Fuel/fluid treatment vs EGR breakdown and cleaning?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by berderder, Aug 25, 2020.

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  1. berderder

    berderder Junior Member

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    Hi all,

    My title might not make a lot of sense - I don’t know exactly how to describe it.

    So, my skill level and confidence aren’t so high yet (just started learning). I called around asking if anyone does EGR breakdown and cleaning on the Prius.

    There is only one “certified hybrid repair” shop in like a 100 miles radius. They said they offer a sort of treatment where I imagine they pour something into the fuel tank to move through and clean the system? Specifically they said this helps with the carbon deposits on the EGR components. They quoted me $275 (I don’t actually know what the full treatment entails).

    What do you think? I’d like to break down the components and clean them myself, but like I said, I’ve just barely gotten comfortable with the basics. Mine is a 2014 with about 123,000 miles on it. You can bet the EGR cleaning has never been done before, I’m the 2nd owner.
     
    #1 berderder, Aug 25, 2020
  2. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    I think you should not "fix" it if it isn't broken.

    A LOT of vehicles go over 200K miles and never touch some of the things that are "popular" for the tinkerers to screw with.

    But no, "snake oil" isn't a fix for much of anything.
    And a little carbon residue isn't the end of the world either.
     
    #2 sam spade 2, Aug 25, 2020
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    DIY is the way to go. Trying to get it done professionally will more'n likely be ineffective, frustrating AND expensive.
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Aug 25, 2020
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  4. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Your title is “junior member”. It makes total sense to me. Once you become a senior member, there’s no going back.
     
    #4 Grit, Aug 25, 2020
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  5. wheezyglider

    wheezyglider Active Member

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    I don't think I've seen a post here on PriusChat where a fuel or oil additive approach was shown to be helpful for cleaning EGR components. Once you get your mitts on a clogged EGR cooler you'll see how unlikely that is.

    If you want to gain some confidence in DIY, maybe try starting with just the intake manifold. It'll give you wrench time and you'll get an idea how clogged the EGR path of the intake manifold is. While you're at it might as well get the PCV valve if it hasn't been replaced recently. Yes the cooler is a bigger job, but in the end it's just one nut at a time, with the occasional setback thrown in to keep things interesting. Good luck!
     
    #5 wheezyglider, Aug 25, 2020
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  6. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    I’ve been telling others to start with the egr pipe :eek:
     
    #6 Grit, Aug 25, 2020
  7. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Where in Connecticut are you located :whistle:?

    @Bay Stater has done this work on the egr circuit before, and he might be local:).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #7 Raytheeagle, Aug 25, 2020
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  8. berderder

    berderder Junior Member

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    Oh nice! I mean Massachusetts isn’t terribly far away. I’m in Southwest CT (Bridgeport).

     
    #8 berderder, Aug 26, 2020
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