Prius Needs Premium Gas?

We got a Prius about a month ago, and so far it seems like the car is happier with premium gas. With low-octane gas, when the gas engine shuts off, it doesn't do so smoothly - it kind of "ka-chugs" a couple of times before stopping. Is this normal?

Thanks! Chris

Reply to
Chris Shearer Cooper
Loading thread data ...

Mine does that sometimes when it is cold. I understand this is common. I use 87 octane and that works fine.

Reply to
Bill

Cold like the weather is cold, or like right after the car has first started?

I am pretty sure it does this for me even after the car has been running for a while ...

Reply to
Chris Shearer Cooper

It's normal. The engine is burning off the last little bit of gas so it doesn't evaporate (evaporated gas being a worse pollutant than burned gas). Prius never needs premium; if it ever pings, it needs a repair.

Reply to
richard schumacher

Mine had done this a few times in both winter and summer weather (I'm in Minnesota) but to the best of my recollection, only when the engine was cold. Sometimes I think it has a conflict of interest: It wants to shut down because I'm not putting a load on it but it wants to keep running because my catalytic converter hasn't warmed yet.

Reply to
Bill

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.