Engine clatter (fuel knocking)

Odd that you will not ping on Rocky Mountain formula 85 AKI but will ping on California 87. But...much thinner air in the Rockies..less combustion..but I still would think since Gen II car's are tuned to 87 it should never ping. Somehow the OP's car is unhappy with 87. Have not recalled another ping complaint in the 2 years I'ver been here on a GenII car.Have never ever heard a ping on 87 with my 07.

 

Have been driving a 2010 for about two weeks (1k miles) and noticed a rattle from the engine compartment when the combustion engine is running. The tech called to say that this is a normal sound. I'm not so sure.

 

I searched for this thread as I have noticed pinging in my 07. I used to tune high performance Air cooled VWs and am all to familiar with the issue. From what I understand CA (bay area especially) where I live, has the worst gas on the planet. I have found pinging to be worst at moderate acceleration, as when easing up a hill rather than full throttle.

So anyway I filled it up with premium and no more pinging. However, I do not want to run premium. I want to run the cheap gas! I also had this issue with my previous car, which was a subaru Legacy. The dealer could never find the problem. I even took the mechanic for a ride and he heard it immediately, but couldn't do nothing about it since it all checked out fine with the diagnostic equipment.

To get to my question: If there is pinging, will it show up in the cars computer records? Is there a reset for the anti knock sensor?

Thanks
Ron

 

No, if you do not see a check engine light appear, no DTC will be logged so there will be no problem as far as the ECUs are concerned.

When you say "reset", if you mean a way to adjust the sensitivity of the knock sensor, the answer is no.

When I lived in CA I also noticed mild pinging and as you did, attribute this to the CA gasoline formula. Now that I live in AZ, there is no problem with pinging and my mpg is ~20% better (without trying.)

 

^^^
Adding myself to another Californian who's hearing some pinging.

I've occasionally heard it (yes, I know what spark knock/detonation sounds like) while accelerating moderately from about 35-50 mph on a slight incline when it's warm out (80+ degrees F). I got it today and got it in the past few weeks. Currently, my oil's overfilled (thanks to a local Toyota dealer's recent oil change) but it did it before recent oil change and overfill. I also had the throttle body cleaned at the same time as the oil change.

My tank's currently full, my maybe I'll try a tank of 89 or 91 octane sometime. I normally buy gas from cheaper places (e.g. Quik Stop or Rotten Robbie) but my current tank was from Shell (well, a bit over 7 gallons from them).

No check engine light or codes for me.

 

I've had a subtle pinging for about 6 months. It's getting worse lately with the warmer weather. Similar symptoms as mentioned above -- worse in warmer weather, worse when running AC, worse when going slightly uphill, seems to happen more frequently at slower (residential) speeds. Sometimes it gets fairly strong, to the point where I'd say that it's knocking rather than just pinging, but I'm not an expert. If I adjust accelerator pedal slightly I can usually make the pings stop. Pinging also seems to be worse after the engine has warmed up.

I fill up my gas tank in MA/RI, usually Shell or Mobil because of the extra detergents. I asked my dealer to look at the spark plugs. They said (3rd hand) that they were pretty dirty and replaced them. I had also asked 'em to look inside but ... nobody said whether they did or not, so no idea if I've got some sort of carbon buildup on intakes (or whatever).

As an aside, I always fill oil with 3.5 quarts of oil. That should always bring the level between the "add" and "full" lines. Anybody see any problem with that? I shouldn't NEED to bring it up to full at each change, should I?

Thanks!

 

I recently filled up (about 6.x gallons took it to full) with 91 octane and I haven't noticed any more pinging after the fuel in the tank had sufficient time to mix. I guess during hotter months I'm going to raise the average octane in my tank by filling with 89 or 91 octane...

 

Still on the same tank (6.x gallons of 91 and the remainder 87), but I did encounter a bit of knocking today in hot weather (in the high 80s or low 90s). Overall, running this blend of higher octane has definitely reduced the amount of spark knock.

Kinda makes me wonder about Knock sensor: do they go bad? | PriusChat.

Since I do have a ScanGauge II and can probably get a hammer or mallet, I wonder where I should hit the block...

IIRC, I'm at about 65K miles on my 06 and I'm the original owner.

Any other CA Gen 2 folks encountering spark knock in hot weather on moderate acceleration, esp. if the HV battery is low (where power ends up being sent to the HV battery)?

 

Interesting. So you had too much oil?

The same problem you had is happening on my 2012...My 2011 never had this problem. Toyota dealership said they couldn't' find anything wrong with it when I took in for my 5K maint.

 

^^^
Kalome, I'd reply to a Gen 3 thread or start one in that area. The engine between the Gen 2 and (your) Gen 3 is totally different.

You obviously live in a hot climate and I'm sure it's very hot there now. You'll definitely be more suspectible to spark knock w/higher temps.

 

I have, didn't really get any good feedback. This thread caught my eye and thought I would comment.
I know the Gen 2 and 3 are different....just thought the issue may have the same resolution.

"You obviously live in a hot climate and I'm sure it's very hot there now. You'll definitely be more suspectible to spark knock w/higher temps."
Thanks for the feedback. Could be, but this didn't happen at all last summer with the "11".

 

I have been hearing a metallic clatter under ~3,000rpm acceleration on particularly hot days. I kept assuming that it was valve noise or a heat shield, but maybe not? The valves sound fine at idle and low RPM. I also put it up on jack stands in search of a loose part and found nothing at all. I'm not really equipped to diagnose pinging because I have never had a car that pinged. Could it really be confused for more ordinary noises? This thing used to sound like a shop vac, now it occasionally sounds a bit like someone put a jar of pennies on my valve cover.

 

Ive had this issue for a few months as well. I live in the midwest, and we just had a bout of 100+ for a week straight. Im fairly certain it isnt the engine itself, but something in the bay. I sugru'd the clip for the hood rod so that it doesnt move, as it was loose. I'll see how that goes, and if that doesnt do it, Ill go up an octane, as Ive been driving like a demon out of hell lately haha.

 

I have an 06 with 127K on it. About two months ago I started to hear what sounded like pinging to me also. I have changed to a mid grade fuel and the pinging has gone away. I'm planning on changing out the plugs soon. I change oil every 5K just like the book says. After I change oil I add a can of injector cleaner to the first tank so I'm hoping that I am pretty clean.

 

I had a similar rough engine issue with my "05 .. I tried techron .. Helped a bit for a short time .. But at 93k I changed the plugs and that made a huge difference . Cheap to do and easy diy. Might also want to clean throttle body.

 

I had the throttle body cleaned already. Your plugs were a closer to the end of life (at least by service internal) than mine are now. I think I'll hold off on changing the plugs early, for now.

 

I did my plugs over the weekend and they turned out to be OK. Other than a touch of gray soot all over they were in fine shape. I went up a step in octane rating and now things seem to be fine, so there's little question that my sound really is pinging. After discussing this with others it seems likely that I have some carbon buildup. My commute involves a lot of stop & go driving before the engine gets up to temp, so it seems to fit. I bought some Gumout additive that claims to deal with carbon in the combustion chamber, so I'll give it a shot. If that fails then I might break down and treat it with seafoam.

 

Hi Brick,

Are you planning to do the hot soak method or add the seafoam to the fuel tank? I haven't used SeaFoam in the Prius, but have used it in another product doing the hot soak method.

Ron (dorunron)

 

I'm trying tank additives first, so if that doesn't work I think it only makes sense to go for the hot soak with seafoam. It'll probably be a few weeks/a couple of tanks before I make the call on that.