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Severe knocking with cylinder 2 misfire code

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Cody Sorrell, Jan 6, 2020.

  1. Cody Sorrell

    Cody Sorrell Junior Member

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    Hi guys. I’ve got a 2010 Prius with 161,000 miles on it. Today on my way home from the store my Prius starting making a nasty knocking sound as well as shaking violently while I was driving. Luckily it was only a 1-2 miles drive and it set it a block form home so I was able to get home safely. After the knocking began I noticed a strong fuel smell in the cab as well as the check engine light had come on showing a cylinder 2 misfire code. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
     
  2. mikey_t

    mikey_t Active Member

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    Have you checked the coolant level?
     
  3. Cody Sorrell

    Cody Sorrell Junior Member

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    Yes the coolant level is within normal limits and the oil looks normal
     
  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    How much gas do you have in your Prius?

    Any recent maintenance?

    What are you using to read the codes?
     
  5. Cody Sorrell

    Cody Sorrell Junior Member

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    No recent maintenance. I’ve got about a half tank right now. And I’ve got a handheld Code reader
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    plugs, coils, egr, head gasket, tech stream
     
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  7. Cody Sorrell

    Cody Sorrell Junior Member

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    I replaced the coils and plugs about 20k ago. I’ve seen several posts on here pointing towards the EGR cooler. But I’m back and forth on whether or not it’s worth the time to tear into it myself or if I should just have the dealership take a look at it
     
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  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    With what? OEM?

    You can swap the coil and plug to another cylinder to see if the trouble codes move with them.
     
  9. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    If you haven't looked into it by now, then that's probably not opportunity knocking under your hood.

    There is a @NutzAboutBolts video dealing with this in particular, and I would not drive the car again until I closed the loop on what is causing the severe knocking.
    You may just have a bad coil, and a three cylinder Prius...but I would fully investigate the cause of the shake-rattle-roll before I drove the car, and I would prioritize looking at the EGR cooler....maybe changing the oil, etc.

    Maybe swap coils 2 and 4 and see if the code changes?

    Good Luck!
     
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  10. mjoo

    mjoo Senior Member

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    "severe knocking" - there have been reports of a piston wrist pin becoming unglued when the oil is low or engine overheats. With the wrist pin unglued the piston arm is free to cut a hole down the side of the engine block. Have you checked your engine and engine oil level? The reason I ask is Toyota promotes the hands-off lifetime fluid mindset.

    Edit:. there's a reason why we suggest getting the entire EGR tract clean...

    There also have been a couple reports of the PCV hose popping off. That would also cause a fuel smell in the cabin.
     
    #10 mjoo, Jan 7, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2020
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  11. Cody Sorrell

    Cody Sorrell Junior Member

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    That’s an interesting idea. The dealership is picking it up tomorrow, depending on what they’d ay
    I made an appointment with the dealer on Thursday to have them take a look at it. I’ve used several nutzaboutbolts videos before for other procedures. If it is the EGR cooler, do you have any idea the intensity of the work required or if it’s worth it to just have the dealership fix it
     
  12. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Dealerships don’t don’t fix they replace until the noise disappears which could end up to be thousands
     
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    labor intensive. a grand to clean it, more if they start telling you parts are bad
     
  14. NickHall834

    NickHall834 New Member

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    I did it in a couple hours.
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    It took me about a day off-and-on to do the EGR cleaning. Mainly babysitting the EGR cooler as Oxi-Clean solution percolated the carbon out.

    The intake manifold, maybe a long afternoon?

    Ditto for an Oil Catch Can. The latter is best done in conjunction with the intake manifold, just that access is a lot easier.

    If you talk to a dealership about things like this, in particular the Oil Catch Can, they'll treat you like you're speaking a foreign language. If they do start humming along, it'll be EXPENSIVE, they will not clean parts, just slam in new, and for the EGR valve and cooler, that will be over $500.

    It can be done yourself, for more or less no $ outlay: maybe a can of brake clean, a few tablespoons of OxiClean, rags, some outlay for extra tools. And depending on the miles, new intake manifold gasket. When I did our IM, adimitedly very early, the gasket looked brand new, I continue to use it.

    I'm going to be popping the IM off again, probably tomorrow, for an Oil Catch Can replumb, and again I'll more'n likely reuse the gasket.
     
    #15 Mendel Leisk, Jan 8, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2020
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  16. Cody Sorrell

    Cody Sorrell Junior Member

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    I’ve done the IM before and that was a breeze. If they think it’s the EGR, I’ll likely bring it home and clean it if possible
     
  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    True to my word, the intake's off right now. And it's below freezing in the garage. And spraying brake cleaner I better do in the driveway. This afternoon's supposed to be sunny. :)

    Prairie folk would wonder what I'm whinging about, but for me it's cooold. :oops:

    Here's some boiler plate info/references, for the EGR in particular:

    The simplest way to see where you're at, is to check the degree of carbon build up in the EGR pipe, a stainless steel connecting pipe between the EGR valve and intake manifold. Watch @NutzAboutBolts video #16 here:

    Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

    Two or three other videos linked there too, for the full cleaning of the intake manifold, full EGR clean, and Oil Catch Can install.

    Good thread:

    EGR & Intake Manifold Clean Results | PriusChat

    Another:

    Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock! | PriusChat

    Some tools worth having:

    E8 Torx socket (mandatory)
    E6 Torx socket (optional, but good to have, to remove the throttle body studs from intake manifold)
    3/8" ratchet wrench, regular and long handle, flex head, you can never have enough (or 1/2 plus reducer)
    1/4" ratchet wrench, or 3/8" to 1/4" reducer
    Ratchet extensions: you can never have enough
    Long needle nose piers, straight and bent tip
    Ratcheting 12mm box wrench (optional, but makes disconnection of the EGR cooler from exhaust easier)
    Torque wrench (3/8" and 1/4" both good to have)
    Floor jack and safety stands (or ramps): basically some method to raise front, if you need to take underpanel off, which you may need to, both for access and to recover dropped items.
     
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  18. borgestes

    borgestes Member

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    oops already went to the dealer today. sorry to be late.
     
    #18 borgestes, Jan 9, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2020
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