replace heat shields above exhaust or not?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by frank lyons, Mar 13, 2021.

  1. frank lyons

    frank lyons Junior Member

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    2012 prius two. the heat shields above my exhaust where the bolts hold it on see to wear through. it has happened a couple of times and the shields lay on the exhaust and make an awful rattling noise. I used some fender washers where the originals wore through and it has mostly taken care of the problem. If these washers wear through over time what would you do get rid of the heat shields? buy new ones? try to find bigger washers? are the heat shields necessary and do they protect something or just keep heat out of the passenger compartment.
     
    #1 frank lyons, Mar 13, 2021
  2. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    I would retain the heat shields.
    Heat rises, even after you shut off the car, and I am unsure, yet perhaps the 12 volt battery is located over the muffler?

    If the repair washers did fail, I would remove the OEM shields and attempt a repair.
    I'd venture a guess that many DIY repair options to the OEM panel are available such as Hi Temp epoxies or Dyna Mat Tape (et al), sheet metal plate or as suggested even larger customer made washers.

    Best of luck wished for your project.
     
    #2 Kenny94945, Mar 13, 2021
  3. Papito23

    Papito23 Junior Member

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    This happened on my 2011 Prius. I was really worried by the noise of the rattle. Took it to my trusted mechanic, was glad it was such a simple fix, he did it in 5 min, charged me a nominal fee, and I haven't thought about it in years. Whatever he did apparently worked.
     
    #3 Papito23, Mar 14, 2021
    Merkey likes this.
  4. burebista

    burebista Active Member

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    Yeah, a couple of weeks ago I lost it on the road too. Stopped the car and recovered it then I went to my mechanic and he made a kind of washers from an old head gasket and everything looks fine for now.
     
    #4 burebista, Mar 15, 2021
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