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15 F Outside. Engine noise/knocking with recording.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Paulk501, Jan 3, 2014.

  1. Paulk501

    Paulk501 New Member

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    My 2004 120,000mi Prius engine made a very loud knocking noise today when I had started it up. It had snowed a few inches so I went out to brush off the snow and warm it up. I started the car and the ICE kicked in to run the heater. I had aways thought it sounded loud when starting in the cold, however this time it became louder, loud enough to the point I was behind the car and decided to run back to the front and shut it down immediately. It sounded as if it had no oil in it and had run that way for a while. The car was driven about 100 miles the day prior with no issues. I allowed the car to sit about 20 minutes as I continued to brush off the snow and checked the oil. It had oil about 3/4th of the dipstick measurement area was oiled. I tryed to start it again, now it sounds fine and drives fine with no additional noises at any RPM. I'm including a video from my dashcam of the sound NSFW language at the end.... If anyone knows what it could have been please let me know.



    Thanks!
     
    #1 Paulk501, Jan 3, 2014
  2. Paulk501

    Paulk501 New Member

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    This is what it sounded like from the outside. This video demonstrates what the problem may have been. I"ll keep this thread updated if I come to any conclusions. This is not my video
     
    #2 Paulk501, Jan 3, 2014
  3. Paulk501

    Paulk501 New Member

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    No check engine codes on my Prius.
     
    #3 Paulk501, Jan 3, 2014
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    this typically happens when you start the car for a minute (ice fires up) and then shut it down before the ice has finished it's warm up cycle. then it sits overnight and the next time you start, you get the knocking.
     
    #4 bisco, Jan 3, 2014
  5. Paulk501

    Paulk501 New Member

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    But when I parked it I had just finished driving a 50 mile trip. It should have been fully warmed up.
     
    #5 Paulk501, Jan 3, 2014
  6. Rich12

    Rich12 Member

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    I have the same issue. See my previous post about engine running rough.
     
    #6 Rich12, Jan 4, 2014
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I don't hear any knocking just some thumping. Was the snow real deep right up to the bottom of the car making lower engine sound seem louder?

    Noise upon start up makes you think of wrong oil filter and or wrong grade.

    If it was me I would change the oil immediately and put in some high quality oil like Mobil One 100% Synthetic 5-30.
    Use only the factory original filter.

    Whats the oil change history? What brand oil, what brand filter and how often and who does it.
     
    #7 edthefox5, Jan 4, 2014
  8. Paulk501

    Paulk501 New Member

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    I have found some more information. This is what my engine sounded like from the outside.
    and luckily in the videos description is a detailed shop horror story that shows it could be a simple spark plug/ignition coil issue. http://www.aecs.net/techniek2012/March%20prius.pdf
     
    #8 Paulk501, Jan 4, 2014
  9. bgr

    bgr Junior Member

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    My 2006 occasionally does something like this in very cold weather. Maybe 2-3 times per winter for 5-10 seconds. I've assumed it is a misfire because the noise stops abruptly as opposed to tapering off. It hasn't happened often enough to make my try to figure it out. The link above does seem to explain why the noise and vibration are more than one might expect from just one cylinder missing.
     
    #9 bgr, Jan 5, 2014
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