Have a 2011 prius with 170+ miles. No work (replacement or maintenance) has ever been done to any suspension components. When I go over cracks in the road or parking lots or speed bumps, I hear a dual "kuhruk kuhruk" (phonetically) sound coming from what appear to be the front end. The sounds are more discernible at low city / parking lot speeds than at hwy speeds. Any ideas on the source or where to start to determine the source of the sound ? Thanks.
Im having the same problem I replaced my inner and outer tie rod as well as my front strut and springs. I also lubed my front sway bar bushing. Its still making the sounds. I honestly think its the steering shaft. Move your steering wheel left and right and you can hear a loud sound
There was a recall on Gen 2 steering shafts. Have you had the car up in the air to inspect the front end. Front struts are way overdue.
My local toyota dealer was not very helpful. They did not find anything other than "your car has a lot of miles on it". I know that Sherlock. I took it to a renowned (recommended on Priuschat and Yelp) Prius shop in Berkeley, CA. They did an inspection and the cause of the noise is the steering assembly will need to be replaced in the future. Per shop, it is unusual for steering assembly for this model year to start going bad. However, the state of the steering assembly is not a safety issue yet. Their rough guestimate was replacement part is close to $1,000 and 4 - 5 hours of labor + alignment + CA sales tax. It takes a while to put a quote together for this job, so they just game me a ballpark. Next time I have an extra $2K burning a hole in my pocket, the Prius gets it.
I've had other cars that made the same clunking sound and it was always the sway bar end links were worn and clunking when they moved. You would only hear it when going slowly over small bumps, speed humps, etc. That being said, I don't know whether or not Prius even has a sway bar but I'd surely check it out. Good luck!
I was going to suggest the same thing. The sway bar links, if loose or worn, can amplify the slightest Intolerance. If they have been removed for some kind of repair to the front suspension, they have to be reinstalled and torqued to factory specs.. If not, they WILL rattle and clunk like crazy. The end shanks have a slight tapper and must be completely seated into the sway bar. If they are worn, they’ll exhibit the same rattling.
1. Do you set tires at spec pressure, or higher, and if yes: what pressures? 2. When coming up to speed bumps, do you not slow a lot, slow to a dead crawl, somewhere in between?
1) No difference with tires at 40, 35 or 31 PSI 2) Slow to a somewhat crawl. Speed bumps are mostly in mall or garage parking lots, neither of which I frequent much. Most roads I travel do not have speed bumps. Have also tried different steering tilt settings - no difference. For now, will differ to the assessment of the prius shop in berkeley, CA. They did put it on the rack and checked all suspension components.
See attached zip file of the sound as I rotate steering in stationary car back and forth right / left. The noise that appears to comes from the front end, is of similar sound tonal characteristics.
that is a very strange sound try a suspension shoppe. if they can't find anything else, it probably is the steering
Should at least be easy to show to a mechanic, does it on cue? But expensive, out-of-warranty? Initial visit should be too much.
