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2013 Knocking, rough idle, sputtering, cylinder misfire, improper air fuel code!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by BrandyLu, May 15, 2020.

  1. BrandyLu

    BrandyLu New Member

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    I’ve had my Prius for about 5yrs, most of that time I was out of the country and lent it to a relative to drive it for uber. Thus is it rocking 230,000 miles

    when the trouble started a couple months ago it randomly starting shaking like it was going to fall completely apart and the check engine light came on.

    I assumed it was the spark plugs. So put in some sea foam & changed all the plugs. I had the codes checked at the auto store. It had multiple cylinder misfires and improper air fuel codes. After that repair It stopped shaking but the check engine light came back on & it seemed to have a rough idle and some sputtering and lag during acceleration. I had the codes checked again and it was a cylinder 3 misfire/ improper air fuel. So since the miles are high I just changed out all 4 ignition coils. The 3rd one (1,3,4,2) did look incredibly dirty and warn compared to the others. It was nearly black with gunk. It ran smoother but still the CEL came back on. So at the advice of a friend I changed out the mass airflow sensor and cleaned the throttle body. After which I swear it’s actually running rougher. Had the codes ran and I have a cylinder 4 misfire w/ improper air fuel mixture! Wth?!?

    Does this sound familiar to anyone?!?

    Any thoughts Should I check the fuel injectors next or clean the egr pipe & intake manifold? Or should I just break down & take it into the dealer
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    It seems like you may have a blown head gasket. These cars are prone to it at higher mileage.
     
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  3. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

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    Have you ever cleaned your EGR system? That would include the EGR cooler.
     
  4. BrandyLu

    BrandyLu New Member

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    I thought that too but I have no loss of oil or coolant.

    i saw that on another thread, egr pipe to start to see if it indicates a gunk problem, that & then perhaps then intake manifold are my best thoughts after fuel injector. I just don’t know which is most likely. I suppose the egr pipe is the cheapest place to start
     
    #4 BrandyLu, May 15, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: May 15, 2020
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  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Sure does sound familiar; cars have been having misfires as long as there have been cars, even cars without EGR and cars without failed head gaskets. Not every headache is a brain tumor. The three most basic things to check are ignition, compression, and fuel.

    Sounds like you've pretty much covered the ignition angle. If you next put the car in front of a blindfolded mechanic and didn't say anything special about it, the fuel injectors, fuel pump pressure, and compression would end up getting checked.

    We had the member astrolink about ready to ditch the car before checking the injectors.

    If you have actual trouble codes, it might be helpful to post them here; there can be more than one code having to do with air/fuel ratios, and it can matter to know which ones are set.
     
  6. BrandyLu

    BrandyLu New Member

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    Up Date: i took it in to Toyota for a diagnosis, it is the intake manifold, the whole EGR system really. As well the cylinder 4 gasket. They quoted me around $800 for the whole deal. Which isn’t really all that bad. Tho I may just use that toward a trade it in and get something with less miles, lol

    Given how many miles (230,000) I’ve racked up does spending so much on the repair seem worth it? How many miles can a Prius typically take before they die?
     
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  7. H00s13r

    H00s13r Member

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    I only got almost 160K on mine. This prius is the longest car I have ever owned with more miles than any other car I have ever owned. 230K is impressive to me, but others here may say it still has lots of life it it. I hope to get to at least 200K. I have heard of others getting almost 300K supposedly. To me if the costs of repair start to become more than what the car is worth, it is time to eject. Just my 2 cents. Good luck and wish I could be more helpful.
     
  8. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

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    Have you cleaned your EGR system (the cooler, valve, pipe and intake manifold)? 160k isn't a lot for the car, but it is a lot for the EGR system, and a clogged EGR can kill the engine.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    For $800 at dealership service department, I'd be REALLY sceptical they're going to cure your car's woes. Head gasket repair (with a machine shop go-over of the head), through an independent shop, might run $2500~3000.

    A thorough cleaning of EGR and intake, dealership probably wouldn't even touch, preferring to just replace, for around $1500 (roughly $900 in parts).

    Read up here and DIY clean the EGR and intake (maybe install Oil Catch Can too), get independent shop to do head gasket? Or just trade it, for say $500?
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Jun 2, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2020
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  10. H00s13r

    H00s13r Member

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    oh yeah, check out this thread for all that I did
    Getting ready to do EGR/manifold/throttlebody, etc. cleaning-have lots of questions-long post-sorry | PriusChat

    since I did the work I am having a check engine light problem. I started a new thread here

    Check engine light came on this morning-P0101 | PriusChat

    If you have any ideas please let me know in that thread as I am all ears.
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    unfortunately the dealer cannot guarantee their diagnostic is correct. So if you spend $800 and the problem still doesn't correct itself, you still have a high mileage car and spent $800 for Toyota's efforts in fixing it.

    They are essentially throwing you a bone, if quoting you $3000 to fix a head gasket, you will surely say no, but giving you a $800 option they can make some money and still have you on the hook for something else if it doesn't fix itself cause you spent $800 and don't want to give up now.

    The smart money would be not to put $800 on such a high mileage engine and possibly put it towards a lower mileage engine replacement that will surely correct the issue at hand.
     
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  12. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

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    Move on to another car. The old Prius served you well for 7 years. Unfortunately, there was a design flaw, which only became apparent late.