, watch unusual engine displacement]
- Noise is not vehicle speed related, only engine speed coupled--probably between 1K and 1.8k rpm
I'm sure I'm leaving something out but aside from messing with the coils or plugs I've looked at everything I can think of. I haven;t gone to the dealer yet. Lot's of reading searching have only revealed CV issues.
2005 with 106K miles, New Michelin Defender XT tires
I had both front hub bearings go out on me recently and replaced them with a Moog and a Timken unit (2 weeks apart). After replacement, I still notice what sounds like dry bearing or gear noise at 35-38mph, starting at about 25. There could also be tire noise mixed in. I don't drive this car normally, so it's hard for me to figure if this is normal noise for this car. I know the tires and low sound deadening on a Prius makes it much noisier than other cars, but even so, I just want to make sure there is no well known issue with other components. When the car gets up to highway speeds, that noise is masked by regular road and engine noise and the overall noise level is about what you would expect for a car like this. The noise at low speed remains the same whether in straight line or in a turn, or with the engine in neutral.
We have had our 2010 with 20k miles for about 3 weeks now. I can honestly say that I can't remember being more disappointed in car. Specifically, the road and wind noise above 60 miles an hour can at times be unbearable. The Prius makes the inside of my 14 year old BMW sound like a Lexus.
I thought it might be the tires since the originals were worn. We had an unrepairable leak in one tire so we went ahead and put brand new Michelins on the car. There was only a minor improvement in noise.
Starts getting loud above 35mph, local tire shop recommends replacing the struts- says they are causing bumps in the tire because the tire is bouncing along as I drive. I did feel bumps going across the tire when I passed my hand across it.
View 15 RepliesThis is a 2001 Prius - car runs great and the AC is fine. However, driving down the road, when the AC is turned on there is a noticeable scraping/ticking noise - sounds like it coming from under the hood.
With the car parked, and the ignition ON, but without the gas engine running, there is no scraping noise.
So my several month old Prius II has developed a metal on metal sound when I'm hitting various road bumps.. it's a "clack" sound emanating from my wheel well area that is heard when the windows are down.. I've taken it in twice and the first time they couldn't figure it out... second time they said they drove mine and a brand new Prius which also has the same sound and said it was the brake calipers. Funny thing is, I never heard this noise until after about 2k miles on my car.. They also would NOT disable my reverse beep sound or seat belt beep saying it was a safety feature and shouldn't be disabled.
View 19 RepliesFour months after I bought my Prius III last year, we discovered that the left rear wheel was so out of alignment that it ruined the tire in 5,000 miles, and then also ruined the one put in its place during regular tire rotation. Toyota replaced the entire set of tires, and I checked the alignment this fall and again this spring when I took off the snow tires.
Everything looked fine. Nevertheless, when I rotated the tires today, the tech reported that ALL FOUR tires were substantially cupped on the inside, after only 6,000 miles on this set of tires. Road noise has become much higher. It doesn't make sense that all four wheels got similarly out of alignment in just two months.
When I'm driving with Windows up and audio off I can hear this hollow road noise, static buzzing sound from my back right side.
View 11 RepliesI've owned a 2012 Prius Two for less than a month now, and today while driving home I noticed what sounds like road/wind noise coming from the rear passenger side area. Googling about this revealed information about the battery fan. However, I'm unsure if what I'm hearing is the battery fan or road/wind noise that I just haven't heard before.
Here's information regarding the conditions I was driving in:
- 84 degrees outside temperature
- car had been sitting in an open-air parking lot for about 2 hours
- no tint, no windows cracked for hot air release
- upon returning to the car I turned on the AC to 68, set at mid range speed
- was driving on the interstate doing some stop-and-go, but mostly 50-plus MPH
- windows rolled up completely, no doors ajar
- it sounded like air rushing by
- could not hear anything coming from the left rear side, but my left ear is partially blocked by the headrest, so...
- sound would decrease in volume if car slowed down
- sound would increase in volume as car got faster, but would eventually level out it seemed
- sound would completely go away at speeds below 20ish mph
- sound would not change based on level of AC, whether on, low, high or off
- checked battery vent for obstructions/debris, saw nothing, and was cool to the touch
- car has about 28k miles on it, replaced rear tires yesterday but all bolts, caps, etc. are securely in place
What the heck could it be? It gets a little louder on left-hand curves of the road, but pretty much constant. Its not the tires, they are new as of a few months ago.
View 12 RepliesI just got a 2007 Prius and using it mostly on a dirt/rough road. My problem is that there is a metal cranking noise coming from under car and trunk. This is nit happened when i drive on a good road.
I already asked the mechanic to check sway bar, shocks, struts, and brake. They said everything is okay except the front left strut boots which is already worn out. But the strut itself is still in good condition.
I'm OK everything except the noise. Already replaced new tires but it doesn't work....
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.
This system has a feature that is supposed to adjust the sound level to compensate for road noise etc. I had a Ford with this feature and you could adjust the sensitivity. It worked great; adjust the volume sitting still and the volume went up and down as you traveled.
In the 2010 Prius, I have enable the feature but I cannot figure out if the sensitivity can be adjusted and I do not hear that it is working. I set the volume and start driving and as the road noise increases the sound just gets drowned out. If you turn it up, when you slow or stop it just blasts loudly; no adjustments at all.