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Loud, metal-scraping noise & foul exhaust smell when start

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by yogahelps2, Nov 18, 2018.

  1. yogahelps2

    yogahelps2 Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    My 2010 Prius with 112,000 miles occasionally (happened once two weeks ago, and again today) makes a loud, meta-scraping noise when we start it. The foul exhaust smell sometimes occurs without the loud noise. We just had it in for an oil change a month ago and there are no warning lights on the dash that come on when this happens. Please help. Thanks.
     
    #1 yogahelps2, Nov 18, 2018
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    couple known issues:

    there is a cold start knock sometimes, if you previously shut the engine down before it had fully warmed up, like moving it around the yard and shutting down immediately

    the egr circuit probably needs to be cleaned. do this before the head gasket blows
    this problem tends to show itself around 100,000 miles
     
    #2 bisco, Nov 18, 2018
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Touring
    Stupid question but anyway: you've checked the oil on the dipstick?

    If it was severely low there'd be a warning about oil pressure (red, looks like a genie's lamp?), but who knows.

    Also, who did the oil change?
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Nov 18, 2018
  4. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    If it is "rotten egg" smell, it could be your catalytic converter. This is designed to convert hydrogen sulfide in your engine's exhaust into sulfur dioxide. The rotten egg smell could signal that your “cat” isn't working as it should. This does not explain the other part of your post.
     
    #4 FuelMiser, Nov 18, 2018
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