EGR cooler cleaning-Prius V 2016

Now sell it................while your still ahead of the game.

 

Does Toyota recommend intervals for replacing/cleaning the EGR system? And do you all think it really helps? I know that Toyota would not take the time to actually clean the EGR… Their protocol is to replace the parts. I guess I’m just wondering if all this EGR cleaning is really necessary?

 

I'm not sure everybody's EGR system clogs up at the same rate; there may be some dependence on the kind of driving you do. The car does keep track of the flow capability with regular self tests. When the test value gets low enough, P0401 is set, but some believe that threshold is too low, and would rather clean stuff earlier. You can ask the car for its test result and see how fast yours is going down (higher number is less clogged), and pick your own comfort level for when to clean.

Along with the cleaning, it is good to check the condition of the rotor inside the EGR valve. It can sometimes develop a "rutted ski jump" condition that will cause the flow to be too low.

Also, and perhaps most important, there are four small passages in the intake manifold that carry EGR gas, and those get clogged, and worse, they can get clogged by different amounts. The car can't tell that, because it only sees overall flow. That can lead to some cylinders getting too little and others getting too much, while the car still thinks it's all hunky-dory.

As for the connection between the EGR and gasket failure, there are some true believers here and some less convinced. The most convincing theory that I've seen is the one involving the differently-clogged manifold passages, and some cylinders misfiring and others possibly detonating, while the engine control doesn't know better. That one does have some support that can be read in open engineering literature; some of the other theories around here, not so much.

Best news is that the manifold by itself is far easier to remove and inspect than the whole EGR system. If you're looking for my recommendation, that is something I definitely call easy and worth doing.

There's at least one member here quite given to voice-of-God pronouncements like if you haven't done X by nnn,nnn miles, you're going to have Y by mmm,mmm miles, which is exactly the way a person would talk who is either a sorcerer with a crystal ball, or a data scientist with access to a much larger volume of randomly sampled, controlled, analyzed data than I believe for a moment he has access to.

 

I'd clean everything every 50K miles, if you want to be sure. Maybe do the coolant drain/fill at the same interval, for expedience.

See first two links in my signature for more info (on a phone, turn it landscape to see signature).

 

I'm pretty sure they do not clog at the same rate. They don't all consume oil at the same rate at the same mileage, either. Yes, conditions to which an engine is subjected matter---a lot.

 

I would chime in on this but my magic 8 ball is out of order at the moment..... i think it might have a clogged spinner