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Rough engine

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by bobisshortforbobert, Oct 13, 2018.

  1. bobisshortforbobert

    bobisshortforbobert Junior Member

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    Hi all, my car has 45,000 miles on it, and the engine sounds very rough. It idles at 1200, and is very loud. Additionally, there's a noticeable shake when the engine comes on. In crawling traffic, on engine, it alternates between 1500 and 1000 rpm when accelerating or braking, respectively.

    Is the engine supposed to be like this by design?
     
    #1 bobisshortforbobert, Oct 13, 2018
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no, it sounds like you have bad gas, fouled plugs, dirty egr, clogged air filter, bad o2 sensor, fouled injectors or the like.
    any dash lights?
     
    #2 bisco, Oct 13, 2018
  3. bobisshortforbobert

    bobisshortforbobert Junior Member

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    Nope, no dash lights. I bought the car used at 31,000 miles (50,000 km), and since this is my first hybrid, I thought this is how they're supposed to sound. It has gotten worse though. While the engine has been kind of loud all along, the battery to engine conversion was never this rough. Additionally, I always thought it was weird that the engine had to be at 1,500 rpm to creep, and the second I pressed the brake, it goes back to 1,000 rpm.

    Had the throttle body, MAF, and plugs serviced once but that's it.
     
    #3 bobisshortforbobert, Oct 14, 2018
  4. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    The last part about RPM drop is normal. The car drops the revs during battery recharge because it thinks that you're using the regenerative braking feature. It wouldn't need to burn gas in this instance, so it drops the revs to what it needs to be, versus the actual charge rev rate.

    In regards to a rough engine, do you do short driveway moves and not let the engine warm all the way up, before this happens? This has been a known issue, but should go away after a few minutes of driving. Does this sound like it fits your situation? Or are you getting rough engine all the time?
     
    #4 ztanos, Oct 15, 2018
  5. bobisshortforbobert

    bobisshortforbobert Junior Member

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    Yes, but the sudden jolt to 1500 rpm to creep forward is very jarring. Does this happen to you in stop and go traffic?

    I always take some time to warm up the engine out of habit before moving the car. Let me define 'rough' a bit better: I am referring to the sound and sensation.
    • The car sounds loud all the time, almost diesel-like. I say this because my previous car had a 1NZ-FE (non-hybrid), and even though the car had seen better days, the engine was significantly quieter at idle.
    • As for sensation, the car jerks sometimes when the engine comes on from electric mode.
     
    #5 bobisshortforbobert, Oct 15, 2018
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    any way to drive another to compare?
     
    #6 bisco, Oct 15, 2018
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    With 3rd gen Prius, and maybe similar with the c, you have about 15 seconds after putting the car in Ready, before the engine starts up. I've become very adept at doing garage-to-driveway shuffles within this limit, counting down seconds in my head, keeping it to about 10 seconds max. If I need to (say) get it right out to the street I'll use two or three: "Ready" the car, move it 10~15 feet, shut down, repeat as needed.

    I REALLY wish Toyota made that 15 seconds a bit more, say 60 seconds, maybe with a countdown on the dash. EV mode is useless, never available (at least not on my third gen) with a cold engine, which is when you need it.

    Oh well, it is what it is.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Oct 15, 2018
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  8. bobisshortforbobert

    bobisshortforbobert Junior Member

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    Hi guys, extremely sorry for the late reply. I tested out a co-worker's car and it was a lot smoother/quieter. However, he runs 10W40 which is something I won't do. I currently have 0W20 in around 22-degree weather. Additionally, I think I have bad plugs, but I will need to examine further.
     
    #8 bobisshortforbobert, Dec 2, 2018
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    22c or f? if your plugs are fouled at 31,000 miles, something else is going on
     
    #9 bisco, Dec 2, 2018
    ztanos and Mendel Leisk like this.
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