Posted by Al Falfa on January 19, 2010, 12:38 am
> Al Falfa wrote:
>> I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode
>> below. It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook the
>> whole car for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a
>> valve in a VW. The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If
>> you've experienced a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius
>> sounds like during this period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says
>> bring it in and he'll look at it. I think he'll need to leave it
>> overnight in sub-zero temps to experience this.
>>
>> Any ideas out there?
>>
> Water/ice in the fuel.
> You should get an engine block heater if you're going to operate in that
> temperature range.
And I would have plugged that in where?
Posted by Al Falfa on January 19, 2010, 12:53 am
>> Al Falfa wrote:
>>> I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode
>>> below. It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook
>>> the whole car for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a
>>> valve in a VW. The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If
>>> you've experienced a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius
>>> sounds like during this period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says
>>> bring it in and he'll look at it. I think he'll need to leave it
>>> overnight in sub-zero temps to experience this.
>>>
>>> Any ideas out there?
>>>
>>
>> Water/ice in the fuel.
>>
>> You should get an engine block heater if you're going to operate in that
>> temperature range.
>>
> And I would have plugged that in where?
That was a bit terse. David, I think water/ice in the fuel may have caused
this. Normally I run e10 (Minnesota) but the problem started after filling
the tank in ND, a state that doesn't require 10% ethanol in gasoline
dispensed in the state. After that fill I drove about 100 miles and then
parked in an auditorium parking lot. No place to plug in even if I had a
block heater. About 5 hours later at -27F I started the car and first
experienced the problem. Then I drove about 100 miles to my garage where
the car sat for several days. If I had a block heater I could have plugged
it in, but I don't so I didn't. My 2005 performed admirably at -35F with
heavier oil and the second occurred at only -5F, a piece of cake for any
well maintained car where I live.
The dealership and I are waiting for the temps to drop below zero again.
This problem hasn't occurred in the present +20 - +30 range.
Posted by Al Falfa on January 26, 2010, 8:46 pm
>>>> I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode
>>>> below. It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook
>>>> the whole car for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke
>>>> a valve in a VW. The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod.
>>>> If you've experienced a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius
>>>> sounds like during this period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer
>>>> says bring it in and he'll look at it. I think he'll need to leave it
>>>> overnight in sub-zero temps to experience this.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas out there?
Turns out the starting problem I experienced wasn't unique to my 2010.
During that cold spell at least five 2010's in Fargo ND experienced the
identical problem. Toyota engineers were called-in. Their preliminary
determination suggests the 2010 suffers from two problems, the first
involving the engine running very rough when very cold, the second being a
poorly designed motor mount that results in the banging noise while the
engine is running rough. I've been advised to "live with it" until they
come up with a solution. The NWS forecasts -11F tomorrow morning and -18F
Thursday morning so it's rock and roll time Minnesota.
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>> I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode
>> below. It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook the
>> whole car for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a
>> valve in a VW. The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If
>> you've experienced a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius
>> sounds like during this period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says
>> bring it in and he'll look at it. I think he'll need to leave it
>> overnight in sub-zero temps to experience this.
>>
>> Any ideas out there?
>>
> Water/ice in the fuel.
> You should get an engine block heater if you're going to operate in that
> temperature range.