NEW!!! Service Bulletin for Engine Knocking at Startup T-SB 0012-10

I put my tin foil hat on when on laptop.

 

Out of curiosity, was that Doxon?

 

OK, here is the latest "final" answer from Toyota (supposedly Toyota engineers) that I received this afternoon. They have had the car since Tuesday a.m. and I picked it up at 1:00 p.m. today. In summary, IM was replaced with 37054 part numner in April, 2013 and the same problem developed when the weather got colder this winter. I posted the video here and gave it to the Service Manager when I left the car. I'll post a copy of the invoice I received. The bottom line is, according to the invoice, the dealership was told to verify the engine has the latest version of the IM, which it does. Then they also state on the invoice "PER TOYOTA NO FURTHER ACTION TO BE TAKEN". According to the service advisor, the "engineers" supposedly said "that's just the way they (the Prii) are." Nothing else I can do with the local dealer. Back on the Toyota USA trail tomorrow to see where that may lead. Simultaneously, I'm looking into the steps to take to get this rolling in the Dispute Settlement Program. Oh, well, another day where I received the answer I was expecting. Have a good evening folks.

 

btw, where are you located in Indiana? Just curious. I'm in Salem and use Jeff Wyler Toyota, in Clarksville, for service. They basically told me yesterday don't come back, we can't do any more.

 

I'm in Northwest Indiana about hour outside Chicago. Really can't believe this hasn't been properly addressed by Toyota

 

If that's the way they are, why does the Toyota Facebook page take down videos containing the Prius noisy startup? Hmmm.

 

Apparently, not real proud of this "Feature".....

 

I think the noise is in response to this commercial.

 

We owned 2, 2011 Prius cars, (one was recently totaled). Both cars had this issue, one way more than the other however. I had the 054 installed last spring and guess what, YEP it is doing it again. This was the 3rd time they tried to address this issue. My understanding of the issue is that way too much moister, Hell Water, is filling the manifold, not allowing enough air to allow all cylinders to fire. I am calling Toyota this week to see if a fix is possible, can everyone let me know , how they fair when dealing with Toyota on this issue.

Thanks

Oh, we just ordered a 2014 Prius Plug In and having it shipped, as I type, from California. PLEASE tell me this doesn't happen on that model too. God, I am starting to become afraid of the probable answer…….

 

Just drive in "Battery/Only" mode......you'll never notice the "Hammering"....

 

See that is one way to look at it………….thanks

 

Yes it was.

 

I only have the issue when previously I have not allowed the engine to completely go through it's "start-up" cycle. I haven't had the problem since I started making sure that I allow the engine to go through the start-up or use EV mode when turning on the car for short amounts of time.

 

This is the correct work-around for this bug / quirk / feature of the car. There is no fix at this time. Unfortunately, in the winter there is almost time in EV mode to move the car as the ICE turns on very quickly. I plan all Prius moves with this in mind.

 

If it's the 1.8L engine, it probably has the same intake manifold, therefore the same problem may occur. I don't know what the difference is but I haven't found anyone with a Prius C (1.5L engine) that has this problem. Good luck.

 

just a quick update, still waiting on parts that they ordered on Jan 9th.

 

When they do come in, if they come in, look at the IM and see if the last 5 digits are 37054. If so, it won't solve the problem. My gut feeling now, after having mine at the dealership for three days only to be told they weren't going to do anything else (btw, I did confirm this information came directly from the engineering department and a case number was established for them, also), is that "big" Toyota has told the mid-level offices and the dealerships to quit working on this issue since there is no cure unless you move to Arizona. Just keep bugging the person you have been talking to at ToyotaUSA.

 

I have a 2011 Prius and recently experienced this problem, the whole car shook and felt like the engine was going to fall out. It happened while I was down in FL visiting my dad, the car had been sitting for a couple of days under his carport, I keep it in the garage at home. The temp. was not below 40 the previous night, but did get down to the mid-40s. I have tried to duplicate the problem by letting the car sit for a couple of days here in NC, temps. were way below 40, but still did not experience the same problem. I'm not sure if it's because the car was in the garage or not, since others have experienced the problem while their car was in the garage. I am taking the car in for the 45K service and was going to see if I could get the dealership to perform the IM service bulletin, but from the most recent posts, it looks like that doesn't solve the problem. Should I bother trying to get them to perform this TSB and also the engine mount TSB, since the engine has been vibrating more the past few months. I do have an extended warranty, but feel I should get the problem documented now, in case of future issues.

 

You can duplicate the problem by starting the car, when the ICE starts move it 10 feet and shut it off. The next day it will do it. You can stop it from shaking by just keeping the gas to the floor. A lot less hassle then worrying about the TSB which doesn't fix it anyway.

 

Before I bought my 2010 Prius last month, I researched for about 3 weeks comparing vehicles on various websites and NEVER came across this issue - and now it happened to me! ugh, we need to get the word out there. I'm going to see about posting my experience on some of the websites I used to make my determination to buy a Prius. Thanks for the idea. I agree with you that maybe we can get Toyota to do a real fix - I spent good $ on this car.