1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

2010: Performance issues and CO

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016.

Tags:
Page 1 of 2
  1. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Alright, you all are my last hope... I have been to 5 different maintenance centers, and they have all told me the same thing: Nothing is wrong.

    I have a 2010 with around 152k miles on it.
    - I've been needing to push harder on the accelerator than normal.
    - Possible CO leak into the cabin. (I have had some symptoms, so I will be checking tonight asap)
    - I have to push the accelerator to the floor to get my car up a decent-sized hill/mountain. Even then, my speed is either flat-lining or decreasing.
    - No engine light on. At the moment.
    - The worst of the problems start after I've been on the road for a bit. I guess that's why all of the centers said I was fine.
    - The motor oil was over-filled four weeks ago, so I had to get a new oil change three weeks ago.
    - I replaced the air filter yesterday. I'll be cleaning out the EGR pipe this week. There is a small (maybe drilled?) hole in the air filter box. Not sure if that is supposed to be there.
    - No engine light on. At the moment.
    - There is heat coming from the front vents when the heat isn't on. This, specifically, has been happening for the past month. There is a lot of heat after the car has been working hard for awhile.

    I absolutely love my car, and it used to run so well. Please help!
     
    #1 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Have you changed your spark plugs yet?
     
    #2 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  3. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    No, I haven't. And I'm not sure when they were last changed, I bought my car used at 135k miles.
     
    #3 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    If you don't have any service records on having that changed, that's an item that needs to be changed around 150k miles. With the oil overfill, that could have fouled your spark plugs. It would be a good time to change them out. This is where I would start, doing something that needs to be done anyways and it might solve your problem.
     
    #4 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  5. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Okay, thank you so much for your input! I will make sure to get that done then.
     
    #5 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It's odd you've actually been to 5 different service centers and they came up with nothing. Did they recommend any type of service to be performed?
     
    #6 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  7. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Nope, nothing. One tech suggested that I change to premium oil without ethanol. But that same tech also said that the Prius doesn't have an EGR pipe.
     
    #7 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    A weak HV battery charge can also produce what you're experiencing. I've noticed my car doesn't accelerate as well when the battery state of charge meter is below halfway mark.
     
    #8 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  9. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Alright, I'll keep an eye on it then. What do you think may be causing the CO leak?
     
    #9 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2006
    11,314
    3,588
    1
    Location:
    Northern VA (NoVA)
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi Staunton - I guess you are in the E0 region of Virginia. Most of us use E10 but E0 is nice to play with to see if you get better MPG, but normally regular E10 is the way to go for cheapest fills.

    As far as CO, definitely check it but I'd be expecting its very low.

    It could be the hybrid battery is getting weak...hope not but that could explain weakness. Was it a Toyota service shop?
     
    #10 wjtracy, Feb 24, 2016
  11. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Cool, you're in VA as well! Oh dear, I hope it's not the battery too. Yea, a dealership and service/parts center.
     
    #11 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    While you're changing the spark plugs, I would clean out the throttle body and MAF sensor.

    The CO leak? Maybe a hole in the exhaust system or a bad catalytic converter smell
     
    #12 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  13. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Okay. Should I do all of that myself, or just have a shop do it?

    Yep. I've been getting dizzy/confused/headaches and occasionally it gets harder to breathe.
     
    #13 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    A leak in the exhaust can explain power issues too. You should get this checked asap if it's getting into your cabin.

    If you're capable of doing the services yourself, it's best you do it yourself. DIY will be about $40, whereas a shop would charge you around $200-$300
     
    #14 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  15. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Okay, thank you so much!

    Where are the specific places I need to check?
     
    #15 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  16. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You would need to go under the car to check for the exhaust leak. From the front of the engine, all the way to the back to the muffler.
     
    #16 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  17. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Ah. I should have known I would have to invest in a stand.
     
    #17 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
  18. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I'm still not sure how 5 different service centers can't see something wrong. Didn't they smell it?
     
    #18 JC91006, Feb 24, 2016
  19. Lightning Racer

    Lightning Racer Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2015
    239
    320
    1
    Location:
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Check toyota.com/owners and register your car to see if there are any dealer service records there.

    Spark plugs are due at 120K miles. If you can't turn up service records, then it might be reasonable to assume they haven't been changed. My plugs were changed at 151K miles, and they still looked OK. Performance was unchanged after the change - they tend to be good until they fail.

    I'd check the exhaust leak thing first as JC91006 suggest, because that is sounds like a very dangerous condition.

    How is your gas mileage currently? If the possible exhaust leak is fixed and you still have low power the following might be related, since my car is the same year and mileage. On my car, the previous owner complained about low power and poor gas mileage (35 mpg) at 149K miles. Dealer service couldn't find a problem and there were no check engine lights on, so nothing was done except an oil change. About 1,000 miles later, just before I bought the car last month, the check engine light came again for P0171 (system too lean bank 1). The fix, including 2 visits to the dealer, ended up being replacing the MAF, purge valve (vacuum switch part #2586037020), which was sticking, and the air/fuel ratio sensor. I purchased the car soon after, and was getting 45-49 mpg depending my my driving until I cleaned the intake manifold, EGR pipe, and replaced the PCV valve a couple days ago. Now I seem to be getting optimum gas mileage for the car. Here are the two service records from 150K miles that fixed the low power and low gas mileage issues:


    CK ENGINE LIGHT ~|~................ DIAGNOSIS SCHEDULE ................ OWNER REPORTS 'CHECK ENGINE' LIGHT IS COMING ON/CK & REPORT CUSTOMER STATES VEHICLE FAILED SMOG. P0171- SYSTEM TOO LEAN BANK 1 ~|~INTERNAL MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND IN THE MAF SENSOR AND THE PURGE VALVE WAS FOUND STUCK OPEN MOMENTARILY CAUSING THE LEAN CONDITION. ~|~REPLACED BOTH MAF AND PURGE VALVE. RECHECKED VEHICLE OPERATION AFTER. PLEASE ADVISE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE FOR AT LEAST A WEEK BEFORE RETURNING TO SMOG INSPECTION.

    Parts
    Name     Part # QTY
    VALVE ASSY, VACUUM S 2586037020
    METER SUB-ASSY, INTA 222040V010

    CK ENGINE LIGHT ~|~CUSTOMER STATES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN, PLEASE CHECK AND ADVISE. ~|~THE A/F SENSOR HAS GONE OFF IT'S CALIBRATION DUE TO THE PREVIOUS FAILURE OF THE MAF SENSOR. A REPLACEMENT UNIT IS NEEDED TO CORRECT THE ISSUE. ~|~REPLACED THE A/F SENSOR AND THE FUEL TRIM IS BACK TO NORMAL PARAMETER.

    Parts
    Name     Part # QTY
    SENSOR, AIR FUEL RAT 8946747020
     
    #19 Lightning Racer, Feb 24, 2016
  20. hmarie447

    hmarie447 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    15
    0
    0
    Location:
    Staunton, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I have nooo idea... But on my way home (after I had originally planned to stop by Walmart to pick up a detector), I could really smell something. The front and back windows were ridiculously foggy as well, if that matters. I could only drive it home.

    Thank you for all of that information! I'll see what I can do. Do how much someone would probably charge to change the MAF, purge valve, and the air/fuel ratio sensor? I'm going to go check the mileage. I know that before the oil change, it was absolutely awful.
     
    #20 hmarie447, Feb 24, 2016
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 2