Hi all, I'm the second owner of a 2006 Prius with 170,000 miles. It's been a great car. Recently, I've been concerned about a grinding / rattling sound upon acceleration, up hills, or on the highway. I also own a 2007 Mini Cooper S; (which are known for blowing up.) Well, mine did just that last summer - the timing chain was rattling for months and finally slipped and trashed the engine. Required an entire rebuild. That being said, I was (and am) very concerned because my Prius sounds exactly the same. The mechanic assured me it's very rare for a Prius to have a loose timing chain. After a test drive, I demonstrated the problem and he instantly said "that's engine ping". He recommended I add SeaFoam to the gas tank, maybe even twice. If that doesn't resolve the issue, I'll be looking at a new fuel injector. Thoughts? I've been going to the grocery store gas station, which I haven't had any issues with before. But maybe I should go with better fuel quality?
I use BG services and they work really well. I think if an injector is going bad it may light up a code but not sure
Regardless of the brand on the sign, in most places ALL of the gas comes out of the same tank trucks. With that many miles you might have a little carbon buildup in the combustion chambers and something like SeaFoam in a higher than recommended dose might help clean it out......and help stop the pre-detonation caused by glowing carbon deposits. Then again maybe not. Let the gas get down to 1/4 or less and fill it up with the highest octane gas they have at your normal station (92-94 usually). If the noises stop or go way down, then that will pretty much prove the mechanics theory. How long since you changed plugs ? It could be that the carbon deposits are on the plugs themselves.
I appreciate your reply, this is the info I was looking for! Yes... so should I fill it up with premium, see if the problem persists, and then if so, add SeaFoam? I'm the second owner, and I'm not sure when the plugs were last changed. It was recently at Toyota and they said they were fine, though.
when was the last time it had the spark plugs changed and a new pvc valve? additives do more harm than good in most cases.
If high octane gas "fixes" the problem then you have a decision to make. It is not likely that any "serious" problems exists so......you can continue to use higher octane gas (try mid-grade) OR you could continue on trying to remove the cause (carbon deposits). Just to be clear, the SeaFoam goes in the GAS not the oil. Removing and inspecting the plugs could give you a "read" on the carbon buildup. If they are caked with carbon, new ones might fix the problem for a while. If high octane gas does not seem to have any impact.......then I think you need a second opinion because carbon buildup might not be the problem.
My understanding of what's happening, when an engine that's spec'd for regular octane gas starts to ping: Carbon build-up in the top of cylinders is doing a couple of things: 1. Reducing the air volume when the piston is at Top Dead Centre, effectively making the engine "higher compression". 2. Creating multiple glowing points, possible sources of ignition, in addition to the spark plugs. Both the above make the the gas/air mixture more prone to pre-ignite. Yeah go up an octane level first, see what happens.
I appreciate it! I will try that on my next fill up. I'm still getting lots of mixed feelings when I mention SeaFoam. Some say it won't hurt, some say it will hurt, some say it won't do anything. Not sure what to believe.
I watched this video testing SeaFoam: He seems very neutral and unbiased. He does extensive before/after boroscope imagery comparison. My sense is that he's a little optimistic, that the results are marginal. Might help, no miracles though.
It won't hurt putting in the tank. So garages do the service where they spray straight in the throttle body, some people slowly pour thru the brake hose at the master cylinder into the intake. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I've used it a few times. However if you look up Chris Fixx on Youtube. He does a lot of automotive tests and stuff including Seafoam. He tested 6-7 bottled injection cleaners once and he takes a snake camera hooked to his laptop, pulls the plugs, records the top of each piston before/after. Chevron Techron was the only one that worked, some others even added more carbon. I don't think he did Seafoam in that, but he did a Seafoam only. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Trying switching to a top-tier name brand gas station? I'm religiously Chevron, but who knows. Shell makes a lot of claims about cleaning too. A little late now, but food for thought. The one I linked, in #9 I think.
Has plenty of other videos. He does a really good detailed analysis too with proof. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Seafoam is used in oil too right before an oil change but I use BG service anyway Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH. SeaFoam is a mixture of several solvents. You should NEVER mix solvents in with your crankcase oil. NEVER. And that includes BG if it is made up of solvents too.
BG is guaranteeing my engine for life since I started under 36,000 miles. Used them for years Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
