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Poor Acceleration and MPG after preventative maintenance

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Timbo_slice, May 7, 2021.

  1. Timbo_slice

    Timbo_slice New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2021
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    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Last summer I was trying to stay ahead of maintenance at 105,000 miles on my 2011 Prius. I changed spark plugs, cleaned out EGR cooler, and replaced the coolant. No drop in coolant levels since then. Soon thereafter average MPG dropped to about 40. I had NGK spark plugs from autozone, and read here that could be a problem. So I swapped with DENSO 3499 {#9091901275, SC16HR11} from rockauto. Only got a mild improvement to about 42-43 MPG when historically it was 47 or 48. Later I replaced 12v battery, added an oil catch can, cleaned the intake manifold, throttle body, and MAF sensor with no improvement.

    Finally I took it to a Toyota dealer who said he had to adjust the fuel trims and it didn't have the ISC learning value set. So unplugging the battery for spark plug work cleared some settings I guess. He also said one rear caliper was sticking so I fixed that myself (fully aware of the rear brake caliper position to prevent issues). When I disconnected the battery for brakes it seems to have lost the ISC again as it idled for way too long coasting and stopped. I found this fiddly procedure to reset ISC learning value from another forum which seemed to work.

    Mostly the car feels back to normal. I can get up to 46 -47 but only if its fairly flat highway driving. In the city or up hills the instantaneous MPG tanks to about 20 or 25 even with very gentle acceleration. Just feels like the engine is struggling and MPG's drop to about 45. Seeing folks on here claim to get 50+ MPG has me worried / envious.

    There are some hints that the drive battery is losing capacity, like some large swings from high to low charge on any given trip. Despite that, my gut feeling is that its somehow related to me messing about with the engine given it happened right after these "repairs". No check engine light and I don't have a code reader. Now I'm at about 113,000 miles. This forum has been a huge help so far but I can't think of anything more at this point.

    What else can I do here? Is this just the car getting old?
     
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
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    II
    Change your transmission fluid
     
  3. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
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    You should slowly and carefully recheck all the connections. Maybe something is loose.

    Are you sure you cleaned the egr passes on the intake manifold?
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    maybe try some dealer plugs, counterfeits are everywhere.

    large swings in the hybrid battery might be more than a hint
     
  5. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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  6. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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  7. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    torque setting?
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Still have the old plugs? Swap them back for a tank?
     
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