2010 Prius problematic?

It's a recognized problem here, but Toyota's corporate statement is primarily concerned with safety. They're not going to publicly admit any non-safety issues until they come out with a fix as doing so just makes dealing with customers much, much more difficult. Apple and many other companies are the same way.

 

Well, since this sad issue was first reported here on PriusChat at least as far back as October 2009, I suspect there is NO factory fix in the offing.

A 2010 Prius owner here has some choices; he/she can either live with this phenomenon with its potentially adverse effect on engine lifespan/reliability, or possibly buy an extended warranty from Troy et al to deal with it, or just sell/trade-in this Gen 3 Prius.

Until I hear otherwise from Toyota, I plan to ALWAYS start and run our ICE completely thru its warm-up cycle before shutting it down for any length of time.

BTW... I sure hope our beloved Prius lasts as long as the 2001 Apple G4 PowerMac I'm using to post this message... oh, FWIW, based on customer feedback surveys in Consumer Reports mag, Apple computers have long been rated the best by far in terms of reliability and customer service satisfaction.

 

Yet visit any mac forums (particularly macrumors.com) and you'll hear from posters being driven up the wall by Apple's silence on the various issues until a fix emerges even when many months pass, especially when it comes to Rev. A models.

 

Macrumors? lol I'd go there with you but I'm afraid that would be nothing more than inappropriate thread drift.

It's past time to hold Toyota's feet to the fire about this unresolved 'rough engine start' issue. That's something PriusChatters can do....

 

That's the same old line echoed over at the macrumors forum over and over again.

 

Yeah, sure it is! :focus:

I posted here simply because we bought our Prius after earlier purchasing a Celica, Tacoma and Camry for two reasons. One, we valued Toyota's established reliability; and two, we wanted unsurpassed economy.

I question your motives here. Isn't a clearly established and potentially serious mechanical problem that yet remains unresolved for nearly a year and a half qualify for concern?

 

Buy a gas guzzler, I need my stock portfolio to get back to where it was in 2008.

 

Well, although it's never happened to me, the many regular Priuschatters who've experienced the issue don't seem particularly concerned. You're the one who's taking it rather personally and to an extreme.

 

Well, that admission explains a lot! I'm not sure why you've weighed in here.

As I said in my first post:

"Once any 2010 owner experiences the "rough engine start", as experienced by well over a hundred PC'ers, his/her confidence in that new Prius WILL be shaken."

You could go back and read any of the half-dozen or so lengthy threads on the "rough engine start". You will find a ton of concern. Some affected owners have posted numerous times their frustration over unsuccessful attempts to have Toyota or their dealerships duplicate or even acknowledge what they've experienced. Were they taking it personally and to an extreme or were they just alarmed consumers performing due diligence? I reported it to my Toyota service manager when it happened to us; but his response was that he'd not witnessed it yet, nor was Toyota aware of it. Sound familiar?

We've had other affected PC'ers who've sworn they were ridding themselves of their new Prius after witnessing this gawdawful engine clattering. I think I've been rational and calm; but I am becoming increasingly disgusted over this long unresolved problem. I certainly don't think I deserved ad hominem barbs after merely addressing this problematic issue.

 

The regulars here still have their Prius despite experiencing the rough start issue and they said you could temporarily cure it by stepping on the throttle once it happens. Likewise, you could temporarily cure the grabby brakes while reversing syndrome by lifting your foot completely off the brake and re-applying it. We're all waiting for Toyota to release TSBs for those two unresolved problems.

 

I have a 2010 Prius since august 2010 and i have 11000km on it driving in severe weather conditions and I have no problems with it. Much better fuel economy and comfort than the 2008 and 2009 that i drove to 40000kms for which I got very good trading value. Ounce you drive a Prius you do not want any other car tham an hybrid.

 

I've had my G3 for over a year. I have 22K miles on it. So far, the car has exceeded my expectations in terms of MPG's and reliability. Knock on wood, I've had zero problems to date.

That said, the brake problem that most folks speak of, is really not a defect, per se, but a design issue. The way the braking works in cars with regenerative braking, is different, and can feel different from what most people have been use to. Toyota issued a software fix/update to decrease the time interval used in it's ABS control module. This has minimized this "braking surge/release" that some people have reported, while going over bigger bumps and simultaneously applying the brakes - lightly. It has not completely eliminated this phenomena from what I have read. The ultimate solution, however, if it's a concern, is to apply greater pressure while braking.

But to respond directly to the OP - No, the G3 Prius is not "problematic". It just has a number of unique characteristics that, to the uninformed, may seem like a defect. But of course, every car has defects/problems at some point.

Good luck.

 

Agreed. While the Prius may have a number of unique characteristics, two unresolved problems (rough engine start and grabbing brakes while reversing) for which Toyota has yet to release a TSB fix do not make the car "problematic," especially given some owners will never experience them.

 

To date, I have not experienced either problem. However, I have experienced rough engine idling on other cars I have owned. The sequence when this has happened on other cars I've owned is:

(1) engine cold.
(2) move car a short distance/ few feet, so engine still cold, and idle fuel mixture still running in the "enrichment" mode.
(3) short period (less than 30 minutes) passes, and then I re-start the engine to move it....

...that's when I have experienced the engine running rough for a short period. It happens infrequently, and most likely, depends on temp, humidity and type of gas being used (ie, E85). Usually happens in colder months with high humidity...

But definitely not unique to G3 based on my experience, and certainly nothing I ever was concerned about. I suspect it has to do with the fuel enrichment setting?

 

Really? Didn't know that. I was always under the impression it's a problem unique to the Prius. What cars were they?

 

BMW 325iS and Jaguar X -type.

Again, not often, but have experienced on these cars.

Do the folks that experience this on the Prius, experience this phenomena when the engine has been fully warmed up? In my case, with these cars, it periodically would happen when the engine was cold, after I had moved it a short distance, and then restarted shortly after... in colder and wetter months.

I'm pretty confident the rough idling under the conditions I mentioned, has to do with the fuel enrichment, and/ or any residual gas sitting in the cylinder head.

 

Prius owners who've reported this issue have always had it occur under these conditions so the problem appears to be industry-wide across a number of manufacturers.

Wow, now those of you worrying about it to death are just wasting your time and energy.

 

Wow is right! Like we, who've actually experienced this issue, are supposed to take the words of "Engineer", who just joined PriusChat today, and whose only posts are exclusively about this issue. He is then immediately and oh so conveniently quoted as the authority on the problem..... hmmmmmmmm

Give me a break!

 

Our Prius first hard knocked over a year ago and still no answer from Toyota. While it is still under warranty today, in a few years it wont be. I am most concerned over the long term issues that could arise post my warranty period.

 

Take my word about what??

That I have not experienced this problem on my G3, or that I experienced rough idling, under the conditions described above, on two other cars I've owned?

You can believe whatever you want, but my experiences, like your's, are our experiences. I have no reason to lie about this, but you, based on the number of posts you've made on this one topic, seem obsessed to try and prove some point. There's already another thread just devoted to this, so I don't question that other's have experienced this phenomena. But I have not...but have on other cars I've owned. Maybe when conditions are right, I will eventually experience them on the G3, but this does not concern me because I'm pretty sure this issue has to do with the fuel enrichment...and no damage has ever resulted in my other vehicles where this has happened. But by all means, work yourself up over this issue. Good luck. End of story.