2010 Gen 3 Prius and 12V Battery Question

What about PCV valve. Again, @NutzAboutBolts has a video (maintenance section) about accessing that. I've read a stuck-closed PCV valve equates to air pressure build-up in the crankcase. Which in-turn pushes oil into the combustion chamber? With your miles it wouldn't hurt to try.

(My son and I just replaced PCV valve on his Civic Hybrid. Shop Manual said to remove intake manifold, for access. I really wanted to avoid that. Did a prelim. attempt, and found I could get a 17 mm box wrench on it, but not enough room for a ratcheting socket wrench. Ended up investing about $40 to get a ratcheting box wrench, extra-long style, with swivel head. 17 mm one end, 19 mm the other. Worked like a charm. )

 

I wish someone would make a video tutorial about removing the egr valve and cooler to follow

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When I get back home, I can walk you through it with some pics. Out with the kids right now at the park.

The job is about 8 hours with 2 sets of hands. The back of the cooler is a bear to put back on. The reassembly process is a bit fiddly.

 

As @Mendel Leisk said, removing the wiper cowling will be best for access.

Steps I would use for removal of the egr assembly:

1. Remove wiper assembly. Follow @NutzAboutBolts video for spark plugs for removing this assembly.
2. Drain engine coolant. Otherwise the engine bay will get drenched in coolant. Save this for later or put in new coolant. @NutzAboutBolts has a video about that as well.
3. Remove hoses attached to the cooler. I plugged the larger hoses off with corks to ensure as they move around the engine bay they did not leak out.
4. Remove the support nuts from the egr valve and cooler assembly.
5. Remove the egr pipe.
6. Remove the back nuts from the cooler that are attached to the exhaust manifold. These are either 12 or 14 mm.
7. The egr valve and cooler will come out as 1 unit and you can disassemble later. It is easier to disassemble on the bench. It is also a bit fiddly to remove this assembly but it can be done.

Now that everything is out, you can take the time to inspect and clean or have clean replacements ready (which is what I did). If you can plan the job, I would buy gaskets ahead of time but the gaskets are most likely okay to be put back in.

To reassemble, I would do the following:

1. Cut (trim) the bottom support for the cooler as getting it back on the 2 studs for exhaust manifold and the stud for the cooler support is near impossible. Trim the bottom 2/3s off of the support so it will slot into the stud nicely and save a lot of fiddling.
2. Put the egr valve and cooler back together on the bench.
3. Put the cooler assembly onto the exhaust manifold and loosely place the nuts back on.
4. Attach loosely the egr valve and pipe together where it connects to the intake manifold.
5. Attach the supports for the cooler and egr valve. I would do this loosely first.
6. Snug up the egr cooler to exhaust manifold connection.
7. Snug up the egr valve and pipe connections to the intake manifold.
8. Snug up the support connections.
9. Fill the engine coolant. Follow the @NutzAboutBolts video including starting the system and turning the heat on.
10. Bleed air from the bleed point above the cooler(this is the highest point in the system) to ensure all air is out of the system. This is a plastic pet cock style white valve and looks similar to what is on the radiator drain with and short drain tube.

Some pictures:

Egr assembly side view:


Egr valve from the top view that you can see from the engine bay:


Right side from behind the egr valve looking at the 12mm nut that holds the egr valve to the cooler:



Left side of the from behind the egr valve looking at the 12mm nut:



Bottom cooler support that I trimmed the bottom 2/3s of to aid in reassembly:



View of the back support studs for the cooler:



Downstream view of the egr valve (after the plunger of the egr where the egr pipes connect):


Upstream of egr valve( before the valve and what connects to the cooler):


A look at the fins inside the egr cooler:



Hope this helps. Keep us posted and let me know if you have any questions.

 

Hope you don't mind: cobbled together a pdf of the above. Much appreciate the info.

 

Thanks for making the PDF. Will save some typing in the future .

Maybe @MeGuinness will help us out and do a video if he undertakes it. If not, I will be due in 2 years .

As these issues with the egr come up(and you know they will) feel free to distribute as needed. I hope it helps others out. Not a very technical solution to the problem but definitely reduces some headaches that can arise.

 

Thanx for the write up ,need to take a week off just in case to do the job lol,
Btw I get to understand that the the hv battery is the one charging the 12v battery?
If yes and the 12v is naked would the hv battery loose change faster then usual? Thanx

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Guys I finally got the charger , after Amazon lost it the first time they managed to send another one .....then i suddenly received 2 ,the lost one and the new one..lol,
Anyway can I charge the battery by just removing the negative cable and living the positive while charging??

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sure, you can even charge it with all the wires intact, no need to remove anything.

 

In case I need to replace the battery any reason why I cannot use regular lead acid?

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i think a few people have done it, but it's a potential safety hazard. you don't have to use oem, but i would stay with the same design, and make sure it has the proper vent tube connection.

 

Safety hazard? Why ? Is the Prius charging the 12v in a different way then other cars?

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It isn't.

I'd just connect the charger at the jump start point under the hood, and with the battery being sealed AGM, best not to mess with adding fluids.

If you're inclined you can hook up at the battery posts, and/or remove the battery, clean the posts and cables and charging while it's out of the car. But, charging per my first sentence is fine. With our low usage, I'm hooking charger thus every few weeks.

 

Ok m8 at Toyota tells me battery is a gel type ?

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Absorbed Glass Mat. Had to Google, don't really know that much about it. Just that they're very spill resistant type, safer.

 

This charger can do AGM +RECON ,,I think I will select this as voltage Batt is at 11.4 v


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Great info about removing and cleaning the EGR assembly.

But back to the OP initial problem about 12-volt dying during 2-week idle period: we have stored our 2012 for 2-3 weeks in Florida while on cruises, but I used the menu system to turn OFF the SKS system and the remote unlock system, which saves the long-term power drain of those two systems. When we got back we unlocked door with the physical key located inside the key fob, and once inside we had to put the remote key fob directly adjacent to the "Power" button to get it to start, but it all started up fine. So that is one way to minimize 12-volt battery drain during idle periods.

Good luck with the EGR cleaning!

 

I just replaced the 2011 12v battery 102k miles. Never had one issue.

I noticed now with the new bat. that the Internal combustion engine (ICE) turns off a whole lot more.
I did the large size upgrade.

The ICE even shuts off while coasting on the interstate. (I have a scan guage II to see it happen.)

The little OEM was still good 12v but I did not trust it with another winter and major cold coming.

IMHO, the OEM 2010 and 2011 batteries should just be replaced.

They are old and tired and the computer constantly turns on the ICE all the time to keep them fully topped off. That is what I noticed.

My2cents.

 

i didn't know the gen 3 came in 2 sizes, did you have to change the tray?