Prius Gen 2 stumbling, cold start rattle, running lean? Blistered spark plugs, pinging when hot

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Rennie, Aug 12, 2025 at 3:52 AM.

  1. Rennie

    Rennie Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2016
    24
    6
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have an issue that seems to be getting worse and has gotten annoyingly worse after new plugs and throttle body clean.

    Has always seemed to ping a little under load when at operating temp and slight/moderate acceleration. Didn't think much due to many other cars doing the same.

    Then started to rattle on cold start, stumble/shake.

    Recently changed plugs and cleaned throttle body a little (in situ). Old plugs all blistered. Cleaned pcv valve. Seemed to move ok?

    Engine start shake seems a little harder, and it's revving high when coasting down or low speed idle, slowly coming down at complete stop.

    I did a battery D/C.

    No codes from my OBD2 Bluetooth. It's old but has shown a misfire before when there was a tiny bit of moisture in one cylinder.

    Any thoughts or other things to check? I guess I could clean the maf though it didn't seem very dirty looking at the temp "football" thing in there
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    112,738
    51,309
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    oem plugs from a dealer?
     
  3. Rennie

    Rennie Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2016
    24
    6
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    NGK Iridium Spark Plug - IFR5T11 from local auto parts shop
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    112,738
    51,309
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    there are a lot of cheap chinese counterfeits flooding the market. only dealers have secure supply chain from toyota
     
  5. Rennie

    Rennie Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2016
    24
    6
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The symptoms appeared on the old plugs after running fine.

    From my reading, people change all sorts of things, and it doesn't necessarily fix the problem.

    Has anyone had all the problems listed above, simply from branded "fake" plugs?
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    112,738
    51,309
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    any trouble lights?
     
  7. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2021
    1,882
    740
    0
    Location:
    South Central PA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Can you take some pictures of the old spark plugs and upload them here?

    Does your scanner show you the short and long-term fuel trims?