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New owner needs help!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jonman007, Apr 8, 2005.

  1. jonman007

    jonman007 New Member

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    Hi everyone!

    I'm a University student and I just became the owner of a 2001 Prius 'classic' which my father kindly gave to me since he has upgraded to the 2005 model.

    The car has started exhibiting two problems which I believe are unrelated. The first is that occasionally for the first 15 minutes after start, the engine will surge loudly and then shudder off while freewheeling or decelerating.

    The second problem is that occasionally while driving, usually at low speed, a persistent knocking sound can be heard. I have no real mechanical knowledge but it sounds like a wheel is loose or the brake is hitting the wheels. I recently changed the two front tires so I thought that was the problem but the dealer assures me the wheels are not loose.

    Both problems occur sporadically. I took the car to the dealership to be checked out but they couldn't find anything wrong with my prius and neither problem presented itself while the car was with them.

    I was wondering if anyone can explain these problems because the dealership doesn't seem too interested.

    Thanks,

    John
     
    #1 jonman007, Apr 8, 2005
  2. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    Hi John and welcome to the world of the Prius hybrid. Here you will find this site informative and at times entertaining. There are some characters here, :lol: But seriously we will try to help out as much as we can.

    As for your questions, the engine surging may/may not be normal. I am sure someone here could have more real world info than I do.Sometimes it is hard to diagnosis online without being there. Hopefully you already know that the Prius shuts off at times and is not like a typical car. I also saw in another thread that the engine will race (?) if the battery is fully charged so as to " bleed off" any excess voltage if the battery is already fully charged. Unsure if this is what you are experienceing. You may also want to make sure all maintenance is up to date ( air filter,spark plugs ).

    The knocking noise could be a locating brace. I had one a few years ago that made a noise when accel/decel from under the front. There is a brace running from the center of front crossmember,forward to the bottom of the bell housing ( transaxle ). Should be able to see it if you look under the front of the car. Being a front wheel drive car and the engine setting sideways, when you accel/decel the engine will rock forward/backwards. This brace helps to steady the engine/trans assembly from rocking so much. Anyway,the one I had, the mounting bolts had worked loose. Have you had the steering rack replaced recently? This brace would have been removed then and maybe not tightened back up. :roll:
     
    #2 rick57, Apr 8, 2005
  3. jonman007

    jonman007 New Member

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    Hi Rick,

    Thanks for your help! I’ve driven the prius on and off for 2 years so I’m familiar with the ‘normal’ modes of operation.

    I'm not too worried about the engine surging. It's very rare and possibly normal anyway.

    The steering rack was changed during a factory recall about a year ago but this knocking problem has only recently started to occur. Maybe it has worked its way loose? If it is the locating brace, could it wait until the next service or is it quite urgent? I haven’t heard the sound for a week now…

    Anyway, thanks again :) It’s great to finally get some intelligent advice about the problem

    John
     
    #3 jonman007, Apr 11, 2005
  4. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    If it is the brace,it can wait till the service. And the fact it has not happened for a week,means it is intermitent and maybe hard for the dealer to pinpoint. That is unless it is acting up when you take it in, :lol: Hope you find it and let us know what it was.
     
    #4 rick57, Apr 11, 2005
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    On the other hand, if the low-speed knocking sound is not the locating brace, it would be a good Idea to confirm that there are not other loose components in the front suspension or steering. Some loose bolts down there would certainly qualify as "urgent". Good luck.
     
    #5 tochatihu, Apr 11, 2005
  6. rick57

    rick57 Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu\";p=\"80159)</div>
    True but it is always hard to diagnose without driving it in person. I would think a suspension problem would happen all the time and not be intermitent. If it was happening over bumps/rough surfaces,then maybe it is. The problem I had on one was upon take-off ( on and off gas ) it would knock. So to be absolutely certain,maybe a stop at the dealer should be in the works. I would just make sure it was knocking or could duplicate it before going and wasting time,yours and theirs. I always have my customers just stop in when trying to diag a noise if it is intermitent. If I can't do it at that time at least I have heard it and maybe have an idea where to go when they come back or if it is serious.
     
    #6 rick57, Apr 11, 2005
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