"Jolting" in Prius

Wow, that's awful. If Toyota wants to have a good reputation for good cars, they should really do these things right.....I will definitely check those things, and drain the oil as necessary. I am going to have my mechanic take a good look to see if he sees anything wrong. If it might be the transaxle, then the Dealer should cover it because I have a warranty (even though they usually have to "check" to see if it is covered under the "bumper-to-bumper" warranty). If they don't hold up on their warranty and there is an issue, I am going to complain to Toyota.

The main reason I thought the dealer would be good for the maintenance intervals was because they can check all the hybrid components also.

 

The jolt should be reproducible. The shaking not so much. The shaking happened kind of randomly. The jolt should work as long as the ICE is on.

I also have a strange squeaking noise, although they claim it is the brakes. It never did it before a certain point, but now my brakes squeak a lot. Also, they squeak louder in reverse. That's kind of a side note.

The only problem I have with taking it to the dealership is that the hybrid technician acts like I am just really clueless with the Prius. He always tells me that codes will always come on if something is wrong. I am considering taking it to another Dealer, but I could probably just demonstrate it to the same dealer.

 

Ok, I think it's about 1/4" above that line. So then that should be okay. That probably would not be the reason for these other issues, then, I assume.

 

Thanks for the input!

I am confused, though. Because this same hybrid technician diagnosed I needed a new brake actuator around about 65,000 miles. There were no codes and I actually was coming in for another issue.....but there were really no codes. It had some kind of a bad squeak when touching the brakes which I hadn't even noticed. The brakes do squeak now, although he said they are totally fine (mainly squeaks in reverse but occasionally squeaks other times).

Yet the brake actuator was placed without "codes" at all. I find this really confusing.

The shaking that happened twice was not just a bucking (just so you know). It was relentlessly shaking until the ICE shut off. Then it stopped and didn't do it after that point (both times). Is there anything else to worry about with a misfire? I will definitely get the throttle body cleaned.

I guess I just disagree with the principle they have behind the trouble "code." If they cannot fix a car without a trouble code, it makes it sound like they either don't know what they are doing (yet the techs are trained for this, so they probably know), or that they are trying to avoid warranty work. Toyota should stand behind their cars, so I think that they should not rely solely on trouble codes.

Here is an example, although it is a different car company (and also a car likely not as reliable as the Prius). I had a Nissan Maxima, and after about 15 minutes of driving, I felt the transmission slipping. The car was jerking really bad as you slowed down, sped up, and shifted from park to drive to reverse and vice versa. That car never had any trouble codes or check engine light or anything, and it obviously had an issue.

It just seems like for some reason that cars may not always shoot trouble codes for the engine misfires/problems.

 

Haha. Ok, good observation. I don't really have that excuse though. I am not married yet. Otherwise I could mention "My wife..."

Do you think that is why it is not running any codes? Maybe only one part of the transaxle is "breaking"? I think it is called MG2 (which one is the Gas Engine transaxle part again?) Why wouldn't they want to fix the part that might be bad now? To cost them $500 now sounds more logical then costing them $5,000 later.

 

Ok, I will definitely look into it. I am going to make sure I can demonstrate it (when it sometimes does not do the jolting it is annoying). For some reason when I go to the repair man the issue does not come up as often...haha....figures. It has been doing it pretty often. I have to make sure it does it, and hopefully they can be of help. That is a really good call with the safety issue.

 

That sounds good. I will look into that. I hope it is not the transaxle. I suppose it is not a big deal if it is...because I have a warranty. I am just shocked though that the transaxle in the Prius could fail at this low of miles. How long does the transaxle in Generation 1 or 2 Prii (or Priuses?) last? How common is transaxle failure in Prii?

 

Although I think that would make sense, as it runs rough when gasoline engine is on. So one part of the transaxle could be having the issues. Which, like you said, could explain the shaking also.

 

Sorry I didn't write back before. I took it to my mechanic, and he didn't think anything of the "jolting." However, I am not sure how much he knows about the hybrid engine. It was the gasoline engine. It just seemed a lot different than I have felt before, so I am probably going to take it to Toyota soon. He called it engine "torque," although I am pretty sure the torque was not that strong before, as to create a "jolting" movement.

No warning lights have appeared on the dash (aside from a low tire pressure indicator which was better when I refilled the tire). Other than that, no lights on the dash. A couple of times, I have been surprised that the occasional "misfires" of the engine have not set any codes. Other than those things, all is good. Will let you know if I get any updates.