Knocking Lack of power issue

The hybrid battery does not cause knocking in an engine. Maybe you've fixed the engine issue, just don't want you to think they are related. They are completely different issues

 

It may cause knocking.....because if your clueless to the loss of power because the battery is shot and you have to floor it everywhere you go just to get going an already beat up motor that already has failed bearings or on the edge of that may knock and do other bad noises.

If you own a G2 for years and years like I have the battery life dissipates very very gradually so you may not notice it and your in the gas pedal much more to make up for that loss of battery power and the only thing you notice is the mileage is tanking. Mileage is tanking because the battery is not providing proper power. The battery is the major power source in this car.

The average g2 owner may not notice this till its too late and then you get the RTOD.

Coupled with the fact that most people never even open the hood of the car since its 'Dealer Maintained" which is a farce and your driving around with 2 quarts low all the time and hammering the engine.

Based on what I have seen on this site in the last 15 years most people that get a check engine light or other lights on the dash join this forum to ask about it before they even open the hood.

 

Hi all,

I had this same issue. The diagnosis at the dealer was to replace the engine. I have a 2006 prius with just under 260,000 miles. The dealer stated, "head gasket leaking oil," "noise coming from lifters - needs all 16 new lifters or used engine." My issue with this is that recently, I had an oil cap fall off and oil leaked everywhere under the hood. I did my best to clean this up with degreaser, but obviously I imagine there's still some especially underneath. Since purchasing the car with 210k miles, it has always consumed some oil, so I've been very good at keeping it at an adequate level and adding when necessary. I also have done my own oil changes at 10k miles. I just completed an oil change - the oil still looks clean and I haven't noticed any changes in consumption of oil. Of course, when the knocking started and low voltage, the car consumed more oil and gas, but its been a few months since that started and I haven't noticed it getting any worse.

I called the dealer this morning just to confirm the head gasket was actually leaking and not the result of the oil cap issue. The technician confirmed that the head gasket is leaking. I really wish they would bring you back there when you're already paying $120 just for diagnosis...

I think I'm likely just avoiding the inevitable - replacing the engine or purchasing a new car, but I'd just like to hear anyone's thoughts on this.

I did watch this video:

and replaced spark plugs but didn't have a change. I might try the next step in that video if I can figure it out.

Please let me know if you have any ideas that could be helpful!

 

Hi Dana

The YouTube your referencing is a G3 engine which probably has a blown head gasket for egr issues which is pretty common.
Much different than your engine. g2 engines are not known for head gasket failure unless it has seen a bad overheat like the belt fell off the engine water pump or ran low on oil. It has an aluminum head and does not suffer overheat well.

If you want to confirm your g2 engine has a blown head gasket you need to do a compression test on the cylinders. Its not that hard to do and will confirm it for sure. Its a very common test. And will 100% confirm the head gasket or a cylinder is blown...or not.

Use the search forum link up top and search

compression test

Lots and lots of posts about how to do that. Good luck.

 

how long to replace the engine?

 

I have had a louder then normal tapping or slight knocking for about a month or so and I have been trying to track it down. I have been reading the posts here on PriusChat for possible issues. First I thought I had a tappet issue but that seemed unlikely. I changed oil about a month ago and the oil looks darker than usual. I cut the engine oil filter apart with my filter cutting tool and found one or two small flecks of aluminum. Not the bearing material that you see from a bearing failure issue. The filter media had some grit or dirt in it. Not too much but a bit more than it should.

I did notice I lack of power and my HV battery was dipping into the purple a lot more than normal. I have a Prolong charger and discharger and not used it for some time(my bad). DId a full charge and discharge cycle with 24 hr or so charging between discharges and it did not help with power and or dipping into the purple bars. No codes or anything.
I noticed some posts here about blow-by with the oil filler cap off at an idle and checked mine. Seemed like a lot of blow-by to me but noticed many posts here about that and other owners reporting that also.

I cut another filter apart yesterday and found the same amount of grit and one or two flecks of aluminum again. The oil and filter looked not the best for being a month old. The flecks of aluminum was really a very small amount but it kept gnawing at me. I was thinking stuck piston rings because of the dirty oil and grit in filter. All the dirty oil, grit in filter, lack of power, excessive blowby sure had me leaning toward stuck piston rings.

After reading this thread I pulled the engine oil pan( very easy on this engine) and found two pieces of piston skirt. Found the issue! So I have decided to swap out the engine and transaxle with one from auto wrecker. I have the tools and a shop I can do this in. I have 364000 miles on this car and the exterior and inside is in real good shape. I have no problem spending a bit of money and labor to keep this car going. I am aiming for 400k out of this car( just to see if I can).The transaxle has a small amount of bearing growl for a long time now and a used one is only around $300.00 so that's getting changed also.
I decided to quit lurking here and add my findings from my car. If it helps someone troubleshoot their car.

So if you are having similar symptoms with your engine pull off the engine oil pan and look for pieces. If there is nothing there clean out the pan and silicone up the pan and put it back on. Very easy to do. I am amazed on how much I drove this car with a broken piston skirt. At least 200-300 miles. Just use the silicone sparingly or all the excess will end up in the oil pump screen.

 

To add to this I did test my Catalytic Converter for blockage which was an adventure in its self. If you see my previous posts I armored the heck out of my catalytic converter after my daughters c convertor was stolen. So I had to remove the cat guard and shield I built to get to the cat. No back pressure in front of the cat so the cat was ruled out.