Has Toyota made any progress fixing the engine knocking on the 2010 Prius?

I have the car since Nov 2009, and never experienced the engine knocking. But I use my common sense and let the ICE warm up and turn off before I turn off the car (like when I move from garage to drive way).

I think this problem probably applies to all cars with ICE, but maybe somehow engine knocking is amplified in the Prius with the Hybrid component.

This is NO issue at all people. Please stop making a big deal out of this, and use your common sense.

 

"hsiaolc" had this happen to him twice; but after rereading the post, he didn't seem to have reproduced it intentionally. Sorry 'bout that.... my error.:noidea:

 

Common sense, what are you talking about? I am not 90 years old but I've owned a few cars and never had this problem on any of them nor, does it seem, have more than a handful (at most) of other Prius owners in these threads.

I guarantee you that if this problem is because of not warming up (and it seems 99% sure that it is), then that's an engineering design fault, not a user error. And Toyota would agree with that (if they ever speak to this issue, that is).

How do you know it's no issue when you don't actually know what the issue is? Nobody can say with total confidence they know what the issue is. I do suspect it's a minor issue of little significance but cannot say that for sure.

 

Well put!

 

Let me see if I have this straight: You haven't experienced the issue, you have no clue what you're talking about but you can assure us that it's not a big deal? Huh...

It happened to me the first time after being 'plugged in' for more than three hours (engine block and oil pan heaters) so you can rule out the whole 'cold start' thing. And it doesn't sound like a little dieseling. It sounds like a cat caught in the fan blade rattling around in the fan shroud. It's like a hollow plastic sound. Some describe it as the sound a flat tire makes flopping around in the wheel well.

My dealer pulled the "we've never heard of this issue!" BS. However, the SECOND time I visited them and told them that there was apparently a Toyota factory team that visited a ND dealership to cold-weather test 2010 Priuses my dealer admitted that they had heard of the problem. I lucked out and the dealer was able to recreate the sound the next morning when they started it themselves so it has been documented.

And, yeah, I'm pissed. This problem started cropping up on the 2010s in Fall of 2009 from what I've seen here. I bought mine in March of 2011, almost half a year after this issue was discovered and we still don't know what the deal is. I don't care how much you spend on a new car, this sort of thing is not pleasant to experience in your first three hundred miles.

/My first new Toyota and maybe my last...

I also recommend contacting corporate Toyota when this problem occurs as MY dealer says they can't document it locally unless they hear it personally.

 

Were you happy with your previous vehicle?

You are a "junior member." Had you been on this thread longer, you would have discovered that many, many writers ask" "is that normal?" "does yours make that sound" sounds vary from "clicking sounds" to "metal on metal" to ""hums" and on and on. It is hard to imagine that any dealer, any manufacturer, would respond with time and money to "fix" anything that cannot be clearly defined, and/or duplicated, especially when the description of "problems "vary" so much from one driver top another ...... and so many, world-wide, do not seem to have the problem.

I readily acknowledge that if mine "rattled" or "knocked" I would be upset, and yes, even "pissed." But it doesn't; never has; and I am fairly confident it never well. The Prius is the finest vehicle I have owned in a very long string of fine vehicles, none of which have caused any trouble.

 

Well, that's fantastic that your Prius has not problems, felt! I'm not sure why you needed to take the time to come in and gloat about that but have at it. So you don't have the problem. That's great! I do have a problem, and it's one that is documented fairly frequently in these threads and described as the same sort of sounds I have heard.

And you have to point out my 'junior member status. I find that interesting. Are you a Prius Elitist? Does your status as 'senior member' confer on you some sort of Superior Knowledge of all things Prius? Can you say with certainty that I, as a lowly junior member, have not read all the other threads? Hmmmmm....

You will find with many recalls, felt, that not all owners will experience the problem in question. And, yes, there are MANY in these threads who describe the very same problem that my 2010 Prius experiences. Because you personally have not experienced this problem does not mean that is does not exist or is without merit.

But, please, allow me to apologize to a Senior Member for being upset at having a brand new car with what sounds like a serious problem, that as yet has not diagnosis or solution. I defer to your superior wisdom.

 

Do not have a 2010, but thought I would join in anyway. since the timing is automatically and electronically adjusted, perhaps the engine ECU is not doing its job. The 2010 engine may be slightly advanced when cold causing the knock. In the old days you just put a timing light on it. Has anybody requested that the dealer check the timing when cold on their master diagnosis computer?

 

It is not necessary to get nasty.
My reference to being a "junior" member only referred to the possibility that, being new to PC, you had not read the tremendous variety of comments over a very long period of time about sounds, performance behavior, and driving symptoms. If you said you have read them all .... then you are well informed.

I certainly agreed, and acknowledged, that if my Prius was having similar problems I would be most upset as well. It is evident that not all Prius are experiencing issues (see the thread - are you happy with your Prius), while others have problems. I recognize that everyone has a wide variety of experiences with their dealer, but I enjoy a good relationship with the local Toyota Service Manager, and I am confident he would do everything possible to resolve an issue, including making an appointment with the Toyota rep that visits from time to time. What you describe is not normal, but it does not seem to be a issue with all Pri. Perhaps the on-board recorder will have noted parameters that triggered the problem.

Good Luck!!

 

Mine did it once after 6000 miles and I'm not upset. Too many other things to fret about to worry about that.

 

It's not warming up in a cold enough weather. I do incomplete warm up cycles in my car all the time, when it refuses to get into EV (which annoys me) and I move it a short distance like from the curb to driveway and have never experienced this issue because it doesn't get cold enough around here.

 

Me, too, but I do it when it's cold out (around freezing) and warm. First time this happened it was a cool summer morning but into the 50s.

 

Rented two 2010 Priuses for a total of about two weeks recently. Drove them normally, city and highway. I was not on holiday but gave them normal use. No knocking heard. A caveat: This was in Hawaii, at sea level, where there is no cold weather.

 

^Two weeks is nothing.

 

Had ours since July 09 and have not heard it once.

 

Yeah, we've had it only twice in 12 months and 21k miles.

This issue is of interest but I'd absolutely still buy this car again if given the choice.

 

If you only hear it when it is cold outside and it goes away after 2 minutes it is probably piston slap. 0W20 is too thin for hot climates as a side issue! If 0W30 in a hot climate does not cure it then you will need to track it with the lemon law over time as if it is piston slap it will get much worse. I had to lemon law a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid for that very reason. All 3 of my Hondas had it but one was really bad.

This is the deal; you get better mileage if the pistons are not tight at the bottom of the stroke cycle. IMHO this is cheating by trying to increase mileage at the owners long term block longevity expense. If you have a 2011 that does not do this then you have a perfect car and the best car on the road today (love my 2009 and 2011). Since I just bought the 2011 I have no idea how it will perform in cold weather.

Side note is the Honda I lemon lawed Knocked the second day I had it and got worse every day. If it only does it rarely then for get about it!

 

Well my first time was around 5k or something like that and 11k for the second (it's in a thread somewhere around here). 10k later we've not had it since.

 

I have the Prius 3 since Sep. 2009 with 25.000km and luckily no knocking problem. I don't know if anybody in EU has had the same problem. Since I am pretty sure the ICE is *exactly* the same worldwide, if it happens only in the US/Canada, it might be a fuel related issue (i.e. regional).
As for Toyota, they will not fix it unless it is perfectly reproducible, it is a safety concern, if it destroys engines on the spot. Otherwise they will not fix it as it is economically not viable (for them). If those experiencing knocking don't have any other issue, ie. the car works otherwise fine, Toyota will do nothing I am afraid.
That said, if they did something, that would be a first in the industry IMHO.

 

Asked the local Toyota mechanic about this issue. He told me that it is "unknown" in Europe although we are using Castrol 0W40 fully synthetic here. Don't know what oil you guys are using. I haven't heard anything like knock so far, although the start of the ICE in the morning is not too smooth. But nothing that worries me - so far.