Fixed - Prius EGR valve repair SHORTCUT 

fun fun fun.. things to do while the wiper assembly is off would be to change the plugs cause you need to remove that assembly to get to the plugs as well.

The EGR valve can be removed without having to remove the wiper assy and tray. Once removed the EGR cooler is often plugged and can be cleaned by putting a 12 inch piece of coat hanger in a drill and drill out each of holes in the cooler and then cleaning with carburetor cleaner. It is best to remove the EGR cooler and have it ultrasonically cleaned at an engine shop. My EGR valve had to be replaced no matter what I did to clean or lube it. Bought a new one for 200.00 on ebay. I also removed the intake manifold and cleaned it. If you remove the EGR cooler you will have to use a device called an Airlift tool to remove all the air from the cooling system and add coolant using this device. If you don't get all the air out of the cooling system the engine will overheat. See You Tube for videos on how to do this.

I followed and had major FAILS. Without a oxy/acet torch to custom bend a wrench... its not gonna fit any wrench/crowfoot/ racheting wrench in that "super hard to reach" nut where Mr. Warren is pointing to. In the end, I removeD the entire EGR assembly. We used an extra reach 12 mm racheting wrench for the three Nuts in the back and took a long time to reach the 4th HIDDEN 12mm nut underneath the EGR cooler. Used a Torx E8 socket for the two Bolts in the back of EGR cooler. Good video John

For those saying no need to remove the top shield and wiper assembly, yes it is true to a certain extend. Sure you can still do the work but it will be much easier with the shield out of the way. After removing the shield many times, I find it less hassle to remove the shield than to deal with having limited space to work on the EGR. Not to mention chances of nut & bolts dropping into the engine bay is higher with such limited space.

Great video, thank you…what i did to make getting to that difficult bolt out was to carefully cut the tab on the back of the valve housing with an angle grinder, which made removing and installing much easier…could get a wrench in there easily

Yes, a shortcut, but better to remove the entire heat exchange radiator to get all the soot thoroughly cleared out, and clean the inlet manifold. How much do you value having the engine run at its optimum performance?

Great video. I won't be doing it, but I appreciate seeing what has to be done.

You can get to the nut without taking too much apart, and without removing windshield tray. No need to take apart EGR assembly. In this video, the egr cooler was completely filled with carbon buildup. Spraying brake clean just moves that carbon back down into the cooler where it will clog up the cooler more, or get loosened and flow into the intake. If your egr is this dirty and clogged I recommend going through the extra effort to remove the egr cooler from the vehicle and clean it.

Professionally explained. Thx for the tip.

tip!use easy off oven cleaner.good job the job is tough.

Just use a (rare earth magnet-driver) ..once lose, it will turn it and hold it from falling anywhere...

Wow, thank you so much you make it seem like I could actually do it. I’m gonna try.

2010, 135k miles - Just purchased it as I didn't see any signs of coolant loss/oil looked great/no oil consuption noted by previous owner. ..Should I take these steps of cleaning or replacing all the EGR pieces and intake manifold NOW as a precaution maintenance? Thanks

Complete pain in the ass to do just replaced mine but I would recommend taking the cooler off and cleaning it . As mine was soild with carbon with no flow at all which could of been the reason why it though the code I decided to replace the valve anyway . 220k on the car. I used a pressure washer to clean the cooler while it was off the car blasted the carbon straight out. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L-sRYCNIjFs.html

You showed jimmying the valve cooler away from the engine, but you didn't show how to remove the back bolt of the valve itself. Are there any trick to that? I could never get access to that bolt enough to get it started.

I've read it can be good to use a straight piece of copper wire to poke through the EGR cooler. That way you can get more cleaner spray though and remove more soot and carbon. I think you could also use an oven-cleaner product. If I'm not mistaken, the outlet from the cooler joins the exhaust well behind the cat. converter in which case there is no chance of damaging or blocking the cat. itself. I'm wondering if you tried to clean the old EGR valve at all? If it was only sticking because of gunk, you'd think it could be cleaned enough to live another day?

(Gal here) Oh man, this looks difficult. I must have missed the shortcut part of it because you just keep taking more stuff and more stuff and more stuff off. Are you going to remember where all that stuff goes again? I think the Toyota dealer wants to put on a whole new intake manifold.

You need to clean/replace the intake manifold as well because it's probably caked up with soot as well

I'd be interested to know what the mileage was when the fault showed up...?

You need to remove the radiator and clean it!! That is why the valve is getting clogged. Also you don't want to spray the brake clean and all the soot down into your exhaust. That will ruin your catalytic converter

what a long winded way of doing this job..if you have access to oxy/acet. bend a spanner to fit that hard to reach nut use a magnet on a stick..i did this whole job in 40 mins...never removed wipers/crap.at the back..

did you try unplugging it? that's what im gonna try first

Does this work with 4th Gen too? Also, couldn't I just lube the valve stem up with wd-40 every now and then like you said?

at minute 9:27 what type tool do I need to removed the 2 nuts. please help me. any body thank you

Very good info. great detail on a DIY job,congrats.

By the way, there's no need to take off the shield and wiper assembly for Lexus ct200h. Not sure if Prius need, but it looks same. There's enough room to take off two screws(with a spanner), and if you use a sandwich bag, you don't need to take it from the back, use your finger to loose it, and just let it fall into the bag. This significantly saves time, EGR valve can be replaced within 1 hour. This looks like a common problem, as my car is only 6 year 85K miles. It should work again if carefully cleaned but for peace of mind, replace a new value is better.

If the EGR failed, its due for a cleaning. Why take shortcuts on such good cars? Take the intake manifold and egr cooler out and clean everything out.

Is there any risk of damaging the valve by disassembling it that way?

Can I use carburetor cleaner instead of brake cleaner down the egr cooler ?

Don’t forget to check the EGR cooler as it to can become completely clogged with carbon could up causing the same problem

this is the shortcut? jesus

Don't listen to him.. a sticky egr valve is the carbon built up from the egr cooler. It must be taken off and cleaned.. and the little egr tube having that much sludge means the intake must be cleaned also.. if you don't do all 3 things your wasting your time and setting up for head gasket failure..

Great video

DO NOT CLEAN THE EGR COOLER ON THE VEHICLE LIKE THIS VIDEO SHOWS!!!

Thank you for your clear explanation.

what did you pay for that new EGR?

Shortcut.

Does this help with oil consumption?

Hello @John Caleb Warren Good video,how to contact you ?

Car makers hate DIYers. Every successful repair is money off thier books.These vehicles are designed to self destruct IMO

Like a hydronic electric valve.

you guys were 2 more steps away from getting the whole thing out and properly clean everything. 20 more minutes and this job would have been the correct way of doing it.

The only way to properly remedy this whole carbon and EGR nightmare. You need to remove and clean the entire intake manifold, throttle body, fuel injectors, egr and cooler off and to do a thorough cleaning. Replace the PCV valve or give it a good cleaning .

My Prius C (Yaris Hybrid) just reached 100 000 miles. I took the EGR pipe off and found it suprisingly clean. I reckon - as long as the valve is not actually stuck already - you could just take off the solenoid housing and spray EGR cleaner into the outlet of the valve while operating the valve with your finger. It's easy enough, you could do it as preventative maintenance, maybe once a year, and you might never need to remove the valve? BTW I also use a fuel additive with PEA (Archoil AR 6900-P Max) which may well also keep the EGR system cleaner for longer... My piston heads are completely clean and free of carbon!

I h8t working on the prius with its windsheld assembly but taking the valve isnt all that bad.

Yes, he only did a very partial clean. Most of the gunk went to the bottom of the cooler once he sprayed. Once the engine is running again, the gunk he pushed to the bottom of the EGR cooler will be sucked up again. Not much help for the life of the cooler. Only half the job in this video.

How did you get access to the nut? No room to get it loose.

never do this way. the screw head will strip. it is reaally hard and I could not take it off this way

Why not clean it? I've seen people clean that part.

Take out the EGR fins and power wash it with low pressure or spray it with a house. I've also heard one can soak it in parts cleaner. While you're in there install a $30 catch can to help prevent the intake holes from getting clogged.

Could you comment on how you removed the two screws holding the black cap on the EGR valve. You show near the beginning, screws off. I've had the EGR valve and cooler off, cleaned them and all, but did not disassemble the valve. Just acquired a (Vessel) JIS #2 impact screw driver, which has got to be the right tool for the job, but soaking with solvent, and using a heat gun, and wacking the impact screw driver with just a regular carpenter's hammer, it's no go. At least the JIS bit is not chewing up the screw head. Probably a small sledge hammer is what I need. The smart money is likely to just leave it be, but I'm a dog with a bone, lol.

No It’s not short cut You opened a lot of things for that It’s just 8 mints job to take out egr No need to open wiper cover etc or loos egr cooler Your westing time

its actually a motor and not a solenoid. thats the reason why you could spin it off. It winds the valve up or down to control egr flow

This is virtually impossible to do. I’m really pissed off at Toyota right now

I'll keep my gen2 Prius til. falls apart

3:20 😂 sounds about right 😂

I am having same issue plus losing coolant. did you have coolant loss also?

I conducted the same procedure, swapping out the EGR valve with a used but good-test replacement. But now I get this CEL OBD2 codes: P0123 (Throttle Position Sensor/Switch A Circuit High Input), P2135 (Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch). Im estimating the new EGR valve is a dud? Any thoughts?

i am having the exact issues shown here, thank you! we love a good shortcut

What year that Prius?

Thank you brother. I have checked your video and changed ERG on my ct200h. The screw is a tricky one but I think if you put a sandwich bag under, and it's very easy to get it. Installation is easier, and use the bag too in case it drops. The workshop manual indicates bleeding the radiator and take off the entire cooler but actually it's not needed. Well done!

well done But you lift EGR valve cooler full of carbons lol

so how long is a complete job take?

Thank you John, I guess I will sell my car at 100000 miles. so I don't have to deal with this pain in the @$$.