My wife has a 2010 Prius with 218000 miles do you think it’s worth replacing the egr valve, injector cleaning and spark plug replacement with so many miles just wondering if it has a lot more life in it?
TL ; DR Yes. Your car is clearly somewhere deep on the back nine, but you're not at the clubhouse yet. If you won't (or cannot) do this work yourself, get an estimate from the busiest, most reputable independent mechanic you can find. The people I use (rarely) have about a 2 week waiting period to get an appointment and they're only cheap compared to a dealership. 90-95 percent of the maintenance and repair I do on my cars is DIY - BUT...I have 4 cars. ---Longer answer..... Depends on what you mean by "a lot..." Below are some videos from our own @NutzAboutBolts that will give you an idea of what's involved which is a bit of labor, but only about $50-$250 worth of material(**) There could be (WILL be) significant labor charges if you're a Toyota dealership victim and even something we in the canoe club used to refer as 'gun-decking' which is a term originating in the Royal Navy that roughly means lying about having really done something - especially something critical......like.....checking the tie-downs on a wheeled IRON gun aboard a WOODEN ship on a rolling sea. The (**) is for the EGR valve, which you can buy for about $200. Most people, I'm told, can clean the whole EGR circuit (it's the PIPE that usually clogs up) for about the cost of a can of EZ-Off oven cleaner - so the your actual materials might only amount to some carb cleaner (for the intake) and 4 Denso plugs - or? About $60 A dealership will probably doink you for about $1500-2500 for these maintenance items and they will probably use the of "bottle in the tank" or maybe if you're lucky, the "spray and pray" method for injector cleaning, and if they replace the EGR valve they will (perhaps) only replace the valve like you asked them to..... and not clean the rest of the circuit - which would be the automotive equivalent of putting a new faucet on your sink when your sewer lines are almost completely clogged. They are pretty good at doing the spark plug change, and they will probably get the car put back together, using all of the hardware bits that they took off and get things mostly torqued down quasi correctly, and you will almost certainly get the correct, non-knockoff plugs. The delaership will probably also "find" several other maintenance items that "have" to be done some of which may or may not ...."have to" be done. REMEMBER. Dealership wrenches generally get paid by the JOB - not by the HOUR. They have nearly NO incentive to take their time and do the job correctly because they don't have to worry about repeat customers. If you buy the Denso plugs yourself be very careful where you get them. There's a lot of knockoffs on the market - yes, even (especially!) if you get them from Amazon. You might want to go with a reputable Toyota parts supplier with these. So... Your call.
Depends on if you are planning on keeping it or selling it. Why do you want to replace the egr valve? Is it not working? Spark plugs replacement is easy. While you have the wiper assembly off, remove the egr cooler and clean it. Remove the intake manifold and clean that too. After that there is less risk of a head gasket failure. You can get a bottle of injector cleaner to put in the gas tank. Or use Marvel Mystery Oil.
Thanks for all the information That gives me the confidence to do the job myself because we do plan on keeping it for a few more years we’ve had it for 8 years and really like the little car This is the first time I’ve had to do anything to it
since finance isn’t an issue and no signs car related issues such as oil consumption and hv battery deterioration then include egr cleanse, brake drain refill, atf drain refill and oil catch can on the list.
Keep in mind that you may need a new hybrid battery sometime. Could be next week or several years from now. So, I wouldn't put much money into it unless you are willing to take on that expense which could be anywhere form a few hundred for a temporary fix to a few thousand for a new Toyota battery. so, there is a risk with any vehicle with that many miles but if she loves it why not keep driving it. If you can do some of the maintenance mentioned above, that would reduce risk of problems. I recommend getting an OBDII Bluetooth enabled adapter that plugs into the diagnostic port under the dash. You can then run apps, such as Dr. Prius and Hybrid Assistant, on your smartphone that will give you info about health of your hybrid system. If you do develop problems, the apps will give info about many diagnostic codes that may show up. Hybrid battery diagnostic and repair tool for Toyota and Lexus Hybrid Assistant I still love my 2010 with about half as many miles as yours.
