Not Your Typical EGR Problem, New Member

If the EGR valve is not running fine anymore, you can try to clean it and check if it can move freely again. If not, you need a replacement. carparts.com or ebay are good place to find one. Otherwise, $300 from Dealer. At 140 miles and it is clogged, the previous owner must do tons of short trips or city driving. Usually it is still fine at around 150 miles if it is driven in highway regulalry. At least 40% of the time and do not do short trips <10 miles.

 

Follow up on my previous EGR post. (warning, it's a little wordy)

Car started acting up again, so I took the cooler off again and hit it with the power washer. Put everything back together again took it for a spin...and all hell broke loose. Multiple lights came on, check hybrid warning, low power warning, barely managed to get it the block back home. So I thought "take it to Toyota, what could go wrong?" Towed the car to my local dealer and waited for the answer. They told me the cat-con was shot (cause they disconnected it and it ran a little better) and was a minuscule $2k to replace, and then they could check for other problems. I think not. Drove it home, breaking multiple noise ordinances, and I proceeded to remove the cat. Thought I would give cleaning it a shot, and order an aftermarket if that didn't work. When I put it back on, same problem. OBD was throwing EGR and MAF errors. Cleaned the MAF...down to just the EGR issues. So I went back to the EGR system, figured I F'd something up. Lo and behold, EGR valve was stuck partly open (not my fault after all). A little love with some silicon lube and a kiss from a hammer and voila! Welded the now "clean" Cat-con back in place and the car runs like the day I got it.

Total cost - without diagnosis fee - $8 for a can of MAF cleaner, that I may not have actually needed.

Synopsis: Don't just do whatever the dealership says, unless you have a lot of money!

 

Synopsis: Do a COMPLETE cleaning when you do the egr circuit!
You can blame the dealer for this. Though they should have figured out the egr valve was stuck open.

 

Had you previously disassembled it, taken the black cap off?

 

I hadn't opened the black cap in the past, only cleaned the system. I was worried I might mess up the valve motor. This time I wasn't concerned since it was already not working.

 

just wondering about the kind of tool your using to clear the codes? And are any of the parts re-manufactured? Just spitballing.

 

I would like to know how you make out.

 

What Are Permanent Diagnostic Trouble Codes in Your 2010-Current Toyota Prius? | Torque News

 

maybe remove the oil catch can and try it again,

 

Red, did your original problem ever get solved? I'm eager to hear any outcome.

I try to avoid disassembly and manual cleaning of any air/fuel path stuff. My favorite technique is to run the fuel down to where the "Low Fuel" chime goes off, then add the BIG bottle of Techron when I add 3 gallons of premium gas, immediately followed by a leisurely drive, making sure the engine gets lots of exercise up and down hills.

 

Unfortunately that won't help the EGR system. The fuel cleaner burns up before reaching it.