2010 Prius problematic?

So basically you're saying don't worry about the engine knocking?

 

Skip to 1:35

 

opcorn:

The Troll call-out award goes to evpv, congratulations.

Unless they can figure out a way to make it seamless, the only other alternative is to get rid of regenerative braking entirely (which will reduce your mileage), in which case you might as well go back to a conventional car. It's already been proven that the car doesn't actually accelerate during this transition and the lunging forward feeling is all in the head, but the vast majority of Prius owners do just fine. It hasn't taken me by surprise or scared the heck out of me ever since I had the brake campaign performed, which shortens this transition to Gen II's level.

Let's put it this way:

If you're lucky enough to live in a well-maintained area where you never encounter potholes, you'll never experience the perceived momentarily loss of braking during the regen to friction braking transition.

If you live in an area where it never gets cold enough to trigger the rough engine at startup syndrome, you'll never experience the engine shaking problem mentioned here.

If you never return to the car shortly after driving it for a while, you may never experience the grabbing brakes while reversing syndrome.

 

0:11

 

Regen braking always cuts out at 7 mph, regardless of pavement condition.

 

LOL. After watching for 20 seconds, where they couldn't even start the car, was all I need to know, and clearly makes my point about many car owners lack of basic car knowledge.

Thanks for the video.

 

I was just checking around, and there's a lot on the Internet that talks about cold start knocking. Toyota car owners (mainly Camry) are well represented..but BMW and Audi owners as well.

I was looking for a post from a mechanic that had actually opened up an engine that had years of this type of symptom to see if they reported any major damage. I could find no definitive proof that cold start knocking for short periods of time, has ever resulted in any damage. But that doesn't mean they don't exist, just that I couldn't find any mechanical reports/posts.

That said, if it concerns you because it happens routinely, the fix is clear - let the car go through it's warm up cycle before stopping, and then re-starting.

 

It seems like this has been pretty well diagnosed, but since there are existing videos of this noise, I would love to hear what a Toyota dealer or Toyota rep. said when shown this evidence. Surely, someone has done this?

 

The rear visibility issue on the Prius does take some time to get use to. I actually like the split window, with the spoiler across the view. I've found that greatly helps at night, as it reduces the amount of light coming from the headlights of the guy behind you.

But for all it's quirks, the Prius is, and always will be about superior MPG's. There are many cars out there that do things better than the Prius, but not when it comes to fuel efficiency...which I suspect why most of us buy the Prius.

 

You can always get the NAV which includes a back-up camera, although there's a thread on installing a rear-view mirror with a back-up camera which would be a cool mod to do if you don't like or want the built-in NAV.

 

Let me play devils advocate for a moment-

I'm the lead Toyota technician. You come in with the video evidence that there's a problem. I say, OK, we'll try to First, duplicate and then diagnose the problem. Two step process. But much like the supposed unintended acceleration problem that Toyota had (a more serious concern, I might add).... despite 1,000's of diagnostic hours spent trying to replicate the problem - it never could be definitively nailed down.

In the case of the rough idle problem, I suspect given the infrequency and apparent randomness, and shortness in duration of the event...that even if they could duplicate in the shop, they would probably not have enough time to thoroughly determine the cause. I have my own speculation what is causing this, but without definitive proof, I doubt Toyota is going to authorize expensive replacement of the fuel injectors or control module, etc.

As per what I've read on the Internet, many Toyota owners of Camry's, Corolla and Tundras have reported similar. For a number of years now. Has there been any fix for these cars?

I suspect that unless it is a safety or reliability issue, there will be no recall issued to try and correct a phenomena, that quite frankly, can be fixed by letting the car go through it's naturally designed warm up cycle.

Ok, I'm now going outside to see if I can replicate on my car. Temp is 39F. Check. Lot of moisture in the air. Check. I'll start it and move it out of the garage, and as soon as I do, will turn the engine off. I will then re-start within 5 minutes. Let's see what I get? I tried it twice. Both times started up with no rough idle/knocking. As expected, and prior to the engine running more efficiently and the cat warmed up to help reduce emissions...the exhaust smelled like a crap was being emitting. But to be expected.

Don't know what to say? I have not been able to reproduce, but have no doubt that other's have. All I can say is that I have experienced similar on two other cars I have owned...so, IMO, it's not a unique phenomena to Prius/Toyota, and a problem that has plagued multiple manufacturers, for years.

 

I agree with your analysis, but I know if this had happened to me, and I had a video of it, I'd take it to the dealer. Make them aware of it, and make them explain it. The car is under warranty, so there will be no cost. Surely, as much as some here have complained about this to the Prius board, they would have taken the video to the dealer. Even if it was not their particular car, you could tell them that was exactly what was happening. So, let's hear from the 61 (at least) here that have experienced this. Otherwise, it's just complaining, or arguing for the sake of arguing.

 

Another thought....so, people take these videos to the Toyota dealer, and possibly even escalate it to people higher up. Toyota can't isolate it, and can't do anything about it. Although, they would certainly have a diagnosis that would be on record. Then, if the worrywarts nightmare comes true, and at 60,001 miles the engine blows up. Methinks you would have video evidence, and a "paper" trail that Toyota would certainly respond to. Back to what I said before - if it's a big problem, Toyota will be able to duplicate it, and eventually fix it. But, since there is video evidence, I would think the next step in this discussion would be for the people that have had it happen to them (especially the really negative posters), would have already taken the video evidence to the dealer, and should have their answers to share with us.

 

Classic response of a blind Prius devotee. You ignored the actual problem by claiming the Prius owner was stupid. So what if the owner's wife couldn't get the ICE to kick on after the start button was pressed? What exactly do you do to get ICE to turn on inside a garage?

 

If the rear visibility bothers you in normal forward driving, you should definitely adjust your mirrors as directed at Car Talk | How to Avoid the Blind Spot. I HAD to do this once I got my 350Z due to the large blind spots in the rear corners. I'm now totally used to this (took me awhile) and do it on every car I get into.

IMHO, there's little reason to buy the HCH at this point. It's a compact (vs. midsize Prius), is slower, has less cargo versatility (no fold down rear seats), gets worse fuel economy and now well behind the Prius in available (and some standard) features.

See Most fuel-efficient cars, Best & worst cars review, best & worst acceleration and Consumer Reports - Fuel economy vs. performance.

 

1) My Saab now has 190,00 miles on it and it is going strong. In fact it still has the original clutch. I see plenty of '98s and older still on the road. How many 190,00 mile Prius's are there? GM screwed with, and destroyed Saab after '98.

2) I am being objecvtive, just not a Toyota worshiping sycophant.

 

I think that you will find that Prius owners in general, and certainly those on this site, understand more about their cars than most Toyota dealers. This is a typical Toyota ploy (OK, maybe a lot a manufacturer's) - blaming "driver error" as a cover up for their QA or design flaws. Remember, Toyota denied there was a braking or FM reception problem, and then finally issued TSBs to try to fix these issues.

 

The transition starts at 7MPH, and under normal circumstances it is seamless. When the car goes over a bump, regen cuts out suddenly and completely. I'm wondering if this may also have some connection with the VSC and/or Traction Control.