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missing under light throttle

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by donboy, May 20, 2015.

  1. donboy

    donboy New Member

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    i have a 2010 prius with 270,000 km aprox.
    And i have gotten a stutter at light throttle, but not enough to throw a code
    I have changed plugs and four rebuilt injector's. And one new coil because once it did throw a code for number two cylinder.
    But nothing has changed, i hate to go to the dealer, and I hope someone else will have an idea.
     
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Have you checked/cleaned the throttle body? Also, your PCV valve and hoses may be quite dirty as well.

    A malfunctioning PCV valve can cause the symptoms you are having: PCV Valve Related Symptoms and Problems
     
    #2 xliderider, May 20, 2015
    Last edited: May 20, 2015
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Does this shudder every time you accelerate from a stop? Any engine whine noise when you brake to a stop?
     
  4. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Have you run a full-strength fuel system cleaner/solvent like Seafoam or B-12 Chemtool? Some fuel issues don't manifest under load because enough pressure compensates but under light load it's just enough to be a problem. Also, did you change the fuel filter (which should have probably been done by now).
     
  5. donboy

    donboy New Member

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    Going to do the fuel filter next, I was just hoping someone had same problems and found out something else.
    Do u know where the fuel filter is?

    Only if u lightly touch the gas, or when leveling off after reaching highway speed. As soon as you apply any real throttle imput it goes away?
     
    #5 donboy, May 20, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 20, 2015
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I'm not sure using 4 rebuilt injectors is helping your cause. There's no way to know of those rebuilt ones are good. I would think you need to somehow get the dtc codes read, so you have an idea where the problem is coming from. It would take forever guessing at this.
     
  7. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    EGR pipe from EGR to intake manifold and EGR port through intake manifold clogged with carbon. Mine (my 2010, not the '07) never threw a code either but cleaning as per this thread fixed. Not a bad job if you're DIY, just a little bit of digging to pull the intake manifold. I would at least check this out before you replace fuel filter!

    Prius III engine knocking at high torque low RPM (solved) | PriusChat
     
    #7 m.wynn, May 20, 2015
    Last edited: May 20, 2015
  8. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The fuel filter is in the gas tank, along with the fuel pump.

    If it were the fuel filter, you'd have a problem under heavier throttle as well. So we don't see your reasoning.
     
  9. Tande

    Tande Active Member

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    Curious......is this stutter/misfire more pronounced with "Light/Throttle" just after turning a L.H. corner?......mine displays these exact symptoms & I am convinced it is caused by I.M. condensate (yes, the same condensate associated with the "Knocking On Start/Up" issue) pooling in the I.M. & then being "Dumped" (centrifugal force from turning) into the airstream, with the resulting incombustible mixture.......wife & I each have a 2010 & both cars have this unique "Feature"....(n)
     
  10. donboy

    donboy New Member

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    I am positive after reading the posts añd checking out my egr valve that was carboned up very badly, that is where the problem was. While at work yesterday, and on my lunch i went out to take the pipe off from the egr to intake manifold, I cleaned it up the best i could but not getting into egr valve itself.
    Anyways on my way home the car was ten times worse, almost un drivable. Lol, shutter and shake. So I must be on the right path and I just stirred it up more.
    I have my egr valve off right now and it's really badly carboned up. I have it soaking in our ultrasonic cleaner at work. And when I get it back on i will let u know.

    T
    Thank you. I am just about positive that is the problem, but I am at work today and won't get it back together until tomorrow, but I cleaned the pipe like u said and tried to get into egr valve the best i could, without taking off.and car became way worse, almost un drivable. Lol
    So i have the egr valve off and soaking today at work. It was pretty much plugged at the poppet and seat. I will let yoy know how it turns out.
     
    #10 donboy, May 21, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2015
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  11. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    sounds like very needed preventive maintenance on a high mileage prius.
     
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  12. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Just buy a new valve. It's an inexpensive part.
     
    #12 xliderider, May 21, 2015
    Last edited: May 21, 2015
  13. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    Just to clarify my earlier post: You do need to pull the intake manifold and clean the EGR port which runs the length of it. You'll find this clogged, too, just as you have the EGR pipe and valve. It's a little time consuming as the air box and throttle body need to come off (couple coolant lines to the TB that can be pulled with minimal leakage) but can be done easily in an evening. Be sure to re-connect the large vacuum line to the underside of the manifold on re-install or you'll get the no-start code and need to tear the whole thing apart again. Guess how I know this?..

    No guarantee this is your problem but I strongly suspect the car will run great once you've plowed through this. It does appear this is becoming a pretty common issue in high-mileage G3's.
     
  14. donboy

    donboy New Member

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    Have you priced one. Seems pretty expensive to me.

    THe injectors are rebuilt from rock auto supply. I highly doubt you would change the injectors and have the exact same problem as before. Not saying you couldn't get a bad one, but I am sure the symptoms would be different.
    And the car is not throwing any codes???
     
    #14 donboy, May 21, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2015
  15. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    They run about $10 or less?
     
  16. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    I think xliderider may be confusing EGR valve with PCV valve. EGR looks to be ~$200 or more for oem new. PCV is `~$10.

    As a bonus, changing the PCV is a snap with the intake manifold off.
     
  17. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Yeah, I guess I did. Thought they were same thing.
     
  18. donboy

    donboy New Member

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    Thank you very much. It was in the intake manifold, them lil ports almost where it comes into the main intake stream were mostly plugged. Car runs like new again. .
    Thank you
     
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  19. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    What is the process to clean the EGR valve and EGR port: is it sufficient to spray brake parts cleaner, or ??

    Did you replace the various gaskets with new parts, or reuse the existing gaskets? Any concerns about vacuum leaks?
     
  20. Morlince

    Morlince Junior Member

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    HOLY CRUD!

    I had just recently purchased my 2010 five ATP with 140k miles. I have this same issue, took it into Toyota, they said misfire in Cylinder 4 and recommended spark plugs and fuel injection cleaning. I Replaced those expensive plugs myself and was looking to replace my fuel injector but couldn't figure out how to remove the rail without tearing out a bunch of other parts. I was hoping that wasn't the case so I came here to ask how the you remove the fuel rail and found this post. I have a question about your symptoms.
    • Do you notice this issue immediately when the engine is cool? It only starts happening after the engine is warmed up for me, but happens exactly as you state. During low RPMs only.
    Did you get the info for the teardown from TechInfo or some other place? I would love to have a good repair guide but from what I've read, most of the existing ones are terrible and not exact. I'm sure techinfo has it, but at $15 bucks a pop when I have issues can get expensive.

    I'm in the US, reading through this and other threads linked in here it seems everyone that has this issue is driving a European model. Should there be any difference?

    I really hope this is the issue, cause I'm definitely tired of it.

    /\\/\\orlince