Struggles uphill

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Gloria&Suzanne, Jun 28, 2026 at 6:21 PM.

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  1. Gloria&Suzanne

    Gloria&Suzanne New Member

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    My 2013 Toyota Prius with almost 213,000 miles on it struggles uphill and revs loudly (rpm possibly too high) and loses power on steep hills. My car more often experiences sluggish acceleration once the engine warms up. I cleaned the EGR system a few months ago, replaced the PCV valve after discovering oil pooling at the bottom of my air intake manifold, in which yesterday, I discovered a recurrence of the oil issue and cleaned out the air intake manifold. And that the oil pressure sensor seal broke and oil started leaking out of that. The lower oil pan is leaking around the edges so I'm going to replace the oil pan seal.
     
    #1 Gloria&Suzanne, Jun 28, 2026 at 6:21 PM
  2. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    How many years have you owned the car?

    Do you have a long-term history of the work and maintenance done on the car?

    Back on May 8th in a different thread you wrote:
    What did the mechanic find and fix if anything?
    Did the high temperature warning light come on when the car was overheating?
     
    #2 Brian1954, Jun 28, 2026 at 6:52 PM
  3. Higgins909

    Higgins909 Member

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    Is the hybrid battery original and what kind of bars is it at when this happens?
     
    #3 Higgins909, Jun 29, 2026 at 4:00 PM
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    It is normal for the engine to rev high on a steep uphill, the kind where you normally are slowed down.

    As noted i. another thread, its most important to know what your engine temperatures are at that time, not how much the transaxle is gearing down.

    Review this post
    Can a water pump go bad with no check engine light? | Page 3 | PriusChat

    Finally oil in the manifold is normal and a new pcv does not solve it. It can be minimized with a high quality $200 pcv line catch can system but won't solve current issues like rattling, oil leaks or poor acceleration.
     
    #4 rjparker, Jun 29, 2026 at 4:09 PM
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2026 at 4:16 PM
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The RPM won't go too high in a Prius, because that's all under the control of a computer that knows what the limits are. It might go higher than your personal listening preference, but that's a different matter.
     
    #5 ChapmanF, Jun 29, 2026 at 4:21 PM
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