Heck, I'd just take a 500-mile roadtrip (or less if E85 sucks that bad) and be done with it. Even old seals needed constant exposure over a long time to be eaten away. One tank shouldn't KILL the car, and if it does, blame Toyota for not having a "NO E85 ALLOWED!!!!" sticker near the gas cap...
Yes, I agree, just burn it off. You could leave the car on and run the A/C on max if you don't need to go anywhere. Nate
the check engine is normal. caused by the E85 that is setting off the check engine light is that the system monitors the change in the base fuel map, which is indicated by the long-term fuel trim. If this change is outside of the set boundaries for an extended period of time, then a code is set to indicate that the fuel system is making greater adjustments to the fuel quantity to maintain the correct air/fuel mixture than is necessary under normal circumstances. Andreas <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 10 2006, 03:43 PM) [snapback]283775[/snapback]</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Jul 10 2006, 09:22 AM) [snapback]283798[/snapback]</div> I am shuttering too. I want it out of there, but I have to work so it will stay there until tonight. I really do not believe I will have any damage from this one tank otherwise I would be draining the fuel tank right now Ethanol is made from sugar beets among other things not just corn. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Jul 10 2006, 09:36 AM) [snapback]283804[/snapback]</div> I'll keep you informed as I would not want anyone to suffer from this same mistake. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mikepaul @ Jul 10 2006, 09:59 AM) [snapback]283814[/snapback]</div> I can't blame them for no sticker or all car companies would have to put that on all cars. What I can blame them for is what they wrote in the 2006 owners manual. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kev1000000 @ Jul 10 2006, 10:10 AM) [snapback]283821[/snapback]</div> I don't know what you mean by that. I own a several other vehicles and they all have the same performance. 0-60 in about 30 seconds, average about 60 on the hwy, and top out at about 70mph. This even goes for my Honda VTX 1300. I once got to drive a Porsche boxster and same result top speed was 70 mph where the speed limit was 70 mph. I also don’t understand people wanting more powerful engines in vehicles that don't tow anything. I mean in a road race between a Pinto and a Porsche on a freeway driving along side a police officer just dying to give you a speeding ticket, it is always a dead heat. Where is the benefit to getting such a big engine? Anyway, a road trip is in the plan for tonight. From Houston I don’t know if I will go to San Antonio or DFW. San Antonio might be the right distance and we could have dinner on the river walk. I figure I have just over 440 miles left in this tank if I bring it down to 3 gallons and then fill again I should be just fine. I know part of the problem is just letting that sit in my tank and part of it is running it through the engine. However, if I drain it I really have no place to put it. So since I will not dump it, I will just have to burn it.
I doubt one tank will hurt much, but if you try to syphon any of the newer cars, you will find that they are all syphon proof. I found that out last year when part of my Hurricane prep was to have both cars full so I could have plenty of gas for the generator. Found out when I wanted to put more into the generator that you can't get the tube down to the tank. They put a screen in the filler for that. I haven't tried it yet on my Prius, but I believe it is a requirement on all newer cars since about 2000.
I am surprised no one suggested he call a dealer. Personally I would have called a dealer in another state. Just to get the official lo-down from Toyota. They may have information none of us have. So, my suggestion is call a Toyota dealer but not your normal one and ask what the consequences would be. They may have other suggestions as well. Good luck
I just checked GasBuddy and I see one listing for E85 around here at $2.59. That's 4 cents under even the CheapSideOfTown price, so I hope incompatible people from my side ($2.69 or so lately) don't go there often and regret it later. Wal-Mart over there has been $2.60 (with card) for over a week, and fortunately I've needed to visit...
If you can find pure gasoline (not E10) fill with that instead. The corrosiveness of Ethanol is nothing compared to Methanol. I honestly don't believe the vehicle is at risk running E85. I even believe the Check Engine light is caused by the PCM changing the mixture too quickly, not that the EFI system is operating the edge of its injector duration, simply that the computer is surprised that its learned patterns are suddenly askew. The same thing might happen if you change altitude, barometric pressure, and temperature very quickly. Nate
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Jul 10 2006, 02:03 PM) [snapback]283977[/snapback]</div> Nate, If I could put in pure gasoline and not E10 I would, but I have no Idea where to find that mythical creature. I don't think it exists anymore. I just went to lunch and I drove at 70 mph with the windows down, ac full at max, with the lights on, fogs too, at times and used the engine braking some. I even kept my hand out the window for effect. So far I have run through 3 gallons of fuel 104 miles averaging 34 mpg. Yeeee-Hawwwww! If someone knows were I could get pure gasoline in Houston please let me know. I could then just bring the tank down to 1.2 gallons and fill the rest with it. That would put me at 12 Gallons less the 1.2 gallons to remain and less the 3 that I have used, at 7.8 gallons to go. 7.8 times 34 miles per gallon = a 256.2 mile road trip tonight, or 132.6 miles out and back. At 70 mph that is about 4 hours of driving after work. Glad to have a DVR so I don’t miss Treasure Hunt tonight. Hey, for putting E85 in my tank shouldn’t I get some kind of prize from this site? You know similar to the Darwin award without all of the prerequisite requirements. (AKA Death)
I thought they served it over ice at any restaurant in Texas. You can also get an oil sundae, can't you?
You might find the following paper interesting. It is for a 2003 Prius, but it has some good info. Prius and E85 paper.
Thought you might like to know that the information you have been getting from the folks here on PC has been right on the money. I called a guy this afternoon who I have become good telephone friends with at Regional HQ for Toyota in Chicago. I told him about what happened and he went downstairs to talk to two of his top techs about it. He called me back and told me almost to a word what the folks here have been telling you. He did add that the techs thought there would be a huge number of codes registered in the system and they were coming up with a huge number of them that my friend couldn't remember so he finally left to call me back. He did suggest that you should seriously consider getting those codes reset by a dealer so if there is a future problem the "proper" codes would show up to help with any future diagnostics. Otherwise, you would find yourself with codes from this experience messing with future problems which would only complicate things when they try to fix those issues. Obviously there would be a diagnostic fee or something that you would need to pay. But under the circumstances, well worth it to realize better diagnostics in the future. So, enjoy your low mileage drives and I am damn sure you won't do this again. hehe We feel for ya guy. We wouldn't want any harm to come to any Prius, least of all yours. Cheers
DHH, Thanks for the paper, that was informative and did confirm most of our suspicions. 360, thanks for making the call, also good to have extra evidence to support our suppositions. Finally, OP, If/when you take your car in please record the codes you get and post them in this thread. Also, I'd like you to post your gas mileage for this tank of E85 and provide a frame of reference (your prior 3 to 5 tanks maybe).
360, I based my advice on fundamental understanding of cars, but lacked some specifics about the Prius. I'm really curious about the potential corrosive effects of E85 (I don't understand why there would be any) as well as your friend's thoughts on running the Prius on E85 on a permanant basis. Would the car adjust to E85, but then throw codes again next time you buy gasoline? I would run a tank of E85 myself if I had a CAN scan tool and a station that sells E85. I'd be mostly curious to watch the oxygen sensor and the injector duration. If the duration is within norm and the O2 sensor flips between rich/lean like it should, then the car should be able to run E85 without a problem. As long as the corrosiveness issues aren't a problem, which I really don't think they would be. (Anybody really know?) Nate
Back from my drive 309 miles at average of 30.1. Will confirm how to check codes tomorrow. You could just post it tonight. Not a knock or ping and I know I could have gotten much better mpg if I wanted. I just want to get that stuff out of my car for now. I an not expecting any long term issues of any kind. Now it is time for bed. Sleep and then work in the morning. Drove around the 610 loop after work and then up to Huntsville and back. Speak to you all in the morning. Good night.
30.1mpg, yuck. What's normal for you? You'll need to see the dealer or go to an Autozone or some place like that that has an OBDII code reader. They can usually clear the codes too and will often do it for free--which your dealer probably won't
ooops ! It looks like your cheapness is gonna really COST you this time ! ..dude,, you screwed up bad !
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 10 2006, 12:28 PM) [snapback]283991[/snapback]</div> I believe that aviation gasoline is essentially plain old unleaded gasoline. Also, if you are in a rural area you can probably get unleaded regular prety easily.
