used to be that very rarely on really cold nights (like below 0°) I would start the car and the engine would shudder so badly the whole car was shake so I would quickly turn it off and turn it back on and it would be fine. then at the beginning of this winter it would (occasionally) feel like it's almost stalling for a minute or two (really low idle), after it automatically started (for some reason) on really cold days. seemed fine once it warmed up. just now, -10° out, the engine would not stay running. it would start, run and sound normal, for 2 or 3 seconds and then turn off. check engine light comes on and it "says check hybrid system". unfortunately me but not my code reader are away from home right now. just looking for anything I can do myself on this Sunday or something very specific to tell a random mechanic to fix thanks for reading, eli.
You have to read codes. It’s so simple and worth it if you want to know information. Get a vlink dongle and use a scanner app. Sounds like your throttle body is clogged perhaps - but could be any number of things.
That fools a lot of people, because a Prius doesn't have a small starter motor that cranks the engine; the engine gets cranked by MG1 in the transmission, which has enough power to crank the engine at the same speed as a running idling engine. So when the car cranks for a few seconds and gives up, many people post that it started and ran and then died. What's the mileage? A high-miles engine can have gunky throttle body, old plugs, funky injectors, low compression, lots of possibilities.
Check your coolant level. When was the last time you topped it off. When was it's last tune-up? Water in the gasoline? How many miles on her? It could be anything, without reading the error codes being thrown. BTW: if you need to tell a random mechanic what parts to replace - He's going to replace that part and take your money. If he diagnose it and replaces the wrong part - that issue is on him. I've seen a guy pay for a rebuilt transmission because he thought it was slipping. He had a bad tachometer, the ballast resistor would heat up and peg the needle. He brought the car in and just wanted the transmission rebuilt - didn't want us to diagnose it. Pointed out the tachometer issue on the initial intake and he signed off on all the documentation. We kept telling him the transmission wasn't slipping; but he insisted that we rebuild it anyways. Bottom line, he had to pay us for the rebuild, but we replaced the $5 ballast resistor to fix the tachometer for free. This is worse; since your asking the mob that hasn't seen, heard, or smelled; your car........
Change the plugs. Not as simple as you might like, but better than cleaning the egr circuit or replacing the head gasket
