Engine vibration

[A M Wye]

I have a 3rd generation Prius hybrid, 2 years old next month, 7500  miles. I've been getting excessive engine vibration through the steering wheel for over a year. Main dealers have and told me 1. You won't get rid of it,  you have done more miles now. 2. Can't fault it. Anyone else with this problem?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Moved to the Prius club

[PeteB]

Hi.  If yours is 2 years old next month, are you sure it's not a 4th Gen Prius?

Either way, I've driven all four generations of Prius quite extensively (60k in a Gen 3 and 27½ k in my current Gen 4 - the latter being 2 years old on Sunday) and have never experienced anything like you describe.  They're all extremely smooth and refined.l

I guess you've looked into obvious things like wheel balancing, tyre damage?  A close encounter with some of the more severe potholes currently in vogue could certainly cause damage that would result in vibration felt through the steering, especially if you're on the 17" rims which put less air/rubber insulation between the rim and the road.

[wass]

Main dealers vary in aptitude/ ability/ service level. Sounds like a fob off. If you have noticed something which wasn't there before then quite clearly, the dealer you have been trying to involve isn't willing to be involved. If you can't find /rectify for yourself, then , take your problem to another Toyota dealer. There are also some hybrid specialists popping up here and there, you may have one in your area however, be warned, you vehicle is under warranty and you shouldn't bend the warranty rules without serious consideration.

If a second toyota dealer subsequently diagnoses an issue where the first one couldn't, maybe a letter to Mr Toyota is in order. As Pete B says, it could be pothole damage however this is something which a dealer should be able to spot never the less.

[A M Wye]

Thank you all for your comments, my main dealer, from whom I did not buy this car (carwow) told me it was engine vibration and I would not get rid of it. It only occurs when the engine is running. I took it to a second dealer, cited the problem, can't fault it was the reply. The original supplier, when told about this said "haven't heard about this one can't help you what does Toyota say. I asked Toyota customer services, they said if the main dealers say there's no fault there's no fault. It seems my original dealer said one thing to me and another to Toyota. A friend in the trade has told me that as the original dealer who is 100 miles away and sold a discounted car, he doesn't care. The 2 local dealers, even my old main one from whom my family has bought 4 cars in the past,  are all busy franchises and, as they didn't sell the car, have little interest in this one.

Maybe it's time to dump Toyota.

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 hours ago, A M Wye said:

Maybe it's time to dump Toyota.

As we're an independent forum and have no association with Toyota, comments such as this won't be seen by Toyota, and hence serve little purpose. This type of feedback needs to go back to Toyota GB Customer Relations.

[Catlover]

As I see it, it should not matter which dealer you bought the car from, all Toyota dealers will be expected to do work on any Toyota car irrespective of whether its warranty work or not. If you a problem with a particular dealership and exhausted dialogue with them, then contact Toyota gb as Frosty advised.

[danowat]

Just thinking out aloud here, how would engine vibration get to the steering? 

Does the vibration increase with engine speed, or road speed? 

Does it pulse? Does it make any noises when steering? Anything you can do while driving to make it worse? 

Maybe engine/steering colomn mounts have failed? And engine or exhaust is touching the steering rack. 

I fail to believe it's an issue that can't be solved, but a little more information would make it easier to diagnose. 

FWIW it's not normal, they are very refined to drive, and feel very smooth. 

[Duffryn]

To the OP - did you get the Service Manager to come out with you in the car, let him have a drive to experience the symptoms? If he did so, says that's perfectly normal - there's nowt wrong, I suspect sadly you won't get much luck with Mr.T., even though the car is still under manufacturers warranty. How about trying an independent techie, AA or RAC perhaps for an opinion..

[A M Wye]

Thank you all for your comments, it seems clear that none of you are experiencing the same problem as me. I had thought about asking the AA and will pursue that tomorrow. In response to the question about engine speed/vibration it seems not to be influenced by that, but then the dampening effect of the road might be masking it to some extent. It does not pulse and is most noticeable when the car is stationary or at low speed. My first thought when this appeared was it had to be the Bridgestone engine mounts. 

Again thank you all for your comments, I'm now going to resile from this forum.

[Joseph D]

8 hours ago, A M Wye said:

My first thought when this appeared was it had to be the Bridgestone engine mounts.

So, by this, do you mean Bridgestone changed the engine mounts and used their brand rather than Toyota OEM mounts?

[kithmo]

9 hours ago, Joseph D said:

So, by this, do you mean Bridgestone changed the engine mounts and used their brand rather than Toyota OEM mounts?

I think he's resiled ? 🙂

[FROSTYBALLS]

Bridgestone anti-vibration rubber in 2016 Toyota Prius:

https://www.bridgestone.com/corporate/news/2016021001.html

[wass]

There is something which I have noticed which Toyota derived Hybrids do every now and then which is when the engine runs to specifically charge the traction Battery when it gets a bit low, there does seem to be a different engine noise and a little more vibration. This as they say is normal.

[Cjohnston1982]

7 hours ago, wass said:

There is something which I have noticed which Toyota derived Hybrids do every now and then which is when the engine runs to specifically charge the traction battery when it gets a bit low, there does seem to be a different engine noise and a little more vibration. This as they say is normal.

Yes that’s true. When your Battery is low switch between park and N and you’ll hear and feel the difference as the Battery isn’t charge when in neutral

[PeteB]

10 hours ago, wass said:

There is something which I have noticed which Toyota derived Hybrids do every now and then which is when the engine runs to specifically charge the traction battery when it gets a bit low, there does seem to be a different engine noise and a little more vibration. This as they say is normal.

Yes, maybe that's what Alan was referring to.  From the dates he quotes, I still think it's a Gen 4 he has, and I have noticed the engine runs slightly more aggressiveness when running just to charge a low HV Battery than previous generations.  

I would describe the sensation as a gentle throb rather than vibrations, but one man's throb...

[QuantumFireball]

It feels a lot to me like with a normal ICE car when the aircon compressor cuts in, or if there's a high load on the alternator - it's essentially the same thing (some sort of external load on the engine) but just not belt-driven.