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2012 Prius C ICE Engine Rough Idle Then Die wont Move- 149k Miles

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by dustin.reeves, Mar 7, 2019.

  1. dustin.reeves

    dustin.reeves Junior Member

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    Exactly as the post title says, i got a 2012 Prius C,.. Rough Idle, then immediately dies and wont move, if i try starting it again immediately after it wont even turnover at all, if i wait a few minutes it will rough idle for about a second or two and then not move, no big scary triangle just wont move, i feel like its fuel delivery ? (maybe the fuel pump over heated ??? gas was at quarter tank whenever symptoms started..) regardless its sitting in the parking lot of the local discount tire until tomorrow morning when i can go diagnose it further. would love some suggestions, thank you!


    ALSO, i briefly recall it having a similar ROUGH SHAKING IDLE and then stalled a few years ago and then the problem resolved itself in some fashion (i think i just restarted the car and it was fine ?).

    Thoughts ?
    -DCR
     
    #1 dustin.reeves, Mar 7, 2019
  2. dustin.reeves

    dustin.reeves Junior Member

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    i also just ordered a Yueku Mini VCI J2534 off amazon that should be here saturday, is there any particular software i need to buy/download to help diagnose or should it just come with it ?
     
    #2 dustin.reeves, Mar 7, 2019
  3. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Might be a fuel filter. I know when mine got clogged on my older VW Beetle, it behaved in this manner. Basically fuel starvation. I would hope, however, that some error light would have come on if that were the case.
     
    #3 ztanos, Mar 8, 2019
  4. iceman13

    iceman13 Member

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    I’ve been thinking about the fuel filter in these cars for some time. I’m used to external replaceable fuel filters. But I haven’t read any post about a Prius with a clogged fuel filter.
     
    #4 iceman13, Mar 11, 2019
  5. dustin.reeves

    dustin.reeves Junior Member

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    based on what ive read, there is no serviceable fuel filter. its all built into the pump..

    the more i think about it, the more i think i could have lost a timing chain.

    regardless i dropped it off at my mechanic last night, im back to driving my old 2002 Toyota Tundra with 270k miles while i wait for this to get diagnosed and repaired.
     
    #5 dustin.reeves, Mar 11, 2019
  6. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Oh, well... I did not realize there was not a fuel filter... :(

    Hopefully it's something easy, fingers crossed.

    In regards to the timing chain, isn't this an interference motor? Perhaps it just jumped a sprocket and your cam is just enough off to make it run like garbage? I had this happen in my old Saturn.
     
    #6 ztanos, Mar 12, 2019
  7. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Fuel supplies in the USA are very clean. Many cars made for the US market stopped including fuel filters over the past 15 years.
     
    #7 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Mar 12, 2019
  8. dustin.reeves

    dustin.reeves Junior Member

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    Your probably right about the fuel supply being clean, but i've definitely gotten tanks of bad gas at certain stations. ALSO, I failed to mention this, but a few years ago,i ran out of gas in this car two or three times, i've read some other forums posts that say running them dry can kill the pump?, maybe it just took a while ? Regardless it is what it is and ill keep you guys in the loop.

    thanks for the help

    -DCR
     
    #8 dustin.reeves, Mar 12, 2019
  9. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Yes many designs are fuel-cooled, so when they run dry they can get hot and it will shorten the life of the pump. Too early to tell in this case. Now the biggest worry is getting real diagnostics done before the engine tries to start too many times. Repeated failed starts in a Prius is very bad. Once the traction battery is depleted you'll need to get it towed to Toyota, and then they'll have to charge it with a mains charger. They may not have one handy, so it may need to be shipped in for the project. Turns into a huge expensive hassle.
     
    #9 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Mar 12, 2019
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    There is a fuel filter, and Toyota Aus for one has a service interval for it (at least on 3rd gen Prius), but it is in the pump, in the tank, not cheap, and not easy to get to.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Mar 12, 2019
  11. dustin.reeves

    dustin.reeves Junior Member

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    oh boy....., yea i tried to turn it over multiple times, knock on wood....
     
    #11 dustin.reeves, Mar 12, 2019
  12. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    We have a member on here that purposely did this (multiple times) just to see what it would do. As soon as you fill the car back up with more than 2 gallons of gas, it'll start up again. You just don't want to run it on the low condition for too long as the heat will certainly kill it prematurely.
     
    #12 ztanos, Mar 13, 2019
  13. kdfchannel

    kdfchannel Junior Member

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    did you fix your car ??
     
    #13 kdfchannel, Mar 19, 2021
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