It's hot here in the desert and I've recently experienced the following issue after my 2015 Prius C has been parked out in the sun while I'm in the store for 30 mins or so. I start it up and turn on the A/C before I back up. The car seems to lurch a bit as it switches from battery to gas (I think that's what it's doing). This last time I noticed that the engine seems to rev up a bit. I then hear a metal noise in the engine for a few moments as I drive, and then everything settles down and is fine. The car has only 8600 miles on it so it's like new. Is this issue something I should be concerned about, or should I just continue to troubleshoot it; i.e., next time don't turn on A/C until I've backed up and ready to go, or just turn the engine off and start again. Thank you.
I don't use the car much so fuel is at least a month old. My last gas fill-up was at a cheaper gas station; I had wondered if the fuel quality might be part of the problem.
Thank you for your input. I asked a mechanic friend to look at the engine with me, including the oil level and battery intake grille. Everything looked fine. I didn't start the car with the A/C on today and did not have the same problem. We surmised that since the intense heat causes the engine to work harder, if the car is started with the A/C on too that that might cause a momentary issue. I'll continue to monitor it.
