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Engine Knocking/Sputtering Water Coming out of Tailpipe

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by jmollman, May 26, 2012.

  1. jmollman

    jmollman New Member

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    2010 Prius
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    III
    I was just wanting to get some input on the issue we had with our 3 day old 2010 Prius. We've driven it maybe 30 miles. We drove it about 2 miles to a store. Then about 2 miles to a restaurant and parked in a parking garage. When we we came out and started it and put it in reverse it was sputtering a little bit. We put it into drive and drove out of the parking garage and by then it was truly knocking, shaking sputtering so we pulled into a parking spot and lifted the hood. Water was coming out of the tail pipe and the noise was similar to the videos that have been posted about the manifold intake TSB but probably worse. Then the check engine light came on (had been running bad for about a total of 3 minutes) and we shut the car off and called the tow truck since we have an extended warranty. Of course they couldn't even run the codes since it's a holiday and everyone was trying to leave so it will be Tuesday morning before we hear. Checked the oil and it was fine, had over a half a tank of gas (we thought about possible bad gas that we put in it 30 miles prior??). It was a colder/rainy night last night but don't think it dropped below 40.

    Also, on a completely different note...since the car was in an accident and has a rebuilt title is it eligible for the repairs such as the engine mount and manifold TSB's that have been posted?
     
    #1 jmollman, May 26, 2012
  2. dragonfinder1

    dragonfinder1 Junior Member

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    I'm wondering how you got an extended warranty on a car that has a rebuilt title?
    Good luck with your repairs. Let us know how you come out.

    I got the dealer to replace the motor mount under a TSB.
     
    #2 dragonfinder1, May 26, 2012
  3. jbrad4

    jbrad4 Active Member

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    Since you drove the car on three short trips the engine probably didn't have time to warm up. If this is the case, the water you saw coming out of the tailpipe was probably just condensed exhaust gases. A dealer could do a compression test to see if there is something more serious like a blown head gasket or cracked block that could be allowing engine cooling water into a cylinder.
     
    #3 jbrad4, May 26, 2012
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    :welcome: to priuschat. tune in often, there is a lot to learn here. all the best with your new to you rebuilt '10!
     
    #4 bisco, May 26, 2012
  5. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    I guessing with the amount of tail pipe water emission, that it was quite humid there... which seems to be the main ingredient(condensation) to the engine knock issue associates with the intake manifold
    print out the t-sb add take it to them..
     
    #5 spiderman, May 26, 2012
  6. jmollman

    jmollman New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    We have the loan through USAA and they offered the extended vehicle protection program to us (it's through Assurance). The only thing they asked when financing was if the repairs were done by a licensed repair shop after the accident that it was in.

    Does it need to warm up if it's actually 60+ degrees out? It had been raining off and on and humidity was about 30%.

    It seems to go along the lines of the Intake Manifold problems but was definitely too violent of shaking and seemingly lack of power to drive down the road. Not sure if I mentioned but we did turn the car off and re-start it and it was only getting worse, not better. If we knew more about hybrids we would have tried some things but didn't want to risk ruining the engine. Thanks for your replies. I will update with what happens.
     
    #6 jmollman, May 26, 2012
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Maybe it's been sitting around for sometime, and humidity has condensed in the gas tank or lines. I think you're right to be cautious, get it checked out. But my guess is if you fill the tank and do an extended drive, getting it fully warmed, it will be ok.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Jun 3, 2012
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