My Prius is at 164k miles and has started making this droning noise while going 50-65 mph. It sounds like its coming from the rear of my car. Could it be the wheel bearings, tire balance, or something else? Sound is most audible after the first 20 seconds of the following video.
Yes, but it could be internal to the muffler or resonator. The problem is you can not really rev the engine at idle to check by sound. Maybe rotate the tires and see if the noise moves. I would probably also have somebody check the wheel bearings and brakes but my bet is the exhaust.
I'll try rotating the tires, thanks for that idea. If it makes any difference, the noise gets louder if I have people sitting in the back seat
What are the tire pressures? More weight means tires get spread out more at low tire pressures which changes the noise from normal to loud.
Turns out my rear tires were chopped, got my wheels balanced and the noise is gone. If the issue comes back I will probably have to replace my rear shocks
