Hi all, My ’24 LE has been making this occasional tapping noise ever since it came back from the 10K mile service. It happens sometimes, when accelerating from a stop or coming to a full stop, and reversing—just a quick, short click coming from the front chassis area. No idea what’s causing it. The car’s way too new for bushing issues, so maybe it’s the axles? Loose pads? Maybe the self-installed cat shield is loose? Whatever the noise is, it was not there before the service. Before me sending the car to the dealer for them to find nothing wrong, has anyone else experienced something similar? Would appreciate any insights. Cheers!
Any similarity to issue described in this post over in the Technical Discussion forum? Not sure if they have found cause of issue, but you might be able to compare notes… Chirping sound while driving when EV light goes on and off | PriusChat
After maintenance performed? Could be something as simple as the oil change door not being fastened back properly, if some of the fasteners are missing, the door could be flapping/tapping against the main undercover.
Thanks all for replying! Looks like the chirping sound when EV mode is switching on and off is a different story. The clicking noise is coming from the front chassis area and goes away after driving for some distance. So I'm guessing it's something to do with the temperature. I lifted the car myself and found no loose parts, all panels solid, axles felt tight, no pads were loose, lug nuts tightened correct...so I decided to live with it until the next service, as long as no wheels are falling off.
Ih the manual, it says use minimum 87 octane. But that means I can use higher, and what happens if I use more octane?
If that the case, it could go away with warmer weather. Had winter rattles in sereral cars through the years. Not much. It might let the engine smoother. They run on the cusp of knocking, which could be noticed by some drivers in vibrations. With higher than needed octane, an engine can't reach that cusp, and no such vibrations. That won't increase the engine's reliability, nor will it improve fuel economy. Using higher than required octane could actually hurt fuel economy, as it can have lower energy content than regular.