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Starting Problem

I started my 2010 at -24F last night. It shook violently with the engine making a chug-chug sound, sort of like an old John Deere one-lung tractor. I'm thinking it was running on two cylinders. After about 30 seconds the shaking and chug-chug sound diminished somewhat. I'm thinking a third cylinder started firing. The headlights were blinking at the chug-chug rate. A couple of the minutes later the shaking and chug-chug sound disappeared and the engine ran normally. No warning beeps or lights.

Prior to starting, the car had sat for about 4 hours immediately following an uneventful 75 mile drive. Earlier in the day I'd driven 150 miles at -18F.

Once the engine was running smoothly, I drove 125 uneventful miles. The car has 4000 miles on it. Anyone have an idea what caused this? My confidence is shaken. My 2005 groaned a bit at -35F but never behaved this badly.

Reply to
Al Falfa
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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?

Reply to
Al Falfa

First make sure you are not low on oil or having any other major engine problems. Then next time its really cold start it and when it's about to self destruct push it as hard as you can and let the warranty deal with the pieces.

- Leo

Reply to
Leo

Right. I checked the oil and it's about 1/8 inch below full. Dealer is going to keep it overnight during the next cold spell and connect their scan gauge before starting it up. I understand it's tough to troubleshoot when it's warm since it runs smoothly once the clanking and vibration ceases.

Reply to
Al Falfa

Water/ice in the fuel.

You should get an engine block heater if you're going to operate in that temperature range.

Reply to
David T. Johnson

And I would have plugged that in where?

Reply to
Al Falfa

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.

Reply to
Al Falfa

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.

Reply to
Al Falfa

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