Hey all, I'm not super mechanically inclined and would like some advice. I bought my 2009 back in March with 160k, it had a generic evap code that I ignored. I had my mechanic change the spark plugs and all the fluids right after I got it.. Fast forward, drove it all over the country absolutely flawlessly, used it for deliveries and road trips ect.... During this time the cat was stolen and replaced with a cheap Amazon one, which I know is throwing one of these codes and I'm not worried about that one unless it could actually be an issue. It now has 198k. Today I decided to read the code again and turns out now that's 4 different codes popping up. Po 304 Po455 Po441 Po420 One of them is for a misfire in cylinder 4. Which I had in my previous prius which was cleared up by changing the spark plugs. I did a little reading and it seams like I should change the spark plugs again and change the #4 coil pack. Besides that, anyone have any suggestions?? Car is running just slightly rough and the fuel economy has dipped 2-4 mpg in the last week or two. Everything else seams great. When shopping for coil packs, is there a specific brand I should go with? I'd like to order off Amazon, looks like they run a pack of 4 for around $40-60 bucks, any input is appreciated. Thanks so much in advance, thankfully I have a buddy nearby with a well stocked garage and who is very mechanically inclined so he will help me with basic stuff. Just looking for advice from you guys here that are specifically familiar with these cars.
i haven't done it, but have read that you can swap coils to see if the misfire moves to the other cyl. hard to believe a plug would go bad unless you're burning oil. the only thing about amazon is cheap chinese clones, you have to be careful. it has happened with plugs, not sure about coils
I'm burning maybe half a quart every 1500-2k miles, so nothing abnormal right? Should I stick with having O'Reillys order a set of coils instead of Amazon? I know denzo makes a lot of the oem parts but didn't see any coils made by them.
Have you actually priced the plugs and coils at an online dealer shop? You might find that they are reasonably priced compared to O'Reilly's, AA, Auto Zone, etc. If it's significantly cheaper on Amazon or eBay, it is more than likely fake. You get what you pay for. A quick search of dealer prices: Coils, Ignition 90919-02240 $116.80 ea. Plug, Spark 90919-01240 $10.37 ea. Just remember, if you use quality parts you'll not be doing this for another 120,000 -150,000 miles.
With that mileage check the fuel trims, and consider replacing the upstream A/F sensor with OEM/Denso if you didn't already. If you have 40k on knockoff plugs (best is 10k), you're doing better than most. Pull the #4 plug and look at it, then swap that coil with another cylinder. I wouldn't throw parts (coils) at it until you've gone step by step through the workups for the above DTCs (codes). Do you have those?
Just my $.02 but if you have a bad plug/coil I think the car would be running really rough. My experience with other cars when this happens is that you can tell for sure something is wrong (even if it's not throwing codes). A small 4 cylinder turning into a small 3 cylinder will be noticeable.
I have not started digging into the car yet, I will pick up one coil and a set of plugs and take it to a buddy's garage tonight. I'm not sure of the quality of the plugs but regardless, I'm hoping just replacing them will clear it up. How long do you think ngk plugs should last?
Yeah it seams to be running a noticeably rough, specifically seams to start rough like give a bit of a shake when kicking on. The other thing I noticed, when I'm sitting in ready mode, when the ice kicks on to charge the battery, it turns on but doesn't idle high enough to charge the battery for a few seconds, it just kinda hums and lurches slightly before the rpms get higher then it smooths out.
Ok, I got a new ignition coil and a set of denzo plugs and will install them tonight, fingers crossed that clears up the misfire.
I see you have a gapping tool there. You can put that back in your toolbox and don't use it. If you have the correct Denso Iridium plugs (SK16R11), they will be correctly factory gapped. If you try and check the gap with that tool you stand to damage or even break off the iridium tip and destroy the plug. Good luck.
Ok, all new plugs and replaced #4 coil. Lots more power. One thing that its still doing is when I'm idling and the ice kicks on to charge the battery, there tends to be a pretty significant lurch as it kicks on. It's very smooth while driving, but that first kick on to charge the battery just doesn't feel right. Maybe this is normal?? I'll get the codes checked again tomorrow to see if misfire code is gone.
That lurch feeling could be worn engine mounts. If you haven't done so already, you want to clean the throttle body and the MAF sensor. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Quite possibly. Although if there was a significant issue with rings, wouldn't I be burning quite a bit of oil? I'm going to get some basic tools and start doing more of this kind of basic stuff myself, the throttle body looks like it was be very easy, the rings would be quite a bit more difficult, atleast based on a teardown I watched.
The MAF sensor screws into the side of the air filter housing (that you have to remove to clean the TB). Take the screws out then turn the sensor 180* and look down the the long thin passage. There are two sensing elements that are quite delicate but should be cleaned You can get dedicated MAF spray cleaner (or most brake cleaners will also work).