So my 2010 Prius III blew a hole in the engine last night...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by justinope, Nov 30, 2016.

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  1. justinope

    justinope Junior Member

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    I was doing some searching and I might be the only one I've found to have this issue in the newer gen cars or am I mistaken? I saw a 2005 that had this problem apparently. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly which part its in, its the part of it where if you look down at the oil dipstick pretend that it didn't bend halfway down and just went straight down from the handle there area if that makes sense. Just straight down the from dipstick handle. I was on a major road so a cop stopped by and basically made me tow it via their company and I had it sent to the dealership that was nearby because I literally had no idea about what to do with it at this point.

    It blew a gash down there on that top area I'd say about 4" long (vertical) and 2" wide.. I'm assuming I'd need a new engine or at least a lower half of it to fix the car and being a Prius I'm not sure who I could trust other than a dealership to work on it which can't be cheap.

    I'm guessing this is totaled? I would really appreciate any advice. I'm in central Virginia (lynchburg, VA) if that helps with any suggestions. This is a total nightmare. I always considered Prius's to be very reliable cars and then this just happens under normal driving conditions, just a loud bang and complete loss of power... was lucky to even get off the road like we did. I was gonna try to drive it home on EV only but that wouldn't work, it was too upset about the engine problem I guess.
     
    #1 justinope, Nov 30, 2016
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  2. Neohippy

    Neohippy Active Member

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    Sounds like a connecting rod broke. There is a chance you ran it out of oil.
     
    #2 Neohippy, Nov 30, 2016
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    The oil level should still be about the same. Get them to check the oil level if they haven't already. How many miles on it?
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Nov 30, 2016
  4. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    New engine for sure,happened to me
     
    #4 tankyuong, Nov 30, 2016
  5. justinope

    justinope Junior Member

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    oh really, what am I looking at cost wise you think?
     
    #5 justinope, Nov 30, 2016
  6. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    This thread is useless without pics!!!!! :whistle:
     
    #6 fotomoto, Nov 30, 2016
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would look for an indy mech and a salvage engine. you can do it of 2k. all the best!(y)
     
    #7 bisco, Nov 30, 2016
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  8. Paul Schenck

    Paul Schenck Active Member

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    eBay has engines under 100k miles $600 bisco is right someone can do it less than 2k
    I got entire Prius with new tires total loss $1000


    iPhone ?
     
    #8 Paul Schenck, Nov 30, 2016
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  9. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Look for an independent Toyota mechanic in your area. Dealership will charge you two arms and three legs
     
    #9 Rebound, Dec 1, 2016
  10. stockdaddy

    stockdaddy Member

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    Ya that is an epic failure, we need pics!!!
     
    #10 stockdaddy, Dec 1, 2016
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  11. zoeboi954

    zoeboi954 Junior Member

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    I just recently bought a engine off of ebay because of a blown head gasket. I think it had 50k miles and it cost me about 1500 (pick up) there were cheaper ones but I went for the least amount of miles. and 1100 to install from a hybrid mechanic shop. so yea almost 3k for me... but if u do end up buying a engine make sure it's not a prius C. those engine are cheap like 200 bucks
     
    #11 zoeboi954, Dec 1, 2016
  12. Ernesto Chavez

    Ernesto Chavez Junior Member

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    20170103_113459.jpg
     
    #12 Ernesto Chavez, Jan 3, 2017
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  13. Ernesto Chavez

    Ernesto Chavez Junior Member

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    This happened at 189k miles, did notice ice was giving signs of head gasket failure. I already ordered a used ebay engine with 51k miles. We'll see how the swap goes.
     
    #13 Ernesto Chavez, Jan 3, 2017
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  14. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Are you doing the swap yourself of paying a garage? If it happens to me, I'd do the same as you: Find a low mileage engine out of a wrecked car. And I'd replace it myself, cause why let the garage have all the fun when you get a perfectly good excuse to buy even more tools?
     
    #14 Rebound, Jan 3, 2017
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  15. Ernesto Chavez

    Ernesto Chavez Junior Member

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    Wish I could have the time and play with my tools. I only removed the air filter assembly and wiper assembly. Gonna have to sit this one out...lol
     
    #15 Ernesto Chavez, Jan 3, 2017
  16. Stangar

    Stangar Active Member

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    Wow! That did blow. Sorry for your loss. Was there any oil in the engine? Was there any coolant? How's the swap going?
     
    #16 Stangar, Jan 19, 2017
  17. Ernesto Chavez

    Ernesto Chavez Junior Member

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    Yes, the car had Mobil 0W20 engine oil with about 1k miles since last oil change. Car did have coolant topped off. I assume the Head gasket failed. I had to top water level off at least once every 3 weeks. There was never any water mixed inside the crankcase. As for the swap...
     
    #17 Ernesto Chavez, Jan 25, 2017
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  18. Ernesto Chavez

    Ernesto Chavez Junior Member

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    eng2_0.jpg engine .jpg
     
    #18 Ernesto Chavez, Jan 25, 2017
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  19. Ernesto Chavez

    Ernesto Chavez Junior Member

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    I'll post removal procedure from talking with the mechanic....he disconnected engine from transmission and slid it out. Apparently this was possible by removing the electric water pump.
     
    #19 Ernesto Chavez, Jan 25, 2017
  20. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    If you get a chance, pop the water pump off that sucker and put 12 volts to it. It would be interesting to see if it runs something like this:



    Nice project there, please keep the updates coming.
     
    #20 m.wynn, Jan 25, 2017
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