So the Prius has 243K on it now and I have been an inattentive owner and currently cash is pretty scarce. I can't afford another car so am hoping that the problems can be fixed with little expense. I hit a pot hole after a big freeze thaw a couple of months ago and car started humming shortly afterwards (sounds like front end, might be passenger side). I have had a bad bearing before and thought it might be another one although it wasn't much louder than road noise. I took it to my local mom and pop shop and they said there was no play in the tires so they wouldn't touch it. I went to my next resource: YouTube. Apparently there is another way to test for bearing and that is to rotate the tire and feel for vibrations in the strut springs. Don't know if this is universal and don't want to waste the shops time taking it back there. Any feedback? I read a few things on gen 1 and it sounds like it could be the MG2. How would you know the difference between the MG2 and a bearing? BTW - When it was new I had written in about issues with car speeding up when hitting a pot hole or a line of tar filler in the road. It also shut down if the wheels spun on gravel or in snow regardless of speed. It's most likely a malfunctioning traction control module. Toyota knew it was a problem and offered to give me $10K toward a 2010 in which they had fixed the computer software problems. That wasn't an option as I owed over double that on the loan. I turned them down and will not sell the car to another person. At least I know what it does. It is going to the crusher eventually. In the meantime I buy very soft tires to keep the wheels in better contact with the road so the TC is less likely to be triggered.
probably a bearing or cvj. a pothole wouldn't affect the tranny. speeding up and losing power is standard prius fare. no need to crush it, they're all like that.
Haven't heard of this test, but then I'm not much of a youtuber. The mom and pop shop may be right, and honest enough not to charge for an unneeded wheel bearing. Here is another test that could be useful (might even be the same test the above shop used) : Using your scissor jack, raise the suspect wheel off the ground. While holding the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock, push on one side and pull on the other opposite side at the same time trying to shake the wheel (repeat again with hands at 12 and 6 o'clock). If you notice any movement beyond the wheel turning then the bearing is likely damaged. If the bearings pass that test, swap the suspect tire from front to back and see if the humming noise moves to the new mounting location. It could be the tire was damaged internally. Maybe a wheel weight fell off, do you have lifetime balancing ?
