When I accelerate I notice a rattling noise almost each time. Is it bad gas? I have been getting gas (90-95% of the time) at the same gas station for years, including the whole time with my 2011. Also for the first time today i got an error message on my screen for the radio that says something to the effect that the USB has too much power consumption and will not run. When I powered off and powered back on after lunch it started working again. I never had either problem with my 2011. Any other people out there with either issue?
Simple questions: Where is the rattling coming from? Doubtful you can hear an engine rattle unless you have a finely tuned ear. It is probably plastic-on-plastic rubbing. I am guessing you plugged something in that can draw more than the 500mA maximum USB current limit (i.e. a cell phone or any i-product). If the charge circuit is not limiting to 500mA when plugged in (again any i-product) then it will shut off as per USB requirements.
It is a little hard to describe the sound, sounds like rattling. It only happens when accelerating. Another person posted a video on youtube regarding it that is having the same problem. Here is the link to the thread High pitched sound normal? | Page 3 | PriusChat I can't link you to the actual video since I am at work and they block youtube but in the thread above you will see a comment linking to the video. The person that posted the comment/video is tzh. Regarding the USB. I have been using the same USB drive for 3 months, no problems. It hasn't happened again since yesterday so I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't happen again.
I have not watched the video, but if it is a high pitched whine and not a rattle, then that is the inverter. When you are boosting many kilowatts of power you are pumping current into big magnetics and then yanking them out at high frequency through a IGBT switch. This produces aliases in the human audible frequency range, which you are hearing. That's why many electronic devices have a high pitched whine. The more power conversion, the louder the amplitude. The older you get, the less you hear it too. So if it is a high pitched whine, there is nothing wrong, it is just the inverter doing its thing of converting the 240vdc battery pack to over 600 volts 3 phase to drive the wheels. The port isn't the problem. The port is to spec. The problem is the device you connect. Some device like I mentioned above can draw up to 15W from a USB port if left unmanaged. This is a big no-no. If you do not know, Power = Volts * Amps. USB is limited to 500mA and is always 5v (there is a spec to a little below and a little above, but lets say 5v for now). So the maximum legal power limit is 5v * 0.5A = 2.5W. If your non-compliant device's battery is mostly charged, then it will probably draw less than 2.5W. If it is a cell phone with 10% battery left, wifi on, radio on, bluetooth on, screen on, and playing a game, 10W+ is not uncommon to power the device and the charge circuit. My guess is whatever you plugged in is non-compliant and the charge was low enough and/or the draw at that time was high enough to go over the 500mA USB limit.
"I have not watched the video, but if it is a high pitched whine and not a rattle, then that is the inverter." It's not, I've owned 2 Prii. This is a new rattling sound i'm hearing. If you watch the video you will know what I mean. The USB drive worked fine for 3 months and it only errored once yesterday, so I'm hoping I will not run into anymore problems since I have 2 of the exact 8 gig USB drive. Thanks.
If it happen when your alone in the car, check the passanger seat belt, I hear mine banging around sometimes. I also notice my coffee cup does in the front cup holder.
lol, no no no. It is not coming from the inside of the car...the youtube video shows the same problem i'm having. It reminded of the time many years ago when I had an older car and it would make the same type of noise when accelerating. Back then I was told to either fill up with higher octane or put some kind of gas treatment. It would clear up when I used the 89 octane which is why I asked in the OP about bad gas. I'm going to make mention when I go for my 5000 maint @ Toyota.
Not sure if you are joking since you put a big smiley face after it but no it is not the sound I'm getting. I linked the youtube video in a previous post on this thread. It sounds like I need higher octane gas, but Prius should be fine with 87. Never had this issue before and I use the same gas most of the time on both 11, 12 Prii. I'm going to contact Toyota on this.
No, not joking...that is my "signature". I found that video in the forums and it seems like a lot of people had that knocking sound, so was just trying to help.
Oh okay. It is different than that. The video is from here - (from previous comment) It is a little hard to describe the sound, sounds like rattling. It only happens when accelerating. Another person posted a video on youtube regarding it that is having the same problem. Here is the link to the thread High pitched sound normal? | Page 3 | PriusChat I can't link you to the actual video since I am at work and they block youtube but in the thread above you will see a comment linking to the video. The person that posted the comment/video is tzh.
I know old post but i had similar issue which i caught on video and come to find out it was a bent heat shield from what the dealer told me. Problem solved, no cost to me.
