SOLVED! After getting new tires put on my 2010 prius I started hearing a sort of crunching sound coming from the left rear tire. The best way I can describe the noise is that is sounds like I am running over leaves or paper but it increases in frequency along with wheel rotation. I thought there was a sticker still stuck on the tire at first from the shop but I've looked it over and have yet to find anything that looks out of place. I also couldn't see anything odd when I looked up under the car, but I don't have a really great way to lift up the car at my house at the moment.... I should also mention that I am a very recent Prius owner/convert, so I may be missing something really obvious (it's much harder to fit my head under my Prius than it was with my old jeep!). Have any of you had something like this happen to you? Any and all advice would be very appreciated, this forum is always my first place to sift through when I have any Prius related questions so a big thanks in advance!! **Update** I think it may be wheel weights rubbing on the back of the brake, I think my best option would be to take it back to the shop and have them check it out to keep everything balanced
It's not something Prius-specific. It's something like a nail in the tire, a brake component rubbing, wheel bearing, something like that. Whatever it is, there's a chance it will destroy itself and cause a bigger problem if you keep driving, so have the wheel pulled and looked at. Should be pretty minor if it's caught early.
A rock lodged in the tread? You could run your hand over the tread, see if you feel anything. That move the car about 2 feet and repeat, to get the bit that was at the bottom.
Thanks for all the feed back!! I was able to jack the car up so I could rotate the tire and it turned out to be the wheel weights rubbing on the brakes. I am taking it back to the shop to have it rebalanced. I appreciate the help!
How in the heck could a tire shop do that? Looks like they spin balanced each tire on their machine and mounted the tires. Some newbie who doesn't know clearance areas for tires. ......for crying out loud. Please be sure to check entire area for damage.
Tell them to use adhesive weights, rather than clip on's, if that is causing the problem. Check all the clearances too! Wouldn't think things would be that close.
