Motor shakes when it first starts up or takes off

how many miles on her?

 

so for some, this issue has been fixed with simple running 1 or 2 full tanks of 93 octane?


Would it hurt running 2 tanks of 93 octane to clean system?

 

Will not hurt, but it won't help either. The car is designed for the ignition point of the spark to be at a certain temperature. Higher octane raises that temperature and it makes the spark happen later. While the computer will adjust to this, it will have no change to your engine behavior characteristics. You'll just be spending money, but it won't hurt anything, either.

 

I see this happen when the car has sat for several days without being started... Like a week or more.
With everyday use its never happened for me.

Curious if it sat a while?

 

There have been reports of this if you let it get cold, start it up for a few minutes to move it around your driveway and shut it down before completing warm up. The next time you start it up, it's been said to happen. So far *knock on wood* I haven't experienced this.

 

My 2015 Prius C 1 just did this exactly after the first cold night (45F). Is this something that needs to be taken care of right away??

 

welcome!

there's no fix. try to let it go through the full warm up cycle until it shuts down on its own, every time you start it.

 

fotomoto, thank you for posting the YouTube link. That sound is exactly what I had this morning, Scared the crap out of me.
It was cold: -11F with -35F windchill. The motor went back to its normal purr within four or five seconds and all was well after that. No warning lights. The previous drive (coming home the night before) was not especially short: 6 miles, though it was subzero weather and that might not have been enough to thoroughly warm it up, so I suppose it could be the manifold condensation problem. Tomorrow and Tuesday mornings are supposed to be colder still, so it will be interesting to see if it repeats.

 

The Prius really struggles in very cold weather. It will get terrible mileage and motor will sometimes run con5inously to warm th3 cats. Best way to get through this cold snap is to block the rad off with cardboard.

 

All I've done is immediately kill the engine and simply restart it, it rarely does it the second time.

While putting it in gear and driving can clear it too, I don't like it rattling that long, just killing and restarting usually suffices.

 

Ah ha! (Sorry for raising the dead an' old thread but...)

Nailed it Dick. The violent shake at start thing happened on my 2010 first time I started her. The seller had moved it a few feet prior. Yesterday, I maneuvered and same thing. After very short engine ons, it shakes, rattles and then rolls on next start.

Check engine came on, though. Think it a separate issue. Have to check for codes later but wanted to say thank you for the insight.
Many years later, snork

 

I have the same exact problem. I just simply started shifting into reverse or drive after the initial morning startup and the shake doesn't happen when ICE kicks in. It'll happen when it's in park, though.

Is it like this for anyone else? Or am I applying a band-aid to an underlying problem that may be causing the shake that I'm unaware of?

 

You're changing the revs of the engine. Applying a little throttle when it's shaking will have similar effect.

 

When I read your problem I immediately thought motor mounts, as well (not based on my experience with my Prius, but just by your description and the conditions involved). I agree with Mike Focke.

 

Wow...it almost sounds like oil starvation, to me. Your fluid levels are all good?

 

This is a well documented occurrence on the Gen 2 Prius intake manifolds. They "claimed" they resolved it for Gen 3... but well, people are still complaining.

 

I just bought my Prius V 2015 from US, 58k miles. Have the same rough start for few seconds, but the car was not in use for more than 6 months, in addition Hybrid System Malfunction indicator is on, but I think it can be a separate problem. Will get it checked with service.

 

Yes! I just bought by 2007 Prius last week, so it's fairly new to me. When I bought the car, I tanked it up with 89 octane... then got home and read on some forum that there is no benefit to running >87 octane. The second tank I filled with 87, and I noticed the issue with, what feels like, missing at idle at cold temperatures. Next tank I will go back to 89. Might be a good idea until spring comes along.

 

might as well