Prius (Gen 2) :: Grinding Noise From Dashboard When Temperature Drops Below 45 Degrees
Jan 20, 2013
Starting this past winter, whenever the overnight temperature drops below 45 degrees, a loud grinding/whirring noise emanates from inside the middle of the dashboard of my 2006 Prius. The noise occurs in regular one second or so intervals, and appears to originate inside or behind the touchscreen and radio/CD player.
The noise continues for about 15-20 seconds, and then goes away. The problem won't reoccur until the car cools overnight - i.e. the grinding noise won't reappear if I start the car up again when it's warm.
I recorded the sound this morning and have attached a sample WAV file here. I had to upload it as a zip file because the upload facility on PriusChat apparently doesn't allow one to directly upload a wav file.
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Today in NY the temp in the morning was 0 d F. As I started up the car I hear a rough aggressive movement coming from the engine compartment then the Ready sign, beeping and the check engine light, (Giant red triangle ! Emergency sign), and the (!) sign.
I turned it off and one 3 times same thing, I decided to leave it and turned back home, then I noticed the battery level dropped to 2 bars from like 5 bars within 5 minutes. I did/was able to move the car back and then forth just to see if it would work, but the normal engine never came back on(on the computer screen).
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The glove box normally opens in a slow and gradual, pneumatic kind of way. I opened it on Friday and it made a grinding noise then just dropped down. The left side hinge has ridges, like cog teeth and I'm guessing whatever gear fits those teeth has fallen out of alignment. The latch still works fine.
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When the temp drops below 40 degrees I get growling/vibration. When I took it to the dealer the service supervisor test drove it. He then checked with one of the mechanics who said they all sound like that. I called Nissan. They told me I had to resolve the issue with the dealer (who is now out of business).
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I have a 2005 Toyota Avalon. The radio will not come on if the temperature is 40 degrees or below. I have to turn on the heater for several minutes and then it will come on fine. WTH? This have been going on for years. Not a problem in Mississippi but bums me out in Denver!
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I seem to recall my 4.2l oil and coolant temperature staying at a consistent 200 degrees, but now my oil temp seems to hover at or slightly above 180 while coolant remains at 200.
A 5 mile high speed uphill run brought the oil temp to about 190 degrees, but it soon settled to 180 once I slowed to 80mph.
So ambient temp is about 15 degrees Fahrenheit; however, that really shouldn't make a difference with a water cooled/thermostat engine, correct?
My main concern is that lower oil operating temperatures wont allow condensation to boil off.
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My 2007 5.7 Toyota Tundra has developed a quirky habit when the outside temperature is lower than 50 degrees, the transmission fails to change gear ratios properly until such time as the truck warms up. In other words, for the first several blocks leaving home in the morning, the Tachometer reads 2,000 at 30 MPH, but when it warms up, the tach will drop to 1200 to 1500 at 30 MPH. The truck started doing this around 40,000 miles. It now has 53,000 miles and my warranty will expire at 60,000 miles. The dealer tells me that the failure of the transmission shifting properly when cold is NOT an indication that my transmission might be in the need of repair or adjustment.
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My husband has a 2013 Subaru Legacy, and we have noticed that on days where the temperature is below 35 degrees Fahrenheit or so, it is having trouble starting. It cranks for about 7-10 seconds prior to starting, or will not start until after a few attempts. We have owned the car for about a year, and did not notice this problem last winter.
So far, we have taken it back to the Subaru Dealer twice. The first time, they told us they found nothing wrong with the car. The second time, they tried draining and recharging the battery. Our car is still having issues starting, and we are not sure where to turn to next. Is this a known issue with Subaru Legacy? Our car is still under warranty.
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I have a 2004 Subaru Legacy Wagon with around 90,000 miles on it. I purchased the car in 2008 with about 26,000 miles on it. Starting two years ago, whenever the air temperature is below 15-20 degrees, my car will develop a smell of antifreeze in the cabin when I start it and let it warm up for a minute or two. It did not do it for the first winters I owned it. I have not been able to detect the smell outside of the vehicle, and I have not been able to detect the smell in the summer months, even if the car is left idling for several minutes. The White Whale (my cars name according to my wife) was worked on by my local mechanic (where the car was purchased) last winter. They considered and replaced the thermostat, a leaking (or at least they thought it was possibly leaking) hose, and then finally after consulting over the phone with the Subaru dealer that is a little over 45 miles from my house, decided that the problem was likely the head gasket.
So at around 65,000 miles I had the head gasket replaced by the Subaru dealer. Problem is, they replaced it in March, and the temps were high enough that I couldn't really tell if the fix had fixed the original problem or not. It had seemed that the smell was at least less intense, but hard to tell. So, here we are in the midst of January, yesterday the car started beautifully (which is one reason that I love this car) after sitting outside all night at -11 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chills down to below -30. Last winter, in these conditions, the smell would be so strong that I would get nauseated driving the entire 15 minutes to work.
This winter, since the repair, the smell seems limited to only the first idling time. After that, the cabin seems to get cleared out with fresh air, and the smell dissipates. There have never been any check engine lights, the oil and coolant levels have never been a problem, the temperature is never higher than just above the mid-line on the gauge which has stayed the same all throughout the time I've owned it, and performance has been completely unaffected by the smell, other than my performance as a driver when trying to navigate in a car that reeks of antifreeze. Also, I have never noticed what some describe as a haze or liquid building up on the windshield when a heater core goes out and my mechanics, both dealership and local, assured me that this was not the problem.
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I read in a different vehicle forum that, in vehicles where the A/C condenser is mounted in front of the engine coolant radiator, when the engine coolant temperature reaches some near-overheat limit, the onboard system disengages the A/C compressor clutch so its condenser does not preheat airflow going to the radiator in an attempt to avoid overheating.
Is this the case with the Toyota Highlander (and specifically in a 2008 Hybrid Limited)???
I've recently been experiencing loss of A/C cooling when the center console outside temperature exceeds about 107 and the dashboard coolant temperature gauge is almost midway up towards H, but still closer to C. But once the outside temp reading drops back below 107, and I restart the vehicle, the A/C is once again cool.
Since coolant temperature is likely is impacted by higher outside temperatures, might the coolant temperature sender be failing or simply aged such that it is out of calibration, falsely indicating too high a reading?
How difficult is it to replace the coolant temperature sensor? Where is it located (in case it's just a corroded connection!)?
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Chasing a problem for sometime now with my early 99 F350 auto 7.3 w/ 134K. This problem seems to only happen when the temperature outside is lower than 20 degrees.
When approaching a hill the truck will lose top end power (2000 RPM and greater) and shudder. Basically, start at 65 and you reach the top and 45. My gauges are all normal, no codes are present, no leaks or other abnormal sounds.
Fuel pressure is good (even under load), passed buzz test, passed CCT test. Is this possibly just the nature of the beast (being cold)? Seems to go away after 30 minutes or more of driving. In the last month, we have:
-changed all fluids and filters, except in tank filters
-sensors replaced: map, ebpv (and tube), IAT, and intake spyder sensor
-boost leak checked
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I have a 99 Suburban 5.7L that does not like to start when outside air temperature drops in the fall. This only effects initial morning start and once started it starts and runs fine all day! If i give it a very small shot of either in crankcase vent opening in intake bonnet it starts and runs fine after that! The pump cycles and seems to be fine! Once started all is fine untill the next morning after it sets 12 hours! Could it be the AIT switch?
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Two things are going on with my car. First, when I drive at freeway speeds and turn on the heater, the car temperature drops and then I hear the sound of a tea kettle going off. Second, I hear an off and on sound coming from under the hood on the passenger side. It sounds like metal scratching on metal or like a soft whistle sound. 1997 Honda Accord LX
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My center speaker grill in the middle of the dashboard makes rattle noises when the temperature drops. So in the summer the parts expand to be tight and no noise. As soon as the temp drops <60F, the parts shrink slightly and the speaker grill makes all kinds of creaking, rattling noises as the car goes over bumps, goes around turns, etc.
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My drivers side window hates the cold, getting slower as the temperature drops. When it's real cold it gets to the point where it only goes up a fraction of an inch and stops, then I have to wait a minute and try again. I find that grabbing it and pulling while I hit the switch works a little. So I've researched the problem a bit. Don't think the rails need silicone lube as some suggest. I've seen one guy tap the window motor with a screwdriver, and a post about somehow getting to the brushes and cleaning them. I'm thinking just replace the motor, but it seems odd that it's temperature related.
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I have never seen any of my other cars do this and I just want to see if this is normal. It happens like clockwork every time I get in the car with a cold engine. I let the car sit while the RPMs are high and as soon as the tach drops I start to drive the car softly. The engine temp gauge reaches normal operating temp in a normal amount of time, it does not just jump to the middle. But after about 1 minute it just starts falling quite quickly, as you can see in the video. It's very predictable - happens every time I drive it so it was easy to catch on video. I don't notice any difference in engine performance. Is this normal for a VW GTI or is something wacky going on?
You can skip to 19-20 seconds in the video to see the needle drop.
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I have a 2004 Honda Civic that has about 183,000 miles.The problem is that when I start my car in the morning, the car never totally warms up when it's cold outside (I live in VA), until I press the gas pedal and rev the engine. Until I press the gas pedal, the temperature gauge stays at cold, and the heater blows cool air. I've taken it to the dealer 12 times for the same issue, but they can never find the real problem.
They flushed the A/C hoses and radiator, replaced the radiator cap, installed an upper hose, installed head gasket, water pump, and while there, the timing belt. They've also "burped" it numerous times. Also, when I have the heater on and fan on high, the temperature gauge drops as I'm going down a mountain and not pressing the gas pedal. After driving, and I stop, it also slowly drops while idling for about 5 - 10 min.
When it's warmer outside, I don't have any problems, because I don't have the heater on. This has been going on for about 1 1/2 years now, and it's starting to get cooler again, so I need to get it fixed or sell it.
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The leak is only present when it rains. It drops from behind the dashboard onto the foot rest (left of the break pedal) soaking the floor mat and carpet. Where is the water coming from and how can I plug the leak? 2002 Honda Accord EX...
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1998 Honda Civic EX. This has been a great car and have got a ton of good miles on it. The problem that I am having now is with the temperature gauge. The measurement is completely all over the place while driving. While moving around town, the gauge shows the temperature VERY hot. As soon as I reach a consistent speed, the temperature drops back to normal (moves very erratically!). The gauge seems to get even hotter while idling. Another issue (may or may not be related) is the heat coming out of the vents is only working while the car is in motion. While stopped, it pumps out cold air. The temperature immediately changes when I get going again. Both problems seem to be getting worse. The car has coolant, and all other levels of fluids are normal.
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1996 Mazda Protege, 125,000 miles. Temperature gauge on dashboard moves very little.
Do I need to get this checked out, ie, if not what would happen? (I have had car in recently for other problems but no one n the shop mentioned it, even though they have had the car out for a drive).
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The temperature gauge on the dashboard is jumping around after the car warms up. It rapidly goes from cold to normal in an unpredictable pattern. It never goes over the middle. I have had both the engine and the radiator replaced in the past year!
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