2010 Prius V-AT with 71450 miles is starting to "act up". Today, up in State College PA it starts making a gravelly sound like small stones tumbling in a rotating cylinder which seems to be coming from the right corner of the car. This seems to happen during acceleration at speeds of 20-40mph (generally). The sound is not a constant volume. It ranges from barely perceptible to rather loud. I'm not sure if acceleration is affected. I am also not sure if the sound level relates to the amount of acceleration. Fuel economy does not appear to be affected. It is not steering related as I did circles in a parking lot in both directions without noise. When I get some daylight I'll check the lug nuts. Is there anything else I should be looking for or at? Thanks. Jim.
If by "CVT" you mean the "continuously variable transmission", then no. It is not a CVT like any other CVT. No cones, no belts. It is a statically geared planetary gearset. If one thing breaks, nothing will work; no forwards, no backwards, no charging, nothing. Good news is that there have been a handful (literally, less than 10) reported on here of actual PSD failures and all that I am aware of were owner neglect, like not filling fluids for many thousands of miles and then wondering why it stopped moving... Could be a CV joint like mentioned above. Can we assume you have done all the scheduled maintenance?
While checking the lug nuts, if by chance you have the wheel covers over the rims, check for rocks inside the covers. There have been multiple reports of small rocks and stones getting behind the wheel covers and making similar sounds.
I must have driven over enough gravel to fill a quarry. Checking lug nuts & wheel covers is free. I drew 6.6 gallons (indicated) from a (non-retail) tank that morning. I pumped 3.7 gallons of Shell regular that night. When I get down a few gallons topping off with premium will increase the average octane in the tank and should reduce the ping. I'll have about 200 miles on the tank Thursday morning so I can see what ~4 gallons does. I don't have any steep grades or 1000 foot mountains here. Climbing the Pulaski Skyway out of Newark is about the best I'm going to be able to do to recreate the original conditions. The noise has diminished in NJ but so has the elevation changes. I'm about due for the 7th oil change. CVT/PSD fluid changed in December at ~60000 miles. The car has only been to the dealer. In addition to the commuting I have a trip to Secaucus, NJ this weekend and a trip to McLean, VA next weekend. If I still have the noise then it's a trip to the shop. If I don't, I'm telling Joel about his crap gas. (I was the only one that pumped from that tank.) Thanks guys. I'm starting to feel a bit better about the weekend.
