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Loud Rattle After Head Gasket Change

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by roqua01, Jan 21, 2022.

  1. roqua01

    roqua01 Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    II
    I would have never guessed. Getting an inspection from some professionals is worth every penny. Towing was $60 and the actual testing was $140. So for anyone reading this later on, if you've done your research and are still stuck then I highly suggest getting the vehicle inspected.
     
  2. roqua01

    roqua01 Junior Member

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    Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    II
    Update: ECU has been replaced but I was told I had a leaky fuel injector and they wanted to empty out my full fuel tank and fill it with 3 gallons of fresh fuel. They wanted to charge me $800 for that so I decided to take it home and do that myself plus I had never heard of old fuel until that day. Took it home and it drove just rattled a lot but it drove. I cleaned and properly installed the injectors so they're all good but the car still rattles now. It doesn't turn off anymore thanks to the new ECU I believe. The car also does not overheat like it use to before the headgasket replacement so I believe that was a success. Now my only options are to empty out the gas and hope that it is just the old gas that is causing the rattle. It sounds perfect during low rpms and very high rpms but rattles in between.

    Now I'm trying to figure out what the best way to empty the fuel tank. I read a post on this forum that said Techstream has an option to operate the fuel pump so all I would have to do is disconnect the fuel line from the front of the car and empty it somewhere. I checked Techstream and found no option to do that. If someone knows please point me towards the right direction. Thanks!
     
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
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    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Hard to believe the fuel is the issue unless it was the wrong fuel, say diesel or e85.
     
  4. roqua01

    roqua01 Junior Member

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    Location:
    Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    II
    Update: and hopefully the final update for this issue. Removed the fuel injectors and cleaned them all. Installed them back on and made sure I lubed them up so they o-rings wouldn't pinch. I also drained all the fuel from the full tank and put in 2 gallons of fresh fuel. Started the vehicle and still had a loud rattling problem. At this point I gave up but the only thing that made me hopeful was that sometimes the car would idle at a certain rpm and would sound GREAT.

    I took it into the Toyota shop and they said they found a broken wire for a fuel injector. They replaced it for $150 and the inspection was $150 and it's done. Run great now with no misfires and no rattling. Headgasket job was a success just had some weird issues with a wire and the ecu (which was my fault). I have been driving it for a whole day now with only 1 issue which Toyota told me about. They somehow tested the fuel and said the ecu will state the car is running too lean but that will be cleared once I fill and fully use 2 full tanks of fuel. But other than that I'm finally done. Thanks for all the help to everyone that replied.
     
  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
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    5,063
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    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    The bad wire, probably a ground, was the problem all along after the head gasket repair. Ten to one it did not need an ecu.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  6. roqua01

    roqua01 Junior Member

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    Aug 2, 2021
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    Location:
    Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    II
    I can believe that. One of the reasons I hate going to the shops is I'll never know how much bs I paid for.
     
    Air_Boss likes this.
  7. priusgreymint

    priusgreymint Member

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