2011 engine rattles HARD on startup after sitting a couple of days

BTW, if you want to partial-quote, you can select some text, then click on the "Reply" pop-up. I never bother with "+Quote", I think it's for mutiple quotes, but you can manage that with just "Reply".

 

8 months, 4 weeks, 3 days and 45 seconds.

 

Given you are in Austin with the 85mph freeways and the incredible heat buildup in traffic - and it's an oil burner, you may need a replacement engine fairly quick. Yours could throw a rod through the block which would definitely ruin your commute home in 100f weather.

It's piston and rings along with a rebuilt head and reasonably speaking, a new egr valve with revised ecu software. Along with extensive cleaning, timing chain alignment and sealing.

You can get a better engine at the local JDM used in Japan distributor than you will end up with trying to rebuild yours. Even if you use 90% of the pro shops around Central Texas.

100k miles guaranteed needs a rebuilt engine from Hybrid Pit shipped to your shop. The only better gen3 engine is a dealer rebuild with a new short block and rebuilt head for $8k. The car is not worth that much.

A JDM is around $1500 plus install which any shop can do. If there are any immigrant shops left open I would find one and start socializing without a red hat on.

A new Hybrid Pit frankengine option takes a gen4 short block, adds a gen3 rebuilt head and gen3 intake and egr for mechanical and electrical compatibility.

The other option is to trade it while you can and get a much newer gen4 Prius, Rav4 or convert to a conventional Corolla, Camry or Civic in your price range.

A more optimist view would be drive it as long as you can while saving for a good engine or a down payment on something newer. Most people take the "let's see what happens next" approach snd occasionally get six months to a year before it's rattling at every stoplight and belching white smoke out of the exhaust.