Unhappy 2010 Prius

About 6 months ago, I bought a 2010 Prius III. He (yes, it's a he - his name is Stan Lee) has about 108,000 miles on him right now. I had my 100k mile service done a couple weeks ago, and since then, he's been running a little off. When I am around 30-35mph, right before the gas engine kicks in, he starts to stutter. It's faint, but I can feel the slight vibration, almost pull, like it needs more power to keep going. Yesterday, while I was waiting in line to leave a parking lot, the engine turned off as usual, but when it started back up to charge the battery, it sounded like the RPMS were up and down, and he was struggling to keep himself on. The cabin seems louder than normal, too. To add to that, the heat doesn't seem to be working properly. When I put my hands to the vent, even at 75 degrees, the air feels room temp and is chilly by the time it reaches me. I checked the coolant level and it was fine. He also has a lot of ticking - particularly around startup and after I shut him off. Is that normal?

Clearly I'm not a prius genius. I've had a 1996 Oldsmobile for the past 11 years that I could fix like a pro, but this is all new to me. It'll cost $100 to have my dealer look over the car, and I'd rather avoid that if possible. I appreciate any help I can get!

 

Eep! I'm sorry - I left for the Red Wings game right after posting this! I wasn't expecting people to respond so soon! You all rock! Yes - I'm in the US.

I'm going to attach the invoice that shows what they did. It was also recommended (because of the 100k mileage) that I have my cabin filter and engine air filter changed and get the throttle body cleaned. I did not do this because they quoted it at a total of $400 and I didn't have that.

Off Topic: @The Electric Me - I'm glad someone else noticed the irony in that!

Let me know if there's any other information I can provide you all with! I really appreciate this - this dealership has been causing me a great deal of grief, and I'm questioning if this investment was worth it to begin with.

 

@mypriuscious - How would I know that's what it is definitively?

@bisco - They recommended I get the throttle body cleaned, but I didn't have the cash for it at the time. Only thing it said about coolant was that it was "okay." It ended up being ~$55 because they didn't actually rotate my tires - the front have more tread then the back and I need new tires. Tire rotation is supposed to happen, though. Apparently, if I would have allowed them to change the filters and do the throttle body, it would have been the "100,000 mile maintenance".

@Mendel Leisk - So rather than just check the level of my coolant, they should have done a change? The filter change is what made me the most upset - the mechanic made it sound like I would never be able to figure out how to change them. I'll blame it on me being a woman and him getting sucked into stereotypes.

I fully intend to call the dealership about this issue, because I'm so upset, as this has NOT been the first issue I've had with them.

However, is my car safe to drive? Obviously I'm going to try to get it fixed as soon as possible, but it's my only means of transportation. I just don't want to make it any worse.

 

Hi all!

A friend of mine let me drive her prius (same model/year) to compare the noises I'm hearing (because it could very well be amplified by my own paranoia). The panel underneath the glove compartments is down - meaning that when the dealer did their 20-whatever point check, mainly the filter check, they did not put the panel back up correctly. This has been causing an increased amount of cabin noise (I can hear the rain hit underneath my car, or a semi truck drive by as though I'm sitting outside my car, not inside of it).

The engine is still running a bit off, though. The heat will only randomly work like it should, and when the gas engine turns on (such as when you turn the car on at startup), it tends to rev a lot; it cannot seem to keep a constant state. I'm not sure if that makes sense. Without being able to make the noise, imagine the following as noise (yes I know I'm a dork... my car's name is Stan Lee!):

__---^^^^^^^___--^^^^^^^_________^^^__^^------_____^^^--^^--^^---______ off


It still struggles with acceleration sometimes, feeling like I need to floor it in order for it to go. And when I'm trying to maintain a slower speed, such as 30ish, using just the electric, it again feels like it's struggling to keep going, and that I need to push the gas. (When I do push the gas, it's slow... but eventually the stuttering/lagging stops).

Only on ocassion have I felt as though it is vibrating (which could either be the vibration, the lag/stuttering, or my increasing paranoia when it's really just bumps in the road -- it is Michigan after all... smooth roads are hard to come by).

I will certainly be getting a diagnostic run on it, if nothing else than for peace of mind. Is there anything I should be looking for or telling them specifically to do/look at?

I really appreciate all of your help!

 

I hate to, but I'm going to ask... how do I check the 12v? Also - you're speaking in tongue; what's a obd2 port reading?

 

I took a few pictures. These are from underneath the bottom glove box, above where the all weather mats stop.