Today when i got home I heard the noise of a small motor running under the rear of my wife's 2016 Prius C. The car had been parked for at least 6 hours and was off, this one has a key not a push button start. I crawled under there and could tell the noise was coming from this. I looked at various parts diagrams for this model prius but couldn't find it labeled. Does anyone know what this is? We started the car and the hybrid battery was 3/4 charged and was likely not fully charged when parked. The gas engine started fine and when we turned the car off the noise from under the rear had stopped. I can imagine why anything would have been running. The car was not hot inside, it was parked in the shade and it was only 70 F degrees out today. Has anyone else had this issue?
Well, this car is slightly different than a regular Prius and haven't experienced it with a Prius C before, but the regular Prius has a sniffer to check for leaks in the fuel system that would be similar to what you're describing. I'm sure if you look in the owner's manual there will be an explanation of the noise you might hear when car is turned off.
Almost every gasoline-fueled car made in the past 15-20 years has a variation of this. Completely normal, nothing to be concerned about.
Not all cars have that kind of pump that makes noise, but there is some system that checks the fuel tank and fuel vapor system for leaks. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
