A loud, metallic start up sound from engine

So does the manufacturer recommend E38? Nope. They say not to use anything more than E10. I think you know what's causing the noise

Some people have run a car with an accidental mix of diesel and whilst allowing the car to run, it will cause damage, mainly to the emissions systems. Same as E38. Some might say they use it fine, some might be exaggerating, some might live in a very warm climate etc. There is a member on this forum who uses E95 I believe, but he lives in warm Alabama. The car is designed to use E10 and you should use E10 or less. You might get away with E15 or E20 but you're slowly taking a risk.

Try running with normal petrol and see if the noise goes away.

And whilst I appreciate petrol is expensive in Finland compared to our American friends on here, but it is slightly cheaper than here in the UK. If you pay €1.60 that equates to £1.25 a litre, and presently ours is about £1.30. I assume E38 is cheaper but do you really need to save those extra few pennies enough to damage one of the Worlds most efficient production cars?

 

NEW!!! Service Bulletin for Engine Knocking at Startup T-SB 0012-10 | PriusChat

As for the E38, it's not going to kill the car right away, but will ultimately cause side effects in the long run. Australia tested E20 ten years ago and had to abort the idea.

 

There is a "bug" in the 2010s that causes the issue particularly if the car is run for a very short time and then shut down cold. There is a fix (TSB) on this issue, involving replacing a manifold. Not sure if it totally fixed the problem. I've never seen it in Pearl S and I have run it for a very short time and shut it down cold. So perhaps the manifold change does fix it, as Pearl S has the newer manifold.

I don't think it has anything to do with the E38, though you really shouldn't be using that fuel. The manual says E15 max. here in Canada as I recall though it could be E10.

 

One more thing, your mystical "lawn mower syndrome" is simply a flooded engine. Very common in the era of carburated engines.

 

The rattle is the sound of the car misfiring, which can be caused by a number of issues, and is unlikely to be related to the high ethanol content alone, simply because the vehicle does it off and on.

Funny enough, they axed the "Replace intake manifold for misfire codes" bulletin back in April and left only the cold-start P0A0F bulletin intact.

edit: the axed it for the USA, but the Canadian bulletin remains. Had to check TIS.

 

Mine is a 2014 and I'm getting the knock using unleaded none E gas

 

We have a 2010 Prius and as was mentioned it will knock and hammer for several seconds at startup under certain conditions. It has done this when starting after being stored for six months. It has also done it when starting after having been shut down before the engine was thoroughly warmed. The Toyota dealer will do nothing about the problem unless they observe it. And since it happens so rarely, there isn't much chance of it happening for them.

 

I just had this happen this morning for the first time. I shut it off immediatly. Sounded like a wrench fell in the engine bay.
Opened the hood, nothing to see here.
Then started it again and watched as the engine shook like a wet dog and mad what sounded like a clutch coming apart.
Any other discussions other the fuel about this?

 

What year's your car? Confused: you're showing 2005 V in info, but this is third gen forum.

 

My bad, I traded in the '05 for a 2010 certified. Haven't had one problem in 12K miles til this morning.
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