Check engine light diagnosis on 2011?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by StellaJM, Nov 13, 2018.

Tags:
  1. StellaJM

    StellaJM New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    5
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    This is gonna be a long post, just wanna be through! Sorry I’m advance! I recently bought a used 2011 Prius. Almost always on the cold start in the morning, it made very loud rattling noises until I put it in drive. I took it to my local Toyota dealership to get it checked out for any issues. I paid about $140 dollars to get the used car insepcection. I was told I needed to replace my front brake pads, and that the noise was likely just the hybrid engine warming up. I thought this was doubtful, had ice had a 2008 Prius before and it never was that loud. On 11/9 my check engine light came on after an especially loud start, but went away the next day. Now it rattles more often on start up, not just the cold start, the the light came back on this morning 11/13. I took it back to the dealership to get the break pads replaced, and the told me check engine diagnostic would cost $300 or more. Feel like I’m being ripped off, but don’t know what to do. Any advice?
     
    #1 StellaJM, Nov 13, 2018
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2016
    11,261
    15,499
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Where in Northern California are you located:whistle:?

    We could point you to another shop as this shop appears to have staff that have large, expensive toys :cool:.

    $300 for diagnosis is a large fee for the results when there are more fish in the sea (y).
     
    #2 Raytheeagle, Nov 14, 2018
    m.wynn likes this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,166
    50,601
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    how many miles on her?
     
    #3 bisco, Nov 14, 2018
  4. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2013
    1,497
    1,585
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I would always get a second opinion. As for the brake pads, I hope they cut/turn the rotors when replacing your pads, or else vehicle vibrations can come back.
     
    #4 NutzAboutBolts, Nov 14, 2018
    StellaJM likes this.
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,166
    50,601
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    looking at your car buying thread, it sounds like you didn't heed the advice given.
     
    #5 bisco, Nov 14, 2018
  6. StellaJM

    StellaJM New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    5
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    About 142,000 miles
     
    #6 StellaJM, Nov 15, 2018
  7. StellaJM

    StellaJM New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    5
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I tried my best to follow the advice given, the guy I bought the 2011 for said his dad who is a mechanic did all the factory recommend maintenance on the car, and he wasn’t sure if that included the EGR cleaning. Unfortunately I couldn’t really wait longer to find another car as I had already been car-less in a rural area for almost 3 weeks
     
    #7 StellaJM, Nov 15, 2018
    bisco likes this.
  8. StellaJM

    StellaJM New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    5
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I’m looking at other shops but there are no other shops in my area that specialize in Toyota’s. I’m nervous about taking her to a another shop since she’s a hybrid. Anyone have any experience with taking hybrinds to ‘regular’ mechanics?
     
    #8 StellaJM, Nov 15, 2018
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,166
    50,601
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    there are a few shops around san fran that specialize in hybrids. but any decent mechanic can clean the egr circuit. there's even videos available to her.
     
    #9 bisco, Nov 15, 2018
  10. StellaJM

    StellaJM New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    5
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Unfortunately I’m over 5 hours north of SF... :( but sounds like egr could be causing the issue based on what I’m reading here...
     
    #10 StellaJM, Nov 16, 2018
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,166
    50,601
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    grab the video, and ask around for a good shop. it's a diy project, so a conscientious mech shouldn't have any problems
     
    #11 bisco, Nov 16, 2018
    StellaJM likes this.
  12. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2013
    1,497
    1,585
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Yep... the videos on our YouTube channel
     
    #12 NutzAboutBolts, Nov 16, 2018
    Mendel Leisk, StellaJM and bisco like this.
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,961
    39,991
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Watch the EGR pipe cleaning video first. It's by far the easiest maintenance, and the amount of carbon/gunk in that pipe will give you some idea what the rest of the circuit is like. The video's are good to send to mechanic too, so they see what they're in for.

    It's a frustrating situation: Toyota has officially acknowledged that clogging of the Exhaust Gas Recirc circuit "can" occur, but seems to intimate it's just a sometimes thing, more spiritted driving will dispel it.

    There's a Technical Service Bulletin on the subject, but for action occur requires either a Check Engine Light and specific code, or severe symptoms. You might actually qualify for the latter, come to think of it. Their action is those cases is to replace the valve and cooler, I believe??

    Those two pieces will set you back around $500, which is ridiculous, when a few hours cleaning can restore them. Especially with the valve, the cooler is tougher. But both are cleanable.

    A good thread on the subject:

    EGR & Intake Manifold Clean Results | PriusChat

    The sand-pounder: Toyota USA advocates checking the security of the driver's floor mat, every 5K miles. The EGR circuit, the thing that can bring the car to it's knees, hoop the head gasket: fugedaboutit.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Nov 17, 2018
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2018
    StellaJM, NutzAboutBolts, RMB and 3 others like this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)