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Engine behaving strangely and popping hoses off intake manifold

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by anonymous, Jan 13, 2019.

  1. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Welp, when the purge valve is open, that's not just fresh air being brought in; it's being brought through the vapor canister, purging it of the collected fuel vapors. So what's filling the hose and manifold is a nice mix of air and fuel vapor, so any hint of backfire might be enough to make that do what it'll do.
     
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  2. protrex

    protrex New Member

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    So it's been one week since my last post and one tank of gas. I let the tank get down to one bar (on a very hot few days) before refueling to see if the issue would reoccur... it did not. It has been perfect, so I think this may be fixed. I am driving the car to Phoenix from Southern Indiana in June, so that will be the ultimate test.

    I think this saga might be over. I'll keep putting miles on the car and update if I hit any snags.
     
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  3. iskoos

    iskoos Active Member

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    Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this thread.

    Especially to OP for documenting everything with every details and lots of pictures without quitting...(y)

    I started observing an RPM surge just past week. It only happened two times so far but I am on it.
    This could just be my problem as well.

    Anonymous & Protrex, did you guys experience this ever again after replacing the purge valve?
     
  4. anonymous

    anonymous Member

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    Nope :)

    While this thread is bumped I'd like to touch up on a couple things. I think the hoses coming off must've been caused by fuel vapors exploding, although still not sure how it ignited (only once per those two occasions; both during acceleration iirc). And I think the cause of the purge valve sticking might be due to a lack of lubrication rather than gunk build-up (because iirc mine was all dry when i cracked it open); maybe they come with some lubrication in them that dries out over time. :shrug:
     
    #44 anonymous, Oct 23, 2019
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2019
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  5. themzlab

    themzlab Junior Member

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    I started having this issue a month back and replaced the purge valve (and also cleaned EGR cooler and system). The problem has not come back so I think it is solved. I spent under $100 in parts and then a little bit on chemicals. Dealer quote over the phone was $1200 to do this with the related tech bulletin. : O
     
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  6. iskoos

    iskoos Active Member

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    I didn't have any popping hoses. Just the surge twice so far. That's it. And I don't think everyone with this issue experienced hoses coming off...
     
  7. iskoos

    iskoos Active Member

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    themzlab, could you say how often the issue was presenting itself? Was it happening every time you drive? / Any specific conditions you may recall?

    Thanks
     
  8. anonymous

    anonymous Member

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    I was just talking about my hoses... There were a few instances prior (several months apart); first time I noticed engine revving high when slowing down, that was in July 2016; it went away before causing any check engine light but 7 months later (Feb 2017) it happened more severely with the check engine light, P0455 and P0441 so we thought it was a leaking gas cap as auto zone suggested when they read the codes; valve unstuck roughly around that time... Then a couple months later (Apr 2017) issue returned but with three codes (P0171 P0441 P0455) and stayed longer; so I dug deeper, did an EVAP leak test, thought gas cap was leaking (which was actually just the EVAP fresh air inlet which is right around the filler neck, which is normally open to the point that i tested from) so replaced it; valve also unstuck by then so thought I fixed that issue... Well then it returned, 9 months later (Jan 2019, this thread), causing the vacuum leak and also blew the PCV hose at some point... (wonder why it never ignited the gas fumes during the last instances, maybe has something to do with the engine aging, maybe it started backfiring occasionally)... went away for a couple weeks and returned with another blown hose. So it was at that point that I really dug deep into the issue and found the actual fault that was causing all those previous instances; I had no idea it was the purge valve on those previous occasions but after discovering it, I am sure it was just that valve all along, nothing to do with the gas cap or whatever.

    [TLDR] What this means for you is that, if you encounter the issue where the engine randomly started behaving strangely, then eventually went away, then it's probably the EVAP purge valve beginning to be prone to binding, and the issue will return a while later, and go away again, and return a shorter while later (staying stuck for longer), etc... until maybe you'll encounter an explosion of fuel vapor from the EVAP system that wasn't supposed to be purged.

    I wonder if a squirt of some sort of oil into the valve would remedy the issue and prevent it binding again. Might be worth a try.

    O btw I think I should've concluded those old threads I made in case anyone finds them while searching, now that I know what the issue really was.
     
  9. themzlab

    themzlab Junior Member

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    No, it was not happening every time I drove, it is my commuter and I have a 35 mile drive each way. It may have been once or twice each week so it only happened a few times before I decided to park the car and fix it (the final straw being the hose popping off). I never noticed it or it never happened on the freeway, but happened after I got off the freeway on the slow part of the drive. The first time was in the morning on a foggy day during the first 10 minutes of the drive and at the time I thought it may have been related to the cold and high humidity, but in hindsight that was probably just coincidence and nothing more. Mine is still OK.
     
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  10. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    @anonymous since you're the only known member to disassemble the valve.

    Did you notice significant stiction in the assembly that would warrant using a solvent or cleaner before lubricating?

    If one were to try lubricating an assembled valve, would it be best to apply lube to both orifices, or only to the white or black ports?

    Also noticed in one of your above posted pics that the curved baffle/filter(?) may have some type of carbon build up?

    [​IMG]

    Thank you!
     
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  11. anonymous

    anonymous Member

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    No, the internals were completely dry and the slug seemed to slide easily, but I guess sometimes it gets lodged in there somehow when there's no lubricant.

    If it's installed in the vehicle then the input side (dark port) is your only option. But if you have the valve out and have a 12v power source to hold the valve open, I think it's better to drip oil down the output (light) port with it facing up so the oil drips directly on the slug. Then you can actuate it repeatedly to get the oil around it.

    Lol no, that screen is blown through! You can see it better in this image:

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. gecko

    gecko New Member

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    Had this issue on our 2015 Prius V, revving up & down (up to 3000 rpm, back to ~500) while coasting, then sometimes revving up high while at a stop, and not shutting down the engine when it should even with a full battery. It would come and go, and sporadically throw the P0171, P0441, P0455 codes sometimes together or sometimes a subset. Took the car to the local dealership that charged a couple hundred dollars to do a "diagnostic" which when pressed about the details ended up being plugging the car into a computer for an hour then reading the result. The recommendation there was a charcoal filter replacement quoted at $1200 which I balked at. They had no explanation for why that would help with the symptoms I was seeing.

    I'm so happy I found this thread and wanted to thank anonymous for finding and thoroughly documenting it all!

    $85 for an EVAP purge valve and a bit of time pulling off the air filter assembly, swap in, and no problems since.

    Really eroded my trust in Toyota dealers to understand and fix the vehicles.
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Just to refresh my memory: evap purge valve is that little gizmo bolted to right side of intake manifold (as you stand at front of engine bay)? A hose runs from it to a spigot at around 6 o'clock on the round bit of intake manifold, that throttle body bolts to?
     
  14. anonymous

    anonymous Member

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    Yes

    [​IMG]
     
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  15. Paul E. Highway

    Paul E. Highway Active Member

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    2010 Prius, 167K, got PO441 code. New EGR cooler and OCC at 155K, did research and started with a new gas cap. This thread very helpful! Cleared the CEL but PO441 returned after about 3-4 hours, been doing so for one week now. Looking at the EVAP purge valve now (Toyota calls this "Valve Assy, Vacuum Switching"), looked around Hawaii and it's out of stock at all the dealers, Amayama site says 25860-37020 "no deliveries to America" but does show 25860-37040 which looks to fit in same place next to intake, below air box. I wonder if this is a new, improved part? The 25860-37040 does not show up in any American parts supplier sites. Any ideas about this part?
     
  16. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Any wrecking yards in Hawaii with Prius?
     
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  17. Paul E. Highway

    Paul E. Highway Active Member

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    I’ve checked in past and only found Gen 2. Will check again, good call, thanks!
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Auto wrecking yards in paradise is a little depressing, kinda like looking up Disneyland on Google Maps. :(
     
  19. Paul E. Highway

    Paul E. Highway Active Member

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    To close this one out, I ended up getting the purge valve from one of the discount (!) parts suppliers on the mainland. Got it Wednesday and installed it today, so far no CEL bit there is still a permanent code hanging.

    Got this from Amayama:

    You just received the message from Amayama Trading Co. Ltd.:
    Inquiry #11146177

    The correct part number for the VALVE ASSY, VACUUM SWITCHING is 25860-37020. There is no substitute part number listed so we cannot confirm if 25860-37040 is compatible with your vehicle.

    Cheers

    PEH
     
  20. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    You have to drive through at least three full start/warmup/stop cycles to be sure the code is gone. That’s how OBD works. But hopefully all is well and the last code will clear after a few more cycles.
     
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