Any PNW 3rd gen owners here?

What are your driving patterns and how far is your commute?

 

did you read the egr threads before purchasing?

 

That’s ridiculous, reading about a car’s common issues Prior to purchase? Who even does their due diligence before buying a car?

 

Since history is unknown I would pull the egr pipe and see if there’s any significant build up. Hopefully you picked it up for no more than a few grand with those miles piled.

 

I have a 2011. I drove until last year. I had a 26+ mile commute. I never set heat above 70 degrees. I could maintain about 45-46 mpg. Lowest being 42 or 43 mpg. Overall I averaged 48.2 for 7 years. Also, mine is 5 that has 17 inch wheels. Now has 130k miles.

Now, my son has driven for a year. Has about a 4 or 5 mile commute. He hasn’t ever gotten higher than 42 or 43. Usually gets 40. He uses the heater a lot more than me.

so I think yours is performing normally.

 

iirc, some have clogged without an engine light. hopefully someone more knowledgable than me will chime in.

i wouldn't hesitate to clean it, but the fact that it has made 217k is a good sign.

 

The simplest way to see where you're at, is to check the degree of carbon build up in the EGR pipe, a stainless steel connecting pipe between the EGR valve and intake manifold. Watch @NutzAboutBolts video #16 here:

Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

Two or three other videos linked there too, for the full cleaning of the intake manifold, full EGR clean, and Oil Catch Can install.

Good thread:

EGR & Intake Manifold Clean Results | PriusChat

Another:

Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock! | PriusChat

Some tools worth having:

E8 Torx socket (mandatory)
E6 Torx socket (optional, but good to have, to remove the throttle body studs from intake manifold)
3/8" ratchet wrench, regular and long handle, flex head, you can never have enough (or 1/2 plus reducer)
1/4" ratchet wrench, or 3/8" to 1/4" reducer
Ratchet extensions: you can never have enough
Long needle nose piers, straight and bent tip
Ratcheting 12mm box wrench (optional, but makes disconnection of the EGR cooler from exhaust easier)
Torque wrench (3/8" and 1/4" both good to have)
Floor jack and safety stands (or ramps): basically some method to raise front, if you need to take underpanel off, which you may need to, both for access and to recover dropped items.

 

what mendel said^^^^^

 

PDXer with a 2010.

I generally get 55mpg in summer, and 50 mpg in winter (ECU). That drops to 50/45 in heavy rain, which seems to be the biggest mpg hit for me.

The only time I *ever* get below 40 mpg is if I'm doing short trips < 5 miles, or maybe navigating very steep hills.

Things that come to mind:
-Trip: Are they over 10 miles? Reasonably flat ground?
-12 Volt Battery. We here lots of stories of getting new one on fixing mpg issues for some reason.
-EGR cleanse. At 200k it'll be pretty clogged up. Fixing this gave me a 5 - 10 % MPG improvement.

 

Even merging onto the highways and getting up to speed from a full stop? You still get above 40mpg

 

Yeah, the 10 miles of driving after more than cancels out the gas spent to merge onto the highway, unless maybe I'm merging uphill.

 

Spark plugs? If someone changed them at 90 instead of 120k, you're long overdue.

 

Those may be the original plugs, pretty grungy.

Clean intake manifold too. Pay special attention to the EGR channels. Take off the MAP sensor (just below and to right of throttle body, and spray with MAF sensor cleaner. The manifold itself maybe brake cleaner, and some sort of pipe cleaner brushes down the EGR channels. (I just used a stainless steel straw cleaner brush for this, works well.)

Also clean the intake ports. Don't spray in the latter, just use a rag soaked with brake or carb cleaner. Be careful to not push crud onto the injector tips.

You can remove and clean the PCV valve with carb cleaner. Or replacement might be good, with your miles. New ones come pre-coated with a thread lock. If reusing, I would recommend to clean threads thoroughly with brake clean (both male and female side). Don't spray brake cleaner into the hole, apply to a brush or cloth. Then put a bead of something like Permatex ThreadLocker 243 (medium strength, and designed to work even if there's slight oil residue).

Again, note when removing throttle body, you can leave it's coolant lines attached.

Attached is some repair manual info regarding intake manifold, throttle body, EGR, PCV.

 

I'm not a PACNW, just a comment on what has been said. The electrical system will be constantly trying to charge an old, depleted 12V battery. You'll get a couple months of lowered MPG, followed by the inevitable dead battery one cold morning.