Has anyone looked into using E85 Ethanol on the Prius? Is the Prius compatible with E85? will the computer make the necessary adjustments? I know that E85 will give you roughly 25% less MPG, but it might be nice to fill up with E85 every once in a while to clean the "guts"
In order: yes, no, and no. Various parts are not compatible with E85. Buy fuel that includes injector cleaner ("detergent gasoline"), or just plain old E10, and you will have no trouble.
The car will run, for a while, on E85, but eventually start giving CELs and lots of warnings. You're not supposed to use E85 and the benefit doesn't come close to justifying the risk.
Here http://www.greenenergynetwork.com/media/studies/prius-e85.PDF there is a study where it has been tested. I think you can safely mix E85 and petrol at least 50/50 without any problems. /Aryan
e85 has a higher octane rating then normal gasoline, higher octane doesnt necessarily clean the "guts" e85 will cause more carbon deposits than standard 87 octane since the 1nz-fxe isnt designed for more than at least 90 octane, much less E85 that has 100-110 octane rating
You will find some "adventurous" Prius owners who run more than 10% ethyl alcohol fuel (E10 is 10%). DO NOT follow their lead, as they are surely "non-believers" and will not be long for this world. The book of the prophets (owners manual) says E10 max is -allowed-, not recommended. In other words, it says DO NOT run more than 10% ethyl alcohol fuel. You run the risk of damaging the fuel handling system, such as the fuel tank bladder, fuel lines, fuel pump, injectors, fuel rails, etc. This damage WILL NOT be "warranty". It remains to be seen if a new model Prius will tolerate E85. As this is a US/Canada and Brazil only fuel, it's doubtful we will see it in a "world market" Prius.
Toyota warranty is to be used up to E10. Some fuel line parts can be corroded by Ethanol and cause a fuel leak. In Japan, there were a lot of fire accidents, especially on Honda vehicles, using Ethanol in 2001. Anyway, Ethanol has less energy than gasoline, and you'll see worse mileage using E85. Ken@Japan
It seems like it's getting harder and harder to find regular old "E0" (no ethanol gas). My area is pretty much populated by Wawa and Sheetz, which both carry only E10. What major gas station chains still sell ethanol-free gas?
You pretty much have to go into the boonies to find it. Ethanol promotes cleaner burning and so improves air quality which is important in most metro areas. A 2% reduction in MPGs is a small price to pay.
I'm not necessarily concerned about the MPG loss, but it sounds like ethanol can do bad things to the fuel system components inside the car. I know that that's more of an issue with E85 than with E10, but the impact of E10 must be measurable.
E10 has been around for a long time and so Toyota knew that they had to build cars to accommodate it, the owner's manual says that E10 is fine, and as a practical matter there's no way to know that you're not getting any ethanol. Don't worry about it.
E10 is mandatory here for all gas pumps. The only exception is the pumps at the marinas, due to the problems ethanol caused to marine engines, which are allowed to sell gas without ethanol.
