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Reproducable knock?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by bwilson4web, Nov 26, 2012.

?

How to reproduce Prius engine knock?

Poll closed Dec 31, 2012.
  1. Last trip: 1 mile (1.6 km)

    9 vote(s)
    60.0%
  2. Last trip: 2 miles (3 km)

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  3. Last trip: 5+ miles (8 km)

    4 vote(s)
    26.7%
  4. Time parked: 1 hr

    2 vote(s)
    13.3%
  5. Time parked: 2 hr

    1 vote(s)
    6.7%
  6. Time parked: 5 hr

    2 vote(s)
    13.3%
  7. Time parked: 10 hr

    8 vote(s)
    53.3%
  8. Cold temp: < 32 F (0 C)

    6 vote(s)
    40.0%
  9. Cold temp: 32-44 F (0-7 C)

    3 vote(s)
    20.0%
  10. Cold temp: 45-55 F (7-13 C)

    7 vote(s)
    46.7%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Sad to say, the 1.8L Prius poll has expired but I'm thinking about trying to survey "what happened." The idea is to come up with a protocol that reliably recreates the problem:
    • Last trip before knock: 1, 2, 5, 10 miles
    • Time parked after last trip: 1, 2, 5, 10 hours
    • Temperature when knocked: <32 F, 32-40F, 40-45 F, 45 - 55 F
    This would offer 12 options but the current polling only support 10 options. For good measure, I'll have it run to the first week of January.

    Remember you can always post additional details that may help us recreate the problem. Any other suggestions?

    Thanks,
    Bob Wilson
     
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  2. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Bob,

    I chose the 1 mile since it was the lowest distance. Both times the rough start happened to me was after moving the car from driveway to garage and immediately stopping ICE. Temperatures were below 32F the next morning on start and the start was rough. The first time I stopped the ICE and on restart it ran smooth. The second time I floored the accelerator (learned from Tumbleweed) and the roughness stopped.

    My workaround has been to always let the ICE complete its warmup cycle and I have not had this issue since.

    Thanks for bringing this back up. I have been waiting to see if Toyota came up with a legitimate fix but apparrently not.

    Dwight
     
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  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Bob, I voted BUT

    I had pulled the car out of the garage and into the driveway to wash it. This was obviously less than 1 mile. I restarted it approx. 2hrs later and that was when it made the noise.
     
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  4. car compulsive

    car compulsive Active Member

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    ^^^
    I agree with the first two examples. I can reliably make the car knock by starting the car when cold (engine cold - regardless of outside temp), turning the car off before warmup, and restarting the car some number of hours afterwards. This happens when I move the car around the driveway / garage. If the car is cold and the ICE starts when moving it, I let it run 4-5 minutes or until it shuts off automatically - whichever is less. Since the nearest destination I ever drive to is at least 5 miles away, the car always warms up before turn-off after driving.
     
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  5. rcsting

    rcsting Toyota Fanatic

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    Mine is the same as the above responses. If I started the car cold and let it run for less than 30 seconds and then shut it off I was likely to get the death rattle on my next start up. If I let it run for a few minutes before shutting it off I didn't have the problem. That was on my 2010 model.
     
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Hummm, there is still a short, catalytic converter warm-up, ~40 seconds. It sounds like starting and stopping the car before the catalytic converters 'light up' leads to a reproducible knock . . . but let's get some more observations.

    FYI, there could be more than one scenario that leads to the engine knock ... that is the dastardly nature of intermittent problems. We're after each one.

    Bob Wilson
     
  7. Tande

    Tande Active Member

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    Well....I have a little different version.....We have two Gen. III & can reproduce the "Knock/Misfire" at will....Warmed/Up, on the road, lift off the accelerator, on the brakes, make a sharp L/H turn (intersection/corner), back on the gas & guess what?.....ICE stumbling (misfire) & knocking..... only lasts for a second or two.....Worse in colder weather......This is with intake manifold "Upgrade".....R/H turn, no problem.....IMHO, my best guess is the centrifugal force of the turn is "Dumping" the collected moisture inside the I/M & being ingested by one or more cylinders......FWIW

    Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/reproducable-knock.118676/#ixzz2DOb7fcGG
     
  8. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    My 2012 v just knocked for the first time since I have owned it. It has 5000 miles on it. Bought in March this year. It was last week, temp outside 26 degrees and the car was in the garage. I do my usual startup heading to work in the morning. Push power on, put into drive and roll out of the garage. Car stays in ev mode for about 10 seconds then the ice starts and off I go. Except for this cold morning it starting knocking and shaking. I let off the gas and it went away in about 30 seconds. One thing I did notice is that I also had the temp control on which starts with a/c on. I have since turned it off before starting and no problem yet but it's only been a week and temps haven't been that cold since. Any ideas??
     
  9. Sporin

    Sporin Prius Noob

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    Same for me, needs to be coldish as well though it's happened in as warm a temp as 50 degrees.

    The classic scenario for me is moving the car in the evening to let someone else out, car is on just briefly, then sits overnight. When I come out in the morning and start it, the rattle would happen.

    Thanks to this forum I've managed to recognize the situations and avoid it for quite some time now, thankfully.
     
  10. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    So I got a little knock:
    • 35 F temperature
    • started engine for ~5 seconds
    • waited ~10 seconds
    • restart had about 2-3 seconds of mild knock
    I restarted the test:
    • 35 F temperature
    • started engine and ran for ~15 seconds, ~1,250 rpm (Scangauge)
    • turned off to cold soak for 6 hours
    • solid 5-7 seconds of engine knock
    It worked! This means we'll be able to instrument not only the initial conditions but also the knock itself. <YEA!!!>

    Bob Wilson
     
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  11. 1945steve

    1945steve Junior Member

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    Maybe I've found the right forum threads. My 2012 III, model 2, was backed out of the garage on Wed. night before Thanksgiving and parked behind my other vehicle so we could get the garage ready for Thanksgiving crowd (garage is heated, car always inside). After everyone left Thanksgiving evening I started the car and pulled it back in. I don't even remember the ICE running., electric only. Was 29° Wed. night and 62° on Thanksgiving day. On Friday morning my wife started the car to go out and when the engine started I thought the top was going to blow off. I had her turn it off and I looked under the hood. I had her restart it and all was normal. Found all the Youtube vid's and other postings and even found t-sb-0010-12, which doesn't cover '12's. I had it in the dealership today and they stated they could find nothing wrong and to start parking outside to see if I can duplicate the problem. Their comment "...this could be the first of the previous problems with the 2012's." Hmmm. Anyone else with 2012 problems?
     
  12. samdaman

    samdaman Junior Member

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    For what it's worth [2011], I've come to associate it with a) very short run-time [seconds, not minutes], b) cool temperatures [below 50 F, above freezing], c) several hours rest before next start [though I suspect if it rests for some good bit longer time, it won't happen]. Moderate to high humidity seems to make it more likely too. And this is with the 'new design' manifold [at least, I have the work order saying it was replaced...]
     
  13. Unlimited_MPG

    Unlimited_MPG Member

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    Like others posted I also had the new manifold installed (per TSB) and still get the knocks. In my case the knocks now only last 3 to 6 seconds versus the 10 -18 seconds prior to the TSB being applied.

    Like others I leave my car outside (cold soak) for 3 to 5 hours start up and when the engine kicks in it knocks now for about 3 to 6 seconds. Temp is normally 51 degrees or below and some humidity.

    Just a week ago I backed out of my garage the engine kicked on and I drove off. Went about 1/4 to 1/3 mile stopped at a Stop sign and while the engine was idling it began to knock for about 6 seconds. First time it has knocked after driving off.

    I have my doubts that Toyota is going to address this issue anymore...other than the TSB that was put out. I think they gave it their best shot for a fix and they just don't know how to fix the problem.
     
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  14. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Funny, I've lived my professional life that way and made a good living because of it.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  15. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    I've had a 2000, 2004, 2010 and now PIP. I've never had any knocking except on the 2000. I experienced this several times all with about the same conditions. Mild (60-75F), car fully warmed up, hard driving in a hurry (40-50 mph) and moderately hard braking for a sudden stop light. ICE should have stopped at stop light, but didn't shutdown properly and, essentially dieseled and knocked for 3-5 sec. Very different than what is being discussed here. I will attempt to replicate what people are saying on the 2010 and 2012-PIP and answer the poll if it happens.

    Mike
     
  16. Vege-Taco

    Vege-Taco Junior Member

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    My 2012 has 12,000 miles on it. I live in the Arizona desert, meaning the temps this time of year range from 55-90 degrees F.
    I moved the car (cold engine) from my driveway to the side of the house (50 ft). I then left the car parked over the weekend. Sunday night I started the car up to move it back into the driveway and heard what sounded like a handful of gravel knocking around in the engine. I killed the engine and restarted it. It knocked mildly a few times and then smoothed out.
    Again, the car was moved only a few feet, back into the driveway. The next morning (today) I started the car up (57 degrees) and got a very mild knock for a second or two and it smoothed out. I drove the 17 miles to work as normal with no ill effects. At noon I drove a few miles and back to work with no knocking.
     
  17. Codyroo

    Codyroo Senior Member

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    I've had this happen twice to me. One time it involved a very short trip (< 50 feet) when I was moving my car from the driveway to the curb (freshly washed). The other time was when I was installing my Scangauge. In both instances, I powered up the car, and after the 7 - 10 second wait time, the engine started. I shut down the engine after a few seconds (< 5 seconds). When I restarted the vehicle (hours later for both (I think)) I had the knocking effect.

    The second time it happened (installing the scan gauge) it threw a code and killed the engine. Link to thread below.

    Check Hybrid System message | PriusChat

    My work around, like others, was to let the engine warm up a bit (I only wait about 15 seconds before shutting it down). I feel I could reproduce it very easily.....but really don't want to.....
     
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  18. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I'm curious about the manifold swap. For those who had the manifold swapped out and still experience the rough start, did you also have the engine mount replaced? Vibration from Engine after Cold Soak (T-SB-0204-11)
     
  19. samdaman

    samdaman Junior Member

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    I had printed out both TSBs and gave them to the service manager when I was in for the first service interval on my '11. The post short drive, cool weather knock had happened to me twice up to that point. When I picked up the car [again, service interval only] I was told the manifold TSB applied but the 0204-11 did not. They ordered the manifold and I had it put in a week or so later. At that time, they again told me that the 0204-11 did not apply.

    TSB 0204-11 does say 'extremely low temperature', and that was not the case any time it has happened to me.
     
  20. Unlimited_MPG

    Unlimited_MPG Member

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    I had both TSB's done. First the engine mount then a few weeks later the manifold replacement. The TSB's didn't make much of a difference other then the knocking doesn't last as long.
     
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