Suggestions for 190,000 / 200,000 Mile Maintenance?

If you have oil consumption the egr system will be partially to almost completely clogged. Generally completely clogged will give you a P0401 code.

The egr cooler 25601-37010 is hard to remove and harder to clean. Many will buy a used cooler before hand and clean it. The intake manifold also will clog egr passages.

A new cooler at used clogged up price
Toyota 25601-37010 EGR Pipe Lexus CT200h 2011-2017 Prius V 2ZRFXE | eBay

 

The EGR components, and the EGR passages in the intake manifold, will be well carbon-clogged by now. Regardless of the oil consumption. Don't get lulled into thinking an EGR cleaning now will save a head gasket though; EGR cleaning "should" be done by 100K at the latest, then probably every 50K therearfter (same as coolant change interval).

Everything you've got is cleanable, btw. The EGR cooler will be most difficult, but being stainless steel, you can stopper one end, fill it with a caustic solution, perhaps aided by running a wire through, soak for an hour, rinse, repeat. With modest carbon I've got ours near-new clean with 4~5 soaks with concentrated solution of hot tap water and (powdered) Oxi-Clean Versatile Stain Remover. For more advanced carbon build-up, maybe try lye solution (NaCl). Lye seems to be off the shelves in local hardware stores here (used in meth manufacture?), but is readily available on Amazon, used by soap makers.

See links in my signature, for both EGR cleaning and head gasket. If you're viewing on a phone turn it landscape to see signatures.

From what I've read, depending on your degree of risk aversion, best replaced between 100K and 150K miles.

 

Was trying to chase this down yesterday; finally found it too late to edit. Lye is Sodium Hydroxide, NaOH. (NaCl is salt, like table salt.)

Chronic, long term overheating, due to reduced exhaust gas supply to the combustion chambers. The EGR components clog with carbon, and to compound matters, the EGR passages in the intake manifold, which also clog with carbon do so sequentially, typically with the capillary passage to cylinder one being first to get fully clogged. The head gasket failures on 3rd gen tend to be at the common wall between cylinders one and two.

A reduction in exhaust gas in a combustion chamber will cause an over-lean condition, runs hotter.

 

Toyota also changed the head gasket, pistons and rings mid 2014. In Europe 2010-2012s were offered the -20 updated egr and software to combat the issue. Major changes to the egr intake and cylinder cooling were incorporated in 2016 gen4 when the problem was successfully resolved.

 

Sell it. I'm serious.

 

Head gasket was changed too, with the 2014 piston ring change? The Car Care Nut (YouTuber) made mention of a head gasket revision (new one a uniform grey colour), but not sure how/when that happened.

Having a hard time finding a part no for just the head gasket; it's typically part of a "gasket kit", not separated out.

 

Yes an improved hg with more of the black sealant was deployed. It may have the same part number. Clearly the 1.8 gen3 hybrid engine was much better from 2015 through 2021 when the Prius v version was discontinued worldwide. 2017 was the last US version.

 

I didn't say buy a new car..... sell and get a non hybrid used toy that will go another 200,000 without spending thousands

The $$$ Brake Booster
Head Gasket $2500
Brakes $2500
Traction Battery $2500
Maybe ruined engine from hydrolock
Starts Burning oil.......

 

The hybrid battery is largely expected in a ten year or older Prius. We don’t like the budget hit but may go “reconditioned” and deal with it three more times while we own it or we may buy oem and “buy once cry once”.

If only the local shop would work on the Prius. If only there were aftermarket parts options that were safe. Maybe diy is the way - everyone on the forums says go for that egr, hv battery teardown, head gasket job or complete engine swap. We can do it!


You are right - it is easy to say one of the common $2500 repairs is only three car payments and later we have warm fuzzies that the worst is over.

Until a year later when another common failure occurs and we fool ourselves again with the three payment paradigm.

Cost savings rules! Until we start thinking about the wife or child getting stuck somewhere.

Reliability and safety are important as well. All recent cars have vastly improved safety systems and reliability is a given compared to a 150k-200k nice looking Prius beater.

If the body and interior matched gen3s mechanicals it would be rusted, ripped and rattling. However these cars look and handle decent without traditional rattling - except for the engine hg knocking or the relentless buzzing from a failing brake booster.