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2013 Toyota Prius Three not III , strat up issue

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by beni, Feb 2, 2015.

  1. beni

    beni Junior Member

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    I bought a new 2013 Toyota Prius Three. It has 23K mile on it now. I have noticed a weird noise with vibration from engine when I start the car for the first time in the morning. The first 10 or 15 seconds after it is on, there is no problem as soon as the engine wants to turn on (engage) I hear the noise. There is no engine light or triangle alarm on. Anybody had this experience or knows what is going on?
     
  2. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    Perhaps you can be more descriptive.
    Having the engine run does change the sound of the car :)

    The first minute of engine running will sound different because it's diverting its exhaust thru a heat exchanger to help the engine warm up quickly.
     
  3. beni

    beni Junior Member

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    I've had the car for almost 2 years and never had this issue before. It is not the normal engine sound or vibration. The first time it happened it was kinda scary that I shut the engine off right away. I don't think taking the car to the dealer is a good idea at this point. They just gonna charge me for nothing :-(
     
  4. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    If it's knocking or running roughly and you did a very short cycle before (starting then shutting down the car less than a minute afterward) it's a known problem.
    This happens particularly to people who have to start the car to move it in the driveway or garage briefly.
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think you're experiencing the cold start pre ignition as described by css28 above. just don't shut it off while it's still warming up, there is no other solution. many many threads here, going back to 2010, if you want to do some exploring.
     
  6. beni

    beni Junior Member

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    Thank you so much for your reply. So, is it the way it is? I mean there is nothing I can do about it?
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    don't start it up, vand shut it down until it is done warming up.
     
  8. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    There is a service bulletin that the dealer can follow to replace the intake manifold with a newer design on the earlier Gen 3's but I think yours should already have the newer design.
    If the car and weather are warm enough, see if you can put the car in EV mode for "driveway operations" when you turn it on. That will definitely avoid it.