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2013 Prius Engine Shaking/Rattling on Startup and "Eco"

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by mszy52, May 30, 2024.

  1. mszy52

    mszy52 New Member

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    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    My girlfriend has a 2013 Prius 3 and the engine started shaking and rattling aggressively on startup and when driving about 25-35MPH in "eco" mode. The rattle goes away while on electric going under 10mph and when flooring it so the engine is at high revs.

    I did the work below and the rattle became even worse after I cleaned all the parts and need some help.

    I've called some shops and done some work myself.
    Here's what I've done:
    -Cleaned the EGR Cooler completely with a pressure washer
    -Cleaned exhaust manifold with a pressure washer
    -Cleaned MAF sensor
    -Swapped spark plugs around
    -Swapped coils around
    -Cleaned fuel injectors

    Codes I'm still getting:
    -P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected
    -P0303 Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
    -P0102 prm Mass air flow (MAF) Circuit Low
    -P0113 prm Intake Air Temperature (IAT) Sensor Circuit High Input
    -P0354 prm Ignition Coil 'D' Circuit Malfunction

    Coils are Densos installed 20k miles ago. I checked em and they look fine.
    When I took out the fuel injectors they were super dirty but I bought an fuel injector cleaner kit and cleaned them up and put new o-rings on them.
    The MAF sensor looks fine and I've cleaned it twice.

    At this point I don't know what to do and where to even start. I'm this close to taking it to a shop but the shops I've talked to said they'll just buy a new EGR Cooler and Exhaust Manifold and put them on which I highly doubt will do anything considering how well I cleaned both.

    Please let me know if you've got any suggestions. I really am hoping it's not a head gasket.
     
  2. mszy52

    mszy52 New Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Three
    Note:
    I've also replaced the PCV Valve
    There was maybe a couple tablespoons of oil in the Throttle Body when I took it off first
     
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Base
    Now just to proof the methodology you borrow an inspection camera or you rent one from the stupid auto parts store or you buy one and you look in cylinder 1 and 2 and see the condensation and build up where the head meets the block and now you know the head gasket seal is compromised this is the reason for your misfires them not going away nothing moving around with your coil changes etc It's very simple there's another test you can get the plugs into your radiator and the vapor's getting in to the test coming out of your radiator cap or d gas bottle will turn green blue something to tell you you have cross contamination no fun in this model You're going to be in for 5 grand plus and still have the same old car better be really thinking carefully
     
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  4. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    III
    How many miles on the car?

    Is the engine coolant low?
     
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  5. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Perhaps replace the leaking head gasket?

     
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  6. mszy52

    mszy52 New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three

    The car's at 130,000. Coolant wasn't low when we first pulled it apart.

    Not a bad way to go. I'll see if there might be anything else I can do first but this is a great idea. Thanks!
     
    #6 mszy52, May 31, 2024
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2024
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Presumably just now, after your symptoms started. Post the miles.
     
  8. mszy52

    mszy52 New Member

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    Model:
    Three
    Sorry about that. I'm at 130,000 miles.
    And yes, unfortunately we just did the first EGR clean after the symptoms started. Was unaware that you were supposed to do it about every 50,000 miles.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    You shouldn’t have to. 4th gens have been opened up for cleaning with around 250k miles, found to be just slightly sooty.

    Toyota learned from the oversights and shortcomings of their newly developed Gen 3 system, which evidently had insufficient testing, and inevitably clogs. They’ve never acknowledged a need to clean it periodically, because that would be an acknowledgment of a screw-up. 50k is a number I’ve tossed out, and it seems about right.
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Jun 1, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2024