Toyota Prius

[StaticCling]

Work colleague's boyfriend has (had) a Toyota Prius that's had all sorts of problems...

About a year ago, the car blew a head gasket and that was a costly repair. Fast forward to recent, car was running like shit. Took it to their mechanic where he diagnosed a bad piston and ring. They dumped it and he bought a new Corolla last night.

I think the car had over 100k, but still. While Toyota 4cylinders are renowned for their reliability, I'm not sure this "Hybrid" shit is that great of an idea. My theory is the constant starting/stopping of the engine is detrimental to long term reliability?

[Datawiz]

Valid theory.

[Mike Mercury]

[erickpl]

if that is the case, those vehicles that shut off at stoplights as part of their fuel management may face a similar problem. My wife's car does that, but it DOES have an override so it stays running.

[Wathen1955]

[bill_daniels]

Originally Posted by erickpl

if that is the case, those vehicles that shut off at stoplights as part of their fuel management may face a similar problem. My wife's car does that, but it DOES have an override so it stays running.

I have a Cruze that does that, but there's no way to shut off the 'feature.' I actually like it, if you're at a light, but it's hard to manage in stop and go traffic. You really have to feather the brake and keep distance in order to keep the auto-stop feature from activating.

I assumed the worst thing would be a premature starter death, which is an easy fix.

[snide]

Originally Posted by erickpl

if that is the case, those vehicles that shut off at stoplights as part of their fuel management may face a similar problem. My wife's car does that, but it DOES have an override so it stays running.

My Grand Cherokee has this feature, and I hate it. it does have the override button, but still...

[vetteman9368]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

I have a Cruze that does that, but there's no way to shut off the 'feature.' I actually like it, if you're at a light, but it's hard to manage in stop and go traffic. You really have to feather the brake and keep distance in order to keep the auto-stop feature from activating.

I assumed the worst thing would be a premature starter death, which is an easy fix.

Believe it or not, it doesn’t use the starter

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by vetteman9368

Believe it or not, it doesn’t use the starter

The Cruze does not ?

[vetteman9368]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

The Cruze does not ?

If it’s direct injected no. It uses the crank position sensor to determine which cylinder to fire. It then pulses the injector and lights the spark. The starter is too slow.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by vetteman9368

If it’s direct injected no. It uses the crank position sensor to determine which cylinder to fire. It then pulses the injector and lights the spark. The starter is too slow.

Tad tough on the conrod/bearing/piston, no?? I mean exploding/burning gas/air against all that inertia much less compression from other cylinders...??

[vetteman9368]

Jury is still out. I’d think the wear would be limited to the piston

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by vetteman9368

If it’s direct injected no. It uses the crank position sensor to determine which cylinder to fire. It then pulses the injector and lights the spark. The starter is too slow.

I've read that this "non-starter" type starting was possible; but did not hear that it was ever used in a production vehicle.

Any links?