Found out the violent engine shaking and the mystery loss of coolant without any noticeable leaks is due to a leaking head gasket that his common to many owners. Car now runs rough and mileage is affected. Many other owners reporting the same issue http://priuschat.com/threads/new-service-bulletin-for-engine-knocking-at-startup-t-sb-0012-10.102200/page-40
2011 Toyota Prius engine complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 52 of 52, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On start up in cold weather, <40*, after several days of not being used, the engine rattles like there's a loose engine mount. It lasts several seconds, then stops. After the engine warms up it's fine. This happened several years ago and I had tsb-0204-11 installed at 38,000 miles (12/18/13) and had no problem the problem reoccurred yesterday, 1/3/16, 76,000 mi, and I'll check with my mechanic for codes.
Excessive oil consumption. Recently I notice oil pressure low light lights frequently. It used the oil was changed every time the maintenance light come up. About every 5000 miles. Now the low oil pressure comes almost every 1000 miles. The car only has 89k miles.
There are 3 issues I am having with this prius. The brakes are the first problem. As others have stated, I too have the same lurching forward when braking over bumby or rough roads. This has been ongoing over the last few years. Second, the suspension is creaking and crunching when making turns at low speeds under 20mph. This happens when the wheels are turned all the way right and all the way left. This crunching noise happens when backing out of the driveway, making u-turns, coming to a stop on an incline, and braking over speed bumps. I've had the dealer look at this for the last year when I come in for service and one tech says they can't figure it out, another tech says he hears it but can't find the root of the problem, the service mgr. Also went on a drive with me and reproduces the noise concern but the techs couldn't find it. Most were suggesting new front suspension components-struts, towers, links, etc. I replaced the two front struts and all of the extra components-the noise concern is still there. I am very upset about this. Third issue is the ice-motor. When stopped at a red light and the engine shuts off, the car lurches forward and makes a creaking sound. It's appears that something is not right. The engine seems like it is loose. The engine also makes rattling sound when cruising lightly at 15-25 MPH with the accelerator pressed slightly. The sound is coming from the passenger side, under the dashboard-glove compartment area. This is a rattle sound coming from the engine. I've had this looked at as well and the dealer states they cannot duplicate it. I have recorded all sounds related to these concerns and am taking it back to the dealer this month.
Upon start up in the cold the engine shakes violently for 15 seconds.
On jan. 18th, 2014 I was leaving fl to return to nc, when I started up my prius and waited for the gas engine to start, it did not want to start. It sounded like a diesel engine, making a loud knocking noise and the whole car shook. I turned the car off and then restarted it a couple of times, but did not experience the issue again. I drove back to nc and did not experience the issue at all. The car was due for maintenance, so b-4 taking it in, I researched the issue online. I found numerous people that have experienced the same problem on the "priuschat.com" web site, there were also links to youtube vids that showed the same problem. I also found that there is a tsb out for this issue, but it only covers certain vins and the dealers usually require that they can duplicate the problem b-4 they will perform the tsb. The repair is to replace the intake manifold, but this does not appear to be resolving the problem. The problem appears to have started with the 2010 model with the 1.8l motor and has yet to be resolved.
The air conditioning system in the prius is defective. It is prone to growing mildew and/or mold in the system, which results in toxic air being pumped into the car. I have reported the problem to my local toyota dealerships several times, and they have been unable to fix the problem. There is a large body of information about the mildew problem online which seems to indicate that this is a common problem among prius from 2010 to the present. Since noticing the mildew smell in my car, I have had severe allergy problems. This is a serious safety concern that is adversely affecting my health, and given its prevalence among cars of this make and model, I believe toyota should have to address this problem immediately. The air conditioning system flush does not fix the problem, and in fact may have made it worse.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota prius. The contact stated that she noticed a leak coming from inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the contact was advised that there were spiders in the HVAC drainage hose and the spiders had created a nest egg in the hose, which caused the leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised her that the failure was not covered under her warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were approximately 20,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Started car after prolonged period of cold soak (parked for one week outside in temperatures around the freezing mark). Engine exhibited a loud knock/rattle and had a delayed throttle response as I was pulling out onto the street. Had to shut engine down (with vehicle located in street, safety concern) to stop loud knock and re-start engine. Rattle/knock had disappeared. Toyota dealership when presented with issue and toyota issued tsb (t-sb 0012-10) on this very issue declined to perform necessary work since they were not able to "recreate" the issue. I explained that this only happened once and to replicate they would need to park it in the same conditions for a week. I cannot leave my car with them for this long and therefore this is an unreasonable request. Multiple owners have experienced this problem (as a quick search on youtube will confirm) yet toyota is denying to fix this.
Upon ice start up at times, there is a loud knocking noise emanating from engine compartment. Goes away after 10 seconds and car drives fine. Has occurred several times. Though there is a tsb issued, dealer would not fix unless issue is replicated despite showing them what my car did on video. Most noticeable after car was run for a very brief time hours before. Also notice the last few weeks, while driving vehicle, upon ice starting up, the engine is rough and the shift to ice is noticeable. Previously it was smooth. No codes have appeared and the car appears to run normal otherwise. I would like the dealer to fix the problem as described in 2 separate tsbs (engine mounts and intake manifold gasket).
The car suddenly decelerated from 65 miles an hour to about 5 miles per hour while driving on a highway at night with the shoulder blocked due to road construction. This same problem was present in the 2004 prius and was apparently the subject of the federal safety agency investigation. There was a recall issued on november 30, 2010 for 650,000 units of the 2010 prius. Toyota has not been able to determine the cause of this problem in the earlier models and admits it doesn't know the cause of the problem in the 2011 prius. This defect presents a great danger, especially when driving in heavy traffic at highway speeds.
Upon starting vehicle, a very loud knocking noise, accompanied by shaking occurred. At this time no failure/warning lights appeared on dashboard. Moved car forward approximately 15 feet, and placed car in park, knocking/shaking did not abate. Turned car off. The next day, the car, upon starting had the same loud knocking/shaking. It was audible from several feet away from the car. On the second time, it was accompanied by a warning light to put the car in park. Vehicle was towed to the dealership.
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