Just as a refresher, I spent two weeks in an '06 HCH2 company pool car, and just picked up my '08 from the dealer on Thursday. The '06 has about 22K miles on it. My '08 is at about 200. Other than the rear brake issue, I think the differences are probably just build variation, but I wanted to mention them here to see if any of these items might be known issues.
- In my '08, during mild-to-medium regen, but not always, I often get a whirring noise from the front left area of the car. Usually it happens during light pressure on the brake pedal, but not always. I *think* if I repeatedly pump the brake pedal while stopped, it'll also cause this noise. Is it just an electric vacuum boost pump or something? It's not objectionably loud, but you can hear it with the windows up even from the back seat. I would expect a noise like this from a hybrid, but the reason I mention it is because it is definitely NOT on the '06. Is it normal?
- My '08 rear brakes seem to be messed up. If I am sitting parked and press the brake pedal a medium amount, no problem. If I press a little harder, I get a pretty loud crunching noise from the rear of the vehicle (I'm assuming this is the brake shoes scraping against something). When I lift off the brake , it 'uncrunches'. It happens every time. The '06 definitely did not do this. I was thinking about making a few hard stops on the expressway (and maybe a couple hard ones in reverse too) to see if maybe the drums need their adjusters tweaked. It's been forever since I owned a car with drums, but I do remember there being an auto-adjuster thing in there. If it doesn't go away in the next couple days, I'm going to take it back to the dealer.
- Overall, this '08 seems quieter both in terms of road noise (likely due to the new tires) as well as engine noise. What is odd is that even though the engine is quieter, it's actually quite a bit easier to feel/detect when the ICE engages. It's nice because I can more easily control the gliding and such.
- Call me crazy, but I swear the sound system is better in the '08. The '06 had Nav, so maybe the base radio actually has a slightly better amplifier?? I have no idea, but at higher volume levels, it just seems better. This one could be a placebo effect (that New Car Smell is intoxicating!).
- In my '08, during mild-to-medium regen, but not always, I often get a whirring noise from the front left area of the car. Usually it happens during light pressure on the brake pedal, but not always. I *think* if I repeatedly pump the brake pedal while stopped, it'll also cause this noise. Is it just an electric vacuum boost pump or something? It's not objectionably loud, but you can hear it with the windows up even from the back seat. I would expect a noise like this from a hybrid, but the reason I mention it is because it is definitely NOT on the '06. Is it normal?
Rob
I notice this same sound on my 2008 as well. A service tech from my dealership riding along with me one day said the noise was coming from the "ABS Regulator". I am going to the dealership again on Wednesday, and I plan to ask them more about it. I used to own a 2007 HCHII, and I noticed the same sound occasionally, but definitely not as often as in my 2008. It's probably just normal operation, but that sound is somewhat annoying after a while.
- In my '08, during mild-to-medium regen, but not always, I often get a whirring noise from the front left area of the car. Usually it happens during light pressure on the brake pedal, but not always. I *think* if I repeatedly pump the brake pedal while stopped, it'll also cause this noise. Is it just an electric vacuum boost pump or something? It's not objectionably loud, but you can hear it with the windows up even from the back seat. I would expect a noise like this from a hybrid, but the reason I mention it is because it is definitely NOT on the '06. Is it normal?
That sound is completely normal. You probably just missed it in the '06, because of louder tires or the radio was on or something.
For the record, I actually own a 2006 and a 2007. I've also driven quite a few 2008's in recent months as well, and I would say I am quite familiar with the engineering changes/updates across all three model years.
So far, the changes are not that dramatic and other than the VERY slight revisions to the wiring and endpoint equipment, the vehicle platform remains relatively unchanged... which in some ways is a very good thing.
The special noises many of us often refer to are always present, and so far I cannot say conclusively that any of the model years is noisier at all. The best thing to do is to ask the dealership personnel especially those who work in the "new car lot" to pitch in on this as they almost always deal with new cars.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the break-in factor is real and affects the experience both in negative and positive ways. For example, motors may generate more noise during the first months. The sound deadening effectiveness is reduced after a year or two, trim noises also increase as the car ages as some materials become less resilient and others simply settle. The solenoids and the valves in the CVT also go through a little break-in period of their own... and so on and on.
I can definitely believe the whirring noise from the front is either just an early electric pump motor break-in noise, or maybe just within normal build variation. I know for fact it was not there on the '06 at 20K miles, but I don't know that it's really a problem in any way.
But the loud crunch noise from the rear brakes is definitely not normal. That one is going back to the dealer for sure. I can believe it might be the ABS pump, or even just some minor defect with the rear drums.
'06 vs. '08 Observations
