Toyota - Prius :: Engine Turn Off And On In Stop And Go Traffic
Aug 13, 2012
Turning the engine off and on in stop and go traffic saves gas but what does it do for the life of battery and starter?
View 12 RepliesTurning the engine off and on in stop and go traffic saves gas but what does it do for the life of battery and starter?
View 12 RepliesWell I drove the wife to work in her Prius this morning. I noticed in heavy stop go traffic, the engine was idling more than normal. Normally the EV light is on when I am stationary ( idle) in traffic, but for some reason today almost more than 70% of the stop go traffic the RPM was felt via the brake pedal and EV light was off, but the battery had at least 3 bars or more I think.
The load on the vehicle was the usual, AC on at 65 in ECO mode and radio. I guess this question might be more a hybrid newbie question than anything else. So, just curious what "drives" the vehicle to be in EV mode when stationary in traffic or in my case earlier this morning what prevented it?
I have a 2010 Toyota Prius. The other day I was stuck in a traffic jam - under 5 mph for at least 30 minutes.....my engine started knocking/vibrating...once out of the jam, it felt like the engine was "missing"....I took it to the Toyota dealer in town and they changed the spark plugs and cleaned the area...the car runs a little better but I was in a funeral procession yesterday and after about 15 minutes the car was knocking again. What the problem could be? The mileage on the car is 125,000 (I drive a lot!)...
View 3 RepliesI was driving my trusty 2002 152K miles, and came into a very long and very slow traffic jam on the side of a mountain. After about two hours of mostly stop and very little go, my CEL light came on. I am also seeing the "general fault" symbol, but it should be noted that my PS symbol has been showing for about a year because my PS died and I just didn't fix it.
View 11 RepliesI have a 2006 Prius with about 215K miles on it that has started with a new symptom. When stopped at a traffic light, the engine will come on and idle fast, then turn off again. It continues to do this for a few seconds then stops. It will not do it again for a few days then it will repeat the problem.
View 19 RepliesI have a 1997 Corolla with 150k miles.
I had my catalytic converter and flex pipe replaced this summer. Lately, my car has been idling rough. While stuck in some horrific stop and go traffic three weeks ago, it started to make noises as if it would stall out. It didn't, but it still sometimes makes those noises.
The car seems fine on the highway. No loss of power. I did think that the hood felt too warm on a recent trip, but the temperature gauge in the car showed no issue.
The car hesitated when I tried to start it last week, but normally starts fine. It was the first cold day of the year.
I saw some white smoke come out of the tailpipe last week. It only happened once. Coolant and oil levels are fine. The spark plugs look good.
The fill pipe has been leaking gas for several months. It leaks if the tank is more than half full and it drips a bit of gas when I fill up. Two mechanics have not been able to find the leak and have told me not to replace it until it is a problem, given the age of my car.
I took it to a mechanic today (not the one who replaced the cat). He told me that the rough idling is due to the new flex pipe being shorter than what was originally there. He assured me that the car is fine to drive long distances and that there was nothing wrong with it. There's no check engine light or anything on the dash to indicate a problem.
I should be relieved, but I'm not. I've lost confidence in my car. Can the stalling noises and rough idling be explained away by a changed exhaust system? Or are these signs of a problem about to happen?
I have a 98 Toyota Corolla, manual transmission. When I come to a hard stop, or make a hard turn, the engine either stalls or almost stalls. I've had it serviced lately with new plugs and wires, oil change and fuel system cleaning. The engine idles fine when you start it and are just sitting there. The problem seems to come with stopping hard or turning while quickly slowing, when the clutch is engaged. If I am able to hit the gas I can keep it running and then it runs fine.
View 2 RepliesEver since I became a driving instructor I have paying a lot more attention to traffic and how everyone acts. I have always been told that when driving on the freeway you should never use your brakes. After observing traffic and trying this out for the last year or so, I have noticed that if you look farther ahead on the road and simply notice traffic starting to slow really early you actually can make an entire trip on the freeway (even during rush hour) without ever using your brakes. The idea is that if you lift off the gas early enough you can coast up to the traffic and not have to stop before traffic starts moving again.
I have also noticed that while I am able to just cost up to the stopped traffic, everyone else around me wants to race up and slam on their brakes. Why do so many people do this? Do they think it is faster? Cause I can tell you that it isn't.
I have been driving my new 2011 prius for a week now and have noticed that in stop and go traffic I occasionally get down to three bars before the engine kicks in. Is this normal?
Also today I was in a traffic jam for a half hour and got to 2 bars a few times(lots of stop and go). Is this normal also? When driving on the freeway the bars are always 6-8. There are no colors on the bars, just white.
I’m concerned about stop and go traffic here in Phoenix, where the highway traffic literally stops for minutes at a time. Then we get to move for 50-100 feet and then completely stop again. This process may continue for 30-45 minutes. How is this affecting my Prius, am I slowly killing my new car?
View 19 RepliesMy daughter has a 1996 Saturn SL with something over 100K miles on it. It runs generally well, although using a quart of oil every thousand miles or so. It passes the smog check required for her registration. It's had new spark plugs within the recommended period.
Recently she went on a road trip, and hit stop-and-go traffic for a couple of hours in one large city; it being January in a warm climate, the weather that day was presumably neither very hot nor cold. The Check Engine light came on. Fortunately she had the time to take it to a mechanic recommended by a friend local to the area, who pronounced the engine OK. She proceeded without incident for the rest of her thousand mile trip.
Sounds to me like the emissions crossed some threshold beyond "marginal" during the lengthy idling and running at low speed. Question: if we wanted to avoid such a condition, what kind of repair would be recommended.
I have a 2000 Corolla CE (4-spd auto) and today had to merge in fast moving traffic....the engine hit about 4000rpm for about 2 seconds or so and then dropped back down to 2800 and eventually 2300.
Not sure what the redline is for the 2000 corolla, but I'm guessing that hitting it especially when under load is bad even for a few seconds?
My 4 cylinder Tacoma vibrates a lot when it is idling, especially sitting in "drive" at traffic lights. My regular mechanic has tried various things to remedy it but none has really worked. He suggested the valves may need to be adjusted. Is this plausible? Or is he off-base? And is it really expensive?
View 4 RepliesMy 2005 Toyota Prius with 188,000 miles has a whining sound when I start and when I turn off the engine. It happens 95% of the time. The dealer says it could be a water pump.
View 6 RepliesJust cking..if I am in a traffic jam..I notice after awhile there is a shift in the engine and I don't get good mileage anymore until I am out of traffic..what gives??
View 3 RepliesI have a 2001 Toyota Solara. Whenever I make a hard right turn the car turns off. When I stop and put it in park I can always crank right back up. I can turn left with no problems. What the problem is.?
View 2 RepliesStrange Vibrations From Engine (Possibly?) While Riding Brakes In Slow Traffic. I tried to search but didn't come up with much that was similar.
View 2 RepliesI have a 1995 Corolla which is facing misfire issue and randomly turn off at stop sign the code I am getting is 26 which is rich fuel ratio. I have changed the O2 sensor car has new spark plugs and spark plug wires both NGK. the problem started when I installed the new distributor. one of the member here had the same problem.
Here is the person who had the same problem: [URL] .....
Well I believe my small fan has stopped working because if I run my ac in stop and go traffic my big fan runs harder than I've ever heard and when examining under hood small fan doesn't move. I have been told by local vw dealer and local euro tech and both say big fan could be bad if small one is and I may have to replace both. Vw quoted 800 for both and local eurotech is around 650. I was considering just purchasing the aftermarket one from ecs tuning for 190 and try to swap it out myself w some ramps. Just checked eBay and found this. Should it be comparable? Just checking before I order.
[URL].........................
Had a problem with squealing brakes? My brakes squeal awfully when I am in stop and go traffic (in dry weather). Taken it to the dealer 2x and they've told me it will just do due to the pad having metal in it. I just have a hard time believing that my just over 1 year old car squeals like a dump truck..
View 9 RepliesI have a 2001 f250 sd 4x4. For the past year it will blow cold air unless I'm in stop and go traffic then it blows warm air. Engin temp thermostat and water pump are fine. Yesterday it quit blowing all together and it really wouldn't bother me but where I live the morning temps and rainy days are causing the windshield to fog up and my defroster not even working. Where can I start to get this fixed.
View 7 Replies