Strange engine noise, no way to tell if it's normal

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by kyle0440, Jul 9, 2014.

  1. kyle0440

    kyle0440 New Member

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    Location:
    Southern Oregon Coast
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    Greetings.

    Not having much money, I bought a 2007 Prius with 198,000 miles on it. Since then I've got it up to 200,000 ish.

    The previous owners took very good care of it, and did not encountered any severe issues.

    However, I've noticed that my engine sounds a bit... funny... to me. I don't know anybody else with a prius, so I have no baseline to compare it too.

    I recently took it in to a toyota dealership for the free inspection, and they said it was in remarkably good shape. I asked about the engine noise, and they took it for a drive and said everything sounded pretty normal, at least compared to the prius with 130,000 miles on it that they had apparently just serviced before me.

    I went ahead and lifted up the hood, set my phone recording at the front of the car, and started it. I let it run for a few seconds, then shut it off.

    Here's the mp3: Noise

    Is this normal? If not, should I be worried, or is it just natural to happen with the car's age?

    Thank you!
     
    #1 kyle0440, Jul 9, 2014
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The Prius engine sounds much like a sewing machine. I would say your audio recording is reasonably normal.

    It is possible that your valves could use adjusting, which is a very costly process because the two camshafts have to be removed and new spacers inserted when adjusting the valve clearance.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Jul 10, 2014
  3. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Sounds a bit louder than normal, but possibly due to microphone placement. Rerecord the noise inside the cabin to compare.
    BTW, maintaining any car over 200,000 miles isn't going to be exactly cheap, unless you do all the work yourself.
     
    #3 Former Member 68813, Jul 16, 2014
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    That's exactly how a Prius sounds. Its a solid lifter noisey little motor.
     
    #4 edthefox5, Jul 16, 2014
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