Hello everyone, I bought a 2010 Prius back in January from a guy in Alabama... I've been driving the wife's old car in this salt brine season. It's about time to get rid of it and start driving the Prius. Here's what I've done so far: Ran the car once a month after trickle charging the aux battery Let the engine run until the hybrid battery is near topped out then stop the car. My question is how to prevent the engine from misfiring the first startup? It's been doing this consistently since I bought the car. I haven't taken it on any roads it's been in the driveway this entire time. In the past if I flooded a car with gas I'd always put the pedal to the floor and start. It then prevents the injectors from opening and it purges whatever's in the cylinders. So can I do the same to the Prius? Also I plan on shooting a video of the sound coming from the engine when I start it. Would this qualify for the dealership to use the extended warranty for the EGR valve? Thanks
You need to first charge up the 12v, it probably has a very low charge right now. Starting the car for 15 minutes a month won't do much in charging the 12v battery. It sure sounds like an EGR valve problem if it's really rough at start up (assuming it's not low on oil). You should let the dealer take a good look at it and see if you qualify for any warranty coverage.
Ok thanks. I've heard of people flooring the Gen3 when starting the car. Does this turn off the injector signal or does it just rev high? I'll definitely get a recording of the knocking at startup to take to a dealership. It would be nice to know how to prevent the knocking in the meantime. I'm worried about the head gasket. It currently doesn't leak oil or coolant.
Since ownership have you checked the intake manifold or egr pipe? How many miles? Has it thrown any codes?
Any oil consumption? Tried any fuel system cleaner? If it hasn't thrown any codes, you'll get nothing from toyota. But investigating the intake system will give you a path forward .
There can be a problem if you start a Prius and shut if off early (before it fully warms up). Knocking on wood, it has never happened with Pearl S, but it has been frequently reported on this forum. Pearl S is put into hibernation each October, November, or December (depending on weather), and not started back up until March or April of the following year. I use a "Battery Tender" to look after the 12V battery. I do nothing to maintain the traction battery as it doesn't need it. I DO make sure the fuel tank is full or nearly full and the tires are properly inflated. Fuel won't go "bad" in 6 months. I have never had a problem when starting Pearl S back up in the spring. I used to treat Pearl the same way and never had a problem. So that's every winter since 2007, and before that, for 10 years with a RX-7. I suspect what you think is missing is actually the dreaded "thump bang" some owners have experienced due to shutdown without warming up. Use a battery maintainer on the 12V system. Connect it under the hood at the "boost point". Don't be running the car once a month for whatever reason you may perceive as necessary. I think if you do this you won't have a problem. If you can't use a battery maintainer due to power access issues then actually -drive- the car at least once a month, for at least an hour.
@mjoo , after reading the thread below, there may have been experiments done on your Prius (knowing it's lineage) and might be a good idea to delve into the intake system: Prius runs on E85 E85 might not have been the only thing that had passed through your Prius "in the name of science and data". Good luck
LOL I didn't want to start a thread bashing Bob. That mean ol' Bob... but seriously I think the car was maintained more than adequately. From my understanding it's a design flaw in the engine that causes the startup bang like David described... However you do bring up a good point that Bob is not the average owner. I wonder how much effect of generating power would have on the EGR system...
