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Prius 2010 Engine Knock - Manifold Issue

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Christian_cool, Aug 13, 2014.

  1. Christian_cool

    Christian_cool Junior Member

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    Hello Everyone.
    I have a Prius 2010 model and live in Germany. I drove it for about 126.000 km - 78.300 miles.
    The Problem started for about 2 month ago.
    I got some problems with the engine when i was driving on highway, the engine SUDDENLY started to rattle and making noise like a old 2 stroke engine, it was like a earthquake very heavy, the whole car was shaking violent. The same day i took it to the dealer and they kept my car for about.. 4 days, to find out what was wrong.
    After 4 days they could not find the problem, so they test drove it for about 3 hours while collecting data with an laptop computer. They send the data to Toyota headquarters in Germany. 2 days later Toyota reported that the date was useless send by the Dealer.... conclusion that they could not find the error.

    Later i got a hint from one Prius owner in Germany that had the same problem as me.
    The front (plastik) manifold Intake was (blocked by soot lump), Preventing the hot air coming from the turbo air pump reaching to the engine where combustion takes place, then the engine cylinders goes out of sync, and the knocking and shaking occurs.
    Same i had a very high fuel consumption reading on my Prius board computer.

    I would fix it by myself, so disassembled the Manifold from the engine and found the problem. The air intake was blocked by soot. I cleaned it assembled the manifold, and problem solved!! Now she is running like a charm! ;)
    Hope this helps if anyone had got this issue.

    Here are some pictures that i took while cleaning the Manifold:

    I disassembled the manifold from the engine:
    IMG_20140809_113943.jpg IMG_20140809_123144.jpg





    This is the main cause of the problem.
    Here you can se the little air intake hole is nearly blocked by soot, preventing air coming to the engine!
    IMG_20140809_113929.jpg
     
    #1 Christian_cool, Aug 13, 2014
  2. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    You are certainly a good mechanic.
     
    #2 Okinawa, Aug 13, 2014
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  3. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    This problem has been discussed before. I'm glad you were able to find it on your own. I think Toyota should make this part of the regular service schedule. Thank you for sharing.
     
    #3 Feri, Aug 13, 2014
  4. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Unfortunately I learned this fix to late. My former 2008 had the same problem and was taken to the local Toyota svc ctr.
    This service is part of the Stealership profit making jobs, $475.00.
     
    #4 mrbigh, Aug 13, 2014
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^ That's not completely out of line. The Repair Manual says to replace the intake manifold gasket as well, perhaps they did that? It would take several hours labour, including the cleaning.

    What seems wrong to me is how this is clogging up, so completely, so soon.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Aug 13, 2014
  6. Christian_cool

    Christian_cool Junior Member

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    You're welcome, I am glad to share it.
    I hope that Toyota will make inspection for all these Prius models with that design faulth in the manifold.
    Instead of the owner has to go through such a problem that is a big headache. The risk lies that the engine, in the worst case could be damaged, then it would be a greater cost for the owner.
     
    #6 Christian_cool, Aug 13, 2014
  7. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    How I said, I learned of the fix to late; I could also tackle the job myself. But my wife freaked out when the vehicle started stuttering once in a while.....
     
    #7 mrbigh, Aug 13, 2014
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^ At how many miles?

    (Seems like poor design for this to be happening, requiring such a tear down...)
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Aug 13, 2014
  9. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    Took me about an hour. It's important to clean the EGR valve as well. I didn't dismantle the EGR as it's got cooling system and electrics attached. Maybe if they remove the EGR valve it might take a couple of hours because you need to replace coolant and get rid of air locks. I reused the silicon rubber manifold gasket. It blocks up on other vehicles too but doesn't always have noticeable or such dramatic effects.
     
    #9 Feri, Aug 13, 2014
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What is "turbo air pump"? Is your intake unmodified, stock?

    (I'm thinking it is, it's just a language thing, but curious.)
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Aug 13, 2014
  11. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    The fault is not so much in the design, all vehicles have exhaust reticulation systems, it's in the lack of recognition that it needs to be a regular service item.
     
    #11 Feri, Aug 13, 2014
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    My memory of what thread motivated me is a little fuzzy, but I did have a look at that stainless steel pipe connecting to EGR, taking off the air filter housing. Even with just 47000 km's on ours it was getting some build up.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Aug 13, 2014
  13. Christian_cool

    Christian_cool Junior Member

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    I was told that it was a turbo air pump that pump that hot air into the Manifold.. i am not sure that it is a "turbo" but a airpump for the manifold ;)
     
    #13 Christian_cool, Aug 13, 2014
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  14. Christian_cool

    Christian_cool Junior Member

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    Seems that i also need to take a look at the EGR since my car have run for about 126.000km, i haven't looked at it yet. I could imagine that there have also gathered some soot in there.
     
    #14 Christian_cool, Aug 13, 2014
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    #15 Mendel Leisk, Aug 15, 2014
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