Hello everyone, I have 08’ Prius with 190k mileage. Recently my check engine light is coming on for a day and disappeared the next day. It’s not coming up for a while and then it comes on again. It came on 2 times. I took it to O’Riley for free scan and it said misfire. I started pushing brakes when I turn off my car and the light haven’t come back on again. Should I be concerned about this? The car runs and drives well.
Rosie, It sounds to me like it's time for new spark plugs. The plugs in your car should be model Denso SK16R11. They're iridium and are typically changed every ~90-100k miles. Odds are good that you're running up on that becoming due again. There's another equivalent spark plug that was used, but I don't recall the specifics of it. I've always used the Denso and they work great. Don't buy the cheap ones from amazon/ebay etc. Those are Chinese imitations and you'll regret it. Get them from your local Toyota dealer if you plan to do the job yourself. They're about $9 each. The imitations are like 4 for 20 bucks or something similar. If the misfire becomes bad enough the engine will run extremely rough and the check engine light will start blinking during the misfires. You don't want to let it get that bad.
Its very unhappy. Sometimes that reflects the engine is out of oil too. Ever check the engine oil? Better get used to checking the oil the engine probably eats alot of oil many if not most high mileage prius eat oil. if you don't stay on top of it new engine time $$$$$. Misfires: #1 Poorly maintained needs sparkplugs and or new cops (coil on plugs) or #2 Poorly maintained somewhere in its life the car ran dry of engine oil and now has engine damage. This is evident if the car shows rolling misfires that show multiple misfires that travel from cyl to cyl. If it only reports one cyl repeatedly then its just #1.
Thank you, do you know or recommend a place to get it replaced cheaper? My dealer quoted me $169 and I was wondering if there is a place that can do it for less?
call around to dealers you can drive to, and ask for pricing. of course, we don't know anyone in your neck of the woods, but if you're going to ask private shops, make sure they are ase certified. you can check with aaa and/or yelp
Update: so I did free scan and changed my spark plug for misfire. I don’t get the light anymore but my car shakes when I start it and my rides are little bumpy. Does anyone know what it could be. I did 21 point inspection and everything was fine. The tires are good too. So I’m confused. Ps: thank you all for the help
