What's the noise in my Toyota Previa?

Hi,

My parents have a 1991 Toyota Previa and lately it has been making a lot of metal grinding sounds from the rear. I took it out to test it and for the first few minutes the car seems fine. But after a while, and especially on the motorway, the car starts making metal grinding sounds.

We took it to a couple of garages and they said it was the rear axle. To fix/replace it, its going to cost around €700 to €1,000 depending on if we want to fix/replace the whole axle. Can the rear axle really be the problem? And does the price range sound right for this problem?

Thank you.

Jin Masaki (Fresno)

Sep 2013 Filed under: fault

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Expert answer

Hi Jin,

Going by the assessment of the garages, I think that it could well be the rear differential. The price to replace it doesn't sound bad at all if they're using new parts, but I would suggest that it's probably not worth doing on a vehicle that old.

Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Advisor
@Shane_O_D