Chilly Bay Area nights and an engine rattle at starts

Welcome to Prius Chat .

Some questions:

• What symptoms are you experiencing?
• What maintenance have you performed?
• The DIY type?

@bisco gave some great steps to reduce the symptoms noted .

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Welcome to the knock club. Say hello to EGR circuit & manifold cleaning + OCC install.

 

And if you want any assistance, keep us posted as I traverse near Walnut Creek daily for my commute.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Bummer! One of the CA gurus will have to check on the engine replacement question. @Raytheeagle ??

Is it just me or have we really seen an uptick of folks here with engine problems lately? I really need to get the EGR/manifold/OCC treatment done on our 2010 liftback before it falls victim to the head gasket issue.

It would also be nice if Toyota would acknowledge the EGR fouling problem! Not getting my hopes up though.

 

@Raytheeagle guru, what's up with all these engine problems?

 

Lemmee try: the 3rd gen EGR system clogs, inevitably; it's a short-sighted design. A free-flowing EGR system is paramount to keeping engine temperatures down. As the EGR system clogs engine temps climb; head gasket failure becomes more likely.

 

See lawsuit thread and sign up, repairs will be free afterwards...if successful.

 

While classic, prices range from those that diy (cost of Parts) on up to $3k at places like Maxat in Sac.

Some things to consider (or things I have learned either here or in conversation):

• Clean the egr circuit early enough (say 100-120 k miles) then put it on a cleaning frequency
• Change the water pump at around 150 k miles as there will be no warning signs for a mag drive pump failure until it is too late
• Check your oil frequently to avoid packing the system with more hydrocarbons

Since you’re in Walnut Creek, I might be able to help.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Reading the thread: This was probably part of the issue all along and JC91006 was correct. Cleaning our your EGR circuit probably helped for a bit as it was clogged and the reason why your head gasket was going.