1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

engine vibration when slow step on the gas

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by RDL, Feb 19, 2023.

  1. RDL

    RDL New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2023
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Pa
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I have 2013 prius plug in with 125,000 I had a engine misfire P0304. Compression and leak down was good. Put new spark plugs in and a new coil in cylinder 4. Still had the misfire and cold start up shaking. Cleaned the intake manifold and put in a new egr with cooler. I have no codes, no cold start up shaking ,and no misfire. The whole engine like shakes when you press on the gas pedal for a little bit after it shuts down from warm up. When you are driving the car runs fine when you pushing hard on the pedal, But when you press very lightly the engine feels like it has a slight miss. I am not using any oil or coolant.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    throttle body cleaning? just a guess
     
    Brian1954 likes this.
  3. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2021
    1,108
    410
    0
    Location:
    South Central PA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Try cleaning the MAF sensor. It may not help, but it is easy to do, and it will not hurt.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,675
    39,222
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    When you get a specific cylinder misfire code, a good trick is to swap coils and plugs around, see if the misfire code follows, or not. If not, could be head gasket. Your cleaning efforts are good, but might be too late. Is the engine coolant level stable in the reservoir?
     
  5. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,376
    1,792
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Keep driving until the damage is further It's already started and pretty much done I don't know if you're trying to save something or what's happening more than likely saving is not the issue at this point getting ready to get everything in place for the remedy or getting out of the car or the next points of interest probably
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Why isn’t a leak down test sufficient to disprove head gasket failure?
     
  7. RDL

    RDL New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2023
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Pa
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I did swap coils around. Leak down test was 12 %. I am not losing any coolant. I cannot see that I have bad head gasket problem. So I am not going to change it. I do not have any codes now. The problem is minor, I just wanted to know if anyone else had experienced it. I put new plugs in and maybe one is not right.
     
    bisco likes this.
  8. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,376
    1,792
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Yes you need to track down if you have a miss or do you have a stumble Is the fire being put out or is the fire not in proper control.
     
  9. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2021
    1,108
    410
    0
    Location:
    South Central PA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Another thing that you can try is some Techron fuel system cleaner, add it to a full tank of gas and see if it helps.

    I like bisco's idea of throttle body cleaning. If it has not been cleaned before, it is definitely due by 125k miles. If you clean the throttle body, you should disconnect the 12v battery for a few minutes so that the car can re-calibrate for the clean throttle body.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Are those OEM from the dealer?
     
  11. RDL

    RDL New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2023
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Pa
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    The new coil was OEM, I did clean the throttle body and the MAF and MAP sensors. I have been putting seafoam in the tank. I don't think that the engine is missing. The vibration seems like when the HV kicks in.
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,675
    39,222
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Hybrid vehicle aka, start out in ev, then the engine fires up
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Oem coil is one thing, what about Chinese spark plugs?
     
  15. RDL

    RDL New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2023
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Pa
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I used OEM spark Plugs, Now I have P0304 again. Do you think that I have a bad spark plug or bad fuel injector ?
     
  16. Kromis

    Kromis Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2021
    14
    3
    0
    Location:
    Rosemead
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I had the exact same problem you had with a misfire on cylinder 1 instead of 4. I tried to do a coil swap but it still showed a misfire on 1. I also did a spark plug swap but same issue. I did a block test as well and the liquid was still blue.

    I ended up replacing all the spark plugs with OEM ones and it stopped shaking. The misfire error code went away after a week or so. So after I thought it was fine, I noticed my oil getting slightly murky. I thought it was coolant leakage but my coolant loss seemed fine. I got an oil change and ALL of the oil turned out murky. They told me it was an engine problem but couldn't tell me what exactly.

    At the moment, I'm debating whether or not I should try to get it serviced from the used dealership I bought it from or just a rebuilt engine from HybridPit. I haven't asked about the cost of the engine + labor but I'm dreading it.