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Throttle Response and Acceleration Problems

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Jason Franciosa, Sep 18, 2018.

  1. Jason Franciosa

    Jason Franciosa New Member

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    I'm currently in Nashville. The Local Toyota Dealer in Florida is actually really good. They are a bit pricier, but, never had a bad experience and will gladly pay a bit more for that.

    This local Toyota dealer in Cool Springs, TN was most certainly not the same as the one I typically go to in Florida (Bev Smith Toyota)
     
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  2. Joele3

    Joele3 Active Member

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    I had this same issue. Delayed acceleration when stepping on the gas. Went away after I cleaned EGR and cooler + intake manifold. My cooler and intake manifold full of gunk. EGR passages completely blocked inside the intake manifold. The delayed throttle response hasn't came back. Also a low idle knock (sounded like an old supercharger from mercury or Pontiac bunch of marbles moving around) during low speed while ICE charging. Both went away with cleaning.

    The car is an oil burner.
     
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  3. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    How’s the head sealer doing?

    Still around 175 k miles or thereabouts?

    Good to hear from you again(y).
     
  4. Joele3

    Joele3 Active Member

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    Still going I'm currently at 185k. Ive been thinking once it goes kaput I plan on putting in a gen 4 engine. I plan on pulling EGR and intake cooler off around 190k. I want to see your pressure washer method cleaning in 10 minutes.:D
     
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  5. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Give the pressure washer a shot;).

    You’ll like what you see after a short period of time:).

    A gen4 engine swap to a Gen3 in the Bay Area, I’d be interested in helping and maybe @The Critic would participate :whistle:.

    If you get there to the engine swap, let’s compare notes with @cnc97 to save some time and learn from his experience ;).

    But I’d be in if the timing was right and you were looking for another set of hands(y).
     
  6. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    I’m down to help anyone in my local area with the swap. The devil is in the details. But it’s not a bad swap all things considered.

    Still getting 55-57 mpg with mine. No issues to report.
     
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  7. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    It makes me wonder one thing in having done my swap.

    I noticed a few MPG gain in the end. Prior to the swap I was in the high 40’s. Now I’m in the mid 50’s.

    How much of the gain is decreased rotational friction in the Gen 4, and how much is due to the engine simply being capable of running properly.

    These are the questions in my mind that keep me up at night. LoL
     
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  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Since you’re about 2000 miles away, just looking for the Cliffs notes version ;).

    Unless you want to come out for the potential swap :).

    Plenty to do and see if you make the trip out(y).
     
  9. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    Cliffs notes is simple. Start with buying the lowest mileage Gen 4 engine you can afford. This will result in the most satisfactory result of an undertaking of this magnitude. You DO NOT have to undo any HV cables if you pull only the engine. It will come out the top alone.

    The exhaust manifold should be removed before taking the engine out. An engine leveling device will be your best friend/worst enemy all at once. As the engine comes out, the top will rotate forward. Make sure the water pump is off when you are ready to unbolt the engine. The water pump will interfere with the unibody on the passenger side. Blow the dust and dirt out of the mount bolt holes on the passenger side. The bolt threads catch dirt and you will find it when you try and start the bolts. M12 1.5 pitch tap to clean up the threads if you cross thread a bolt like I did.

    The swap is easiest if you use the Gen 3 head on the Gen 4 block. There are a total of 27 head bolts to change. These must be sourced from Toyota. The cams interchange, but the cam caps do not. The small bolts on the cam caps can be locally sourced from any hardware store. The Toyota bolts are grade 5.8. I used 9.9 grade when I reassembled mine.

    When installing timing chain, the double orange painted links are for the intake cam, single orange link is exhaust, and pink link is crankshaft. Zip tie chain to exhaust gear in two places, it will stop the intake gear from pulling chain forward. Make sure all slack in chain is on exhaust side, guide and tensioner will take care of that. After cover and tensioner are installed, rotate engine by hand as many times as required to make sure marks line back up. 10-12 revolutions if I remember correctly.


    Use the Gen 3 flywheel and damper. The Gen 4 damper splines are bigger, and the alignment pins don’t match up. The bolt pattern, weight and thickness are virtually identical. You will need to rotate the top of the engine to the back of the car when lining up the bolts to connect engine and transaxle.

    Don’t forget to make sure BOTH coolant sensors are plugged in before startup. You will get a CEL if not, and the ICE will not shutdown when warmed up.

    Long winded, yes. But these are the important things that stick out in my mind.
     
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  10. Jason Franciosa

    Jason Franciosa New Member

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    No issues since putting the air-intake on properly, so, that's a huge relief. They told me the head timing gasket is in the yellow. How do they even check that? Then, they quoted $2,200 to change it!

    Is the head timing gasket an issue with theses cars? I've never heard of them being changed on cars with under 100k miles.
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    get a leaker once in awhile. but often, it's so slow, people just keep an eye on it.
    i think you have to pull the engine to change it.
    dealership would love to tackle it for you, it's all labor.
     
  12. DaneH5

    DaneH5 Member

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    I an experiencing similar issues on my 2014 with under 50K. Mileage has dropped off and drive ability it bad in normal setting. Selecting power mode brings back some drive ability and improves gas millage but not where it was before.

    I will check in take hose tomorrow. I also noticed coolant level low. Sealed system shouldn't need fluid in inverter or engine I would think.
     
  13. DaneH5

    DaneH5 Member

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    I have to wonder how it got off to begin with? Air filter change?? Did you or the dealer do that? If dealer I would think they should refund the troubleshoot fee!
     
  14. DaneH5

    DaneH5 Member

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    What does 'head gasket in the yellow" mean? o_O
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah there is no cooler. I've attached the repair manual instruction, it's a simple drain-and-fill. What bothers me: if they're so emphatically stringing together this story, about coolers, flushing, $400, they're incompetent and/or larcenous. Either way you're well shut of them.

    If possible, the DIY is about the same as an oil change. The main differences:

    1. You need to raise AND level the car, so basically raising the front and rear.
    2. Getting the new fluid requires some method to get fluid to a fill hole that's down near the bottom. A funnel with hose extension is a simple method.
    3. The fill and drain bolts are a little stubborn, no big deal though. A long handle wrench helps a lot. Both bolts are "socket-head cap screw" requiring a 10 mm hex driver socket, basically a "male socket". Stanley makes a set with 10 mm size. Torque is 29 ft/lb for both bolts. It's good practice to replace the washers. Up here I was charged a larcenous amount for the washers, maybe $3.50 per?

    Regarding #3: Honda uses similar socket head cap screw, but with 3/8" square holes. This is a lot simpler, any socket wrench extension fits it, lol. More positive lock-in too I think.
     
    #35 Mendel Leisk, Sep 24, 2018
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2018
  16. DaneH5

    DaneH5 Member

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    I don't see the attachment?
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Fixed it. Better go make coffee. :oops:
     
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  18. Jason Franciosa

    Jason Franciosa New Member

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    Thanks for the responses. There's a local DIY Mechanic shop that I am going to go to and do this. They have lifts and all the tools you can image. I'll order the fluid and do it myself in probably 30 min since they have the lifts.

    Going to look into flushing the coolant as well while I'm there.
     
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Lifts make it too easy. :p
     
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  20. DaneH5

    DaneH5 Member

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    Where in FL is that??