2011 Prius engine shaking, knocking violently

if you are low on coolant ,time for znother engine

 

P0401 equates to the Exhaust Gas Recirculation system. Have you cleaned that yet? It's the Achille's Heel of 3rd gen engines.
P0302 equates to cylinder #2 misfire, as you're following up on.

 

Check at least the EGR pipe: it is relatively quick/easy to access, and from it's condition you have some idea regarding the rest of the system. Watch @NutzAboutBolts video on this, pinned at at top of this forum.

You've got 137K miles, and have a code that says insufficient EGR flow. To continue to look elsewhere, is to be kidding yourself: they all clog.

 

Obviously not. There shouldn't be oil inside the intake system. That excessive oil could easily cause misfiring and knocking as a result.
User "danlatu" recommended oil catch can installation to eliminate that oil going into the intake. You could benefit from it. Search the forum for that thread "Eliminate that Knock" by danlatu...

If I were you, I would also remove and clean the entire intake assembly. I would remove and clean the PCV valve; I'd remove and clean the EGR cooler, check the spark plugs (clean them if necessary) and if these help prevent the knocking, then I would install an oil catch can immediately.

There is a chance that (and I hope it wouldn't be the case here) your head gasket might have been blown by the prolong knocking. And the cause for the knocking could be the coolant getting into one or more cylinders. If that's the case, none of my recommendations above will help. And that's what the user "tankyuong" was talking about above (Post #2). That's the worst case scenario. Are you losing coolant? Check your coolant reservoir.

I recommended the above maintenance work because you won't need to spend money for those; just your labor.

Please let us know how it goes.

 

I found that thread for you...

Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock! | PriusChat

 

Here's also the main EGR cleaning thread:

EGR & Intake Manifold Clean Results | PriusChat

And for sure watch @NutzAboutBolts videos, pinned at top of this forum.

I'm gonna say it IS normal. For the typical 3rd gen Prius. Very normal. Until you clean it and install an Oil Catch Can. I put in the Moroso Universal Can a year back, and checked it recently, pulled the throttle body off (you can do this without coolant line disconnect) and there was only a "sheen" of oil, no pool. I know there's a little oil spit-back at each intake port, and maybe a slight amount of oil in the PCV circuit gets through the OCC.

I would clean the Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor too, while cleaning the intake manifold. MAF sensor cleaner is probably safest thing for it, though it actually looks pretty durable. Be a little careful with it, they're over $200. It's below the intake manifold, bolted on the right side of the intake manifold, directly below, and more-or-less swimming in the pool of oil...

 

Yes, yes absolutely. That's what I meant actually. There shouldn't be any oil but all Gen3 have it not only his. And it is not good.

 

Welcome to the knock club, we're always accepting new members.

 

I’d think you have issues with cylinder 2. A compression test would tell you.

If the coolant is stable, it’s probablt a ring issue and will just consume oil.

I’d clean the egr circuit stem to stern then monitor the coolant level of not dropping.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Wow, I have a 2014 CT200h and this is the exact same story with mine!
The 2nd cylinder port is dirty and the others are clean.

After I finish cleaning the EGR cooler, EGR, and install an oil catch can, I will monitor for coolant loss and post back.

Let me know if you've finished resolving the issue already!

Josh

 

I'm not driving the car currently. I bought the lexus as a project. My car for the past 5 or 6 years has been a 1994 civic vx.

I will be getting the oil catch can in the mail tomorrow and will put the cleaned EGR cooler, EGR, and intake manifold back on and let you know how it runs afterward.
The intake manifold had a huge puddle of condensation in it and I'm hoping the white smoke i saw coming out at startup last week was just the condensation burning off and not coolant.

Oh and if you clean your EGR cooler, I found that 1 gallon of purple power did the trick in dissolving the carbon build up.
Mine was probably 90% plugged with 180k miles on the car.

 

I think Purple Power is similar to Oxi-Clean, ie: a fairly strong, basic (caustic, like oven cleaner but weaker) cleaner. Strong hot water solution of Oxi is what I used on my cooler, worked good. Oxi's likely cheaper (big tubs of powdered Oxi available at Costco, for example) and maybe more readily available. Or Purple Power, I'm just rambing, lol. Also, I'm off in Canadian hinterland though, who knows.

 

I have an entire gallon of purple power on my rack, didn't even think about using it. Well there's always next time.......

 

I think I read a post of yours in another thread about using Oxi-clean. I tried that yesterday, but wasn't satisfied...i did get a generic version of it, maybe that was the problem.

The purple power was $5 USD for a gallon, I figure I can swing that instead of replacing the cooler.

Thanks for you contributions in the other threads, they definitely helped me decide to jump into the hybrid world. I was kind of intimidated to start working on a prius/ct200h, until I read yours and everyone else's contributions to the OCC and EGR threads.