2012 Prius V Shaking during acceleration

What I’m going to say is long winded, but think needs to be inserted here. An able bodied person, with automotive knowledge, tools, and the facility to do the work in can fix this. The videos are linked here or searchable on YouTube. There is no reason to think a Prius owner must seek out a hybrid specialist for an ICE repair. Oil change to engine replacement are fairly benign tasks common to all gasoline or hybrid vehicles.


Any shop that does engine repair CAN change the head gasket on a Prius, but the question is two fold. One, do THEY feel comfortable working on a Prius, and two, do you trust them to work on your car. After the hybrid system is out of the picture, the Prius ICE is just a Corolla engine with an EGR cooler. They made the hybrid cabling bright orange for the same reason air bag cabling is bright yellow. To scare people, and to keep you from messing with it. That having been said, after you disconnect the 12v, and pull the service plug, it is impossible to have HV current. So any repair shop that won’t work on the gasoline engine because it’s mounted in a Prius, is a shop I’d stop doing business with. Period.

Now that’s out of the way, I too was a wrench turner before I bought my Prius, and after I HAD to repair mine, I turned to this same forum. Jack stands, a complete set of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch drive metric sockets, a set of metric wrenches, ratchets, breaker bar, gaskets, fluids, and your willingness to take this engine apart are all that are stopping you from fixing it yourself.

I've pulled my ICE 4 times(3 mistakes), and head gasket can be done just leaving the ICE installed. I recently did a 2.0 in a Ford Transit Connect (think Ford Focus) and it was 500% more challenging then the Prius. Everybody knows someone who can work on an engine. I have been that guy in my family since the age of 18, and I’m now 44. Last year I was the guy who was considering discarding my Prius after 90 days because of this. Now I feel like I need to “pep talk” everyone that is headed down that road or already there.

 

Just to circle back, two mechanics from the same shop both concluded independently that my issue is related to the electronics within the engine itself, something that can be resolved with a new engine. This most likely will not happen as the internet tells me a lower mileage Pv/gen III engine will run around $2500, plus the man hours needs for the job. This local shop will not so it. When I bring to my regular mechanic later on this week, I expect him to say something similar.

There is a local-ish dealer here who recommended Sea Foam and an oil change to flush out any weird stuff, followed by a compression test.

I also called up dealer where I purchased vehicle from, and he suggest I have it towed there, just in case it’s something really bad, and he would try to get a friend who is knowledgeable on Prius to come look at it. Before I spend a few hundred bucks on a tow and a taxi home in case I have to leave car there, I am going to bring to my regular mechanic first, who is also much closer.

I am almost resigned to say this hybrid vehicle experiment is almost a total loss, as I may be looking at parts car pricing at trade-in time. The real sucky thing is, there really are not a lot of other vehicles that fit our needs. The Pv just happened to be a good size, and also a hybrid. I could do without the hybrid complexity.

 

If it’s electronics related to the hybrid system itself, there are codes and sub codes that are in the system. If the only codes in the system are P030x where x is 1-4, or P035x then the only issue is which of the 4 cylinders is not happy, and what made it not happy. P030x are general misfire, and P035x deal specifically with the ignition coils.

 

Hi thanks for the insights. I have no codes. Zero. It doesn’t seem to be a hybrid system issue, But an ICE issue.

 

Compression test or cylinder leakdown would be my first step. Fuel pressure and volume would be my second step. There is either a lack of compression for combustion, or a lack of fuel for combustion. That is definitely an engine misfire.

Take a helper and have them video the noise from inside the car.

 

Update on my situation
After much interwebz research I found a local outfit who's owner made me feel very good over the phone. He currently has multiple Prii in for various services and is comfortable with them and the difference between ICE related problems and everything else. I drove the car to his shop, ..the owner got in car with me for a test drive and of course....no symptoms. Nevertheless he'll be doing a leakdown test, compression test, trying to pull codes (no CEL as of yet) and looking for the problem on another test drive. I'll post up results later. might be a while, this is my family "extra car" and I'll be out of pocket till end of week so it's low priority for now, plus he is backed up..which to me is a good sign.
Thanks for the moral support.

 

Hi still no new news, except I am scheduling an appointment with the local dealer for next week.

 

finally some news on my situation. The shop owner is definitely slow and methodical..good and bad I guess. Anyway, after all tests I listed above, the car passed...no blown head gasket, no buried codes etc. However a tech took her for a spin and the mysterious shake/rattle & roll showed up, in spades. Tech's started digging in and, voila, I get a call asking why I had replaced a cv shaft..?? I haven't. After more "digging" shop owner calls me back and has found a parts supplier that will allow him to buy a new shaft (we couldn't find a used one) install and test drive, then pull and return for full value if that didn't fix it, so that is what we did. and....she's still shaking. Car went back up on lift, pulled new shaft, upon closer inspection it turns out the "spot" where the shaft inserts into the CVT is "wallowed" out. ...and...as Paul Harvey would say.."now for the rest of the story." When I bought the car from the "little old man" with the super nice smile, he did tell me it would shake and he exhausted all efforts in troubleshooting (as I said before, NO shaking on my test drive..go figure) He told me during that troubleshooting a friend/toyota mech he had taken it to told him "there is a place where the shaft inserts that can get worn out".... but he wasn't sure that was it. He then dropped it another $500. I think that is called a "tell"....obviously I got taken to one degree or another. (don't forget my description..other than this issue, the car is in near mint condition) so, I'm not overly angry about it. More frustrated at lost time. If he had known and been completely forthright, I'd probably have still bought the car, gotten it straight to a shop and made the repairs.
So....currently my shop owner is on the hunt for a slightly used or refurbed tranny.
sorry for the long story.
I'll post up later

 

I was curious to know what the issue was for your Prius? My 2012 shudders from a dead stop until it gets rolling and from there on it's perfectly fine. 125k on the clock, thanks for any insight.

 

might need to clean the egr circuit