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Hard Acceleration

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Seyma, Aug 16, 2015.

  1. Seyma

    Seyma New Member

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    Hello guys,

    First, I'd like to say that I've been reading different threads on this forums and it has been really helpful.
    I had an issue to discuss with my Prius 2008.

    I bought a second hand Prius 2008 last year; and I've been driving it for an about a year now and it has proved to be a best car.

    The previous owner was putting 0W30 (synthetic) engine oil in it. However, after I bought the car I added the same fuel but I noticed that my Prius was burning oil. I went to dealer and they told me that I should put 20W50 in it; as its a thick oil and it would either not burn or burn slowly. When I added that oil the car was so hard to accelerate the acceleration pedal was not soft anymore. Therefore, I stepped down to 10W30 and had been using that oil for last 7-8 oil changes; now the acceleration isn't soft as it was initially but its not worst either (somewhere in between).

    If i press the pedal to full limit; it takes about 2-3 seconds to fully respond and start to accelerate however, the engine makes noise as if its trying very hard to accelerate the car. (I am sure it was much better when it was on 0W30 oil).

    Sorry for a long message; however, I'd been reading different posts about this so I concluded the following.

    1. I can safely go back to 0W30 synthetic oil.
    2. Get the catalytic converter cleaned out.
    3. Make sure air filter is genuine and toyota recommended.

    P.S: The minimum temperature in winters goes around -1 degrees and maximum in summers is 45 degrees. My car ODO reads 55k miles & I get around 38 mpg (average).

    Is it safe to perform 3 points I mentioned above at this time? My main concerns for performing above is to get a better mileage as I used to get last year around 50+ mpg and a better and smoother acceleration where engine dosen't seems to be over doing to make the car accelerate. I am wanting to do this because even the 10W30 oil is burning; so I had to add some more oil (about half liter) after 1500 miles. and change oil after 3000 miles.

    Thank you very much.
     
    #1 Seyma, Aug 16, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2015
  2. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

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    using half a liter in 1500 miles isn't too bad. someone did post that Pennzoil platinum synthetic helped with their oil usage problem.
    if you mean 45 Celsius, 0w30 is too thin for summer.
    I did see one video where a cat was clogged with debris and they were able to clean it out, disconnect the exhaust manifold flange and blow compressed air through the tail pipe and see if crud flies out.
    any name brand air filter should be fine.

    also check your 12v battery condition, if its original it could be weak. and inflate your tires to 40 psi.
     
    #2 69shovlhed, Aug 16, 2015
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. The correct engine oil viscosity for North American Prius is 5W-30. The maintenance book for Prius in other parts of the world allows a wider range of oil viscosity, but 20W-50 is way too thick.
    2. I would use 0W-30 during the winter season and 5W-30 during the summer.
    3. With only 55K miles on the odometer, the engine oil consumption rate is a bit on the high side, but it is what it is. Replenish the oil level as necessary. There is no need to change the engine oil at 3K mile intervals. If you are using full synthetic name brand oil, you can change the oil at 7,500 mile intervals (but change the oil at least annually).
    4. Yes, make sure the engine air filter is clean and check to make sure there are no obstructions in the tubing which leads to the air filter housing.
    5. It would be unusual to find the catalytic converter has a problem at such a low odometer reading unless it was damaged due to physical impact from an accident.
    6. Check the tire inflation pressure and wheel alignment. Make sure the parking brake is not dragging (raise up the rear of the car and make sure the rear wheels spin freely when the brake is disengaged.)
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Aug 16, 2015
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's not a sports car.:cool: welcome to priuschat!(y)
     
    #4 bisco, Aug 16, 2015
  5. Seyma

    Seyma New Member

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    Thank you very much I'll check those all things and get back.
    Also, if there is load in my car or people sitting at the back my car hits the road bumps; so I added a padding or spacers in the rear shocks to elevate the car from back side about 1 inch. Do you think it could be the reason?
     
    #5 Seyma, Aug 16, 2015
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    That is an unrelated issue. Maybe your front struts and rear shocks need to be replaced - although your odometer reading is low for that problem.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Aug 16, 2015
  7. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    I'm guessing the front struts and rear shocks are original. Time to replace, despite the low mileage.

    KYB and Monroe stress 5years/50,000 miles (whichever is sooner) to replace the struts/shocks, to maintain optimum ride/handling/braking performance.

    Should you decide to replace, time how long each of the old components vs new components takes to go from fully depressed to fully extended.
     
    #7 exstudent, Aug 16, 2015
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