Need some advice after breakdown and what the dealer says is wrong

welcome! what kind of regular maintenance have you done to the car? please ask them for the codes and post them here.

 

I'd be interested to know exactly what this step entails. Normally this would require reboring the engine and fitting oversized pistons and rings, so it's generally cheaper to just replace the entire engine with a secondhand unit. For the price you've been quoted they're definitely doing neither of the above.

 

Yeah, me too. I'm wondering if it's this--good old tune-up-in-a-can. I'm not knocking BG products--I've had pretty good luck with them with older cars.

Changing the belt and filter on a car that appears to have a major mechanical problem doesn't sound like the best place to put your money right now. Spark plugs and fuel injectors might be a good path to follow, and why not--a can of BG too. I haven't done anything with the injectors, but I think there are some threads here about it. If the miracle happens and that fixes it, go ahead with the other maintenance stuff.

But first, get the entire list of diagnostic codes you paid for and research them. Definitely look for hybrid system codes, not just the engine.

Oil in the intake manifold is a well-known, common condition in these cars. Mine runs perfectly and has a puddle of oil visible through the throttle body. That alone makes me question this whole diagnosis.

 

Sounds like the motor lost a bottom end bearing. This is a very common scenario on a high mileage poorly maintained G2 motor.
The motor eats oil. Alot of oil because somewhere in its life it ran so low on oil it threw a dashboard code and damaged the motor. So now its eating so much oil hard to keep up with it and was driven with very low oil alot and that usually smokes either the main bearing and or connecting rod.
The interior bottom end of this motor is splash lubricated. Main bearing section and upper cylinder & piston. Low oil no splash.

Your post is quite odd. How did the dealer know all the plugs were fouled? They took them all out to check? That's alot of time.

Anyway none of the things you listed would cause a banging noise. Start looking for a new used motor in a boneyard.

Btw, search you tube for "Prius Inspection mode". That allows the engine to run continuously. Start the motor if you can and get under the front of the car ad listen to the bottom end the motor.

 

Our 3rd gen with relatively low kms has a shallow pool of some sorta oil showing in the intake manifold floor, when I look through the throttle body, suspect it's normal.

 

Yeah that was exactly what I was thinking too Andrew. It's just pretty deceptive the way they listed this item. It should read something more like:

4. Add a can of snake oil and hope for the best.

I agree with both of the above. If the "banging" is as bad as what it seems from the op's description then this engine has a major failure that nothing on that dealership report would address.

It would probably be worth ruling out that it wasn't just running rough due to misfire on one or more cylinders though. This might make the engine run rough and vibrate, though I don't think it would normally cause "banging".

Yes, a lot of people have reported seeing this on the gen2 as well. As long as the oil isn't routinely overfilled I think any oily looking traces in the manifold are probably harmless.

 

The banging must have been backfiring. I hope you didn't toast the catalytic converter. Maybe you start with the two bad injectors.

 

230,000 miles and a quart of oil every 600-800 miles. Move on don't spend a dime on it.

 

with the age and miles id be looking for a used motor on ebay or junk yards, changing things like air filters and belt and fuel injectors is basic any shop can do , no need for the dealer

 

my 05 was going through a qt every 1000 miles, changed the pvc valve and now it uses next to none

 

Changing spark plugs is pretty routine, and I believe with second gen you don't have to take the car half apart for access. Fuel injectors sounds a little more advanced. If you elect to have them do the injectors, I'd be inclined to have them do the plugs at the same time.

Also, completely out of my depth, but would it be a good idea to replace all four injectors? How much are they? Just pre-emptively.

 

That is MSRP. You can buy the correct fuel injectors for $117 each plus shipping here:
FUEL SYSTEM COMPONENTS for 2007 Toyota Prius

And of course if you are willing to use aftermarket then you can pay even less.

When you replace the injectors, the main issue is not to damage the rubber O-rings when installing the new injectors. Use the correct lubricant.

For the service procedure, consult techinfo.toyota.com

 

Ask them for the exact computer codes. The tech who looks at your car sounds like he doesn't have a clue what is wrong with it.

He may as well have suggested a tarot card reading, voodoo and an Ouija board at least if you spend your money on those things you may get some entertainment value out of it.

 

look at youtube for plug changing videos ...pretty basic

 

On a Gen2 plugs are easy via YouTube. I just used my Sears ratchet wrench with an spark attachment. The plugs are special iridium and last up to 150k miles, so about now you need a second set depending on if they were changed at 125K once already. I don't plan to do it until 250k miles if I still have the car (doubt it).

 

I looked up a few on Google. The P030x are "universal" (not just Toyota/Prius) codes for misfires on cylinder x. P0172 is "too rich". P3190 is poor engine performance. This would all be consistent with bad plugs and fuel injectors. However, you also have some strange codes such as B1271, which is some communication problem I don't understand. So is it a computer problem causing the engine to run poorly? Or is the poorly running engine causing communication codes?

This is well outside my expertise, but I can't help playing armchair mechanic

BTW, my 2014 sometimes makes a "banging" noise for a second or two when first started, and apparently is related to the engine running rough when it sucks in condensation from the intake manifold. It sounds awful, but I wonder if it's actually the motors and gears making the noise as they rapidly speed up and slow down when the engine isn't running smooth.