2004 has to run on Leaded Gas

O2 sensor will also get clogged up. That and the cat are the reasons not to run leaded gas in a fuel injected car.

 

My suggestion is to visit the local Toyota dealer there. Ask them if there needs to be any mods done to let it run on leaded. The basic ICE is the same as any other. I think maybe the O2 sensors maybe affected by the lead,leading to the ECU not being able to do its job properly in making the correct adjustments to the mixture/timing,etc. I am sure there are others here that may have more info.

 

spark plugs will lead foul so your back to normal 10-12K change intervals. Also not sure if the iridium plugs might have to be changed to more conventional plugs to get away from fouling. I agree with Rick on the O2 sensor becoming coated and that will set the MIL and the computer will probably default to rich compounding the fouling problem. Remove the cat to prevent blockage and eventually total plugging.

 

The irony of a Prius running leaded gasoline is just killing me...

Nate

 

I didn't know much about Belize so had to google, here's an excerpt from:

http://www.belizefirst.com/current.html

“Belize Firstâ€

Roundup of News and Opinion about Belize and the Caribbean Coast
LATE NEWS OF BELIZE AND THE CARIBBEAN COAST

By Lan Sluder
BELIZE FIRST
UPDATED 27 FEBRUARY 2005

…

GAS PRICES NEAR US$4 A GALLON IN BELIZE The price of unleaded premium has reached nearly US$3.80 a gallon in Belize City and $3.94 in San Pedro. Leaded regular on the mainland is US$3.70, and diesel is around US$ 2.40 to $2.45.

…

(back to me talking)

So, I suppose that unleaded fuel can be purchased. Still, there may be other additives in the local fuel that would do Prius harm. I doubt that it would take more than one full tank of leaded fuel to damage the catalyst. Prius may be the car least likely to thrive under those circumstances.

In any case I would not take this sort of vehicle so far from Toyota maintenence. Better to work with the vehicles already common there.

I also read that butane powered vehicles are used because this is a common fuel in Belize. Have you considered those?

Not impossible to convert a Prius to operate on butane, would it be? Now that might be a large step forward, if there are many places without nice clean U/L in the pumps.

 

I would try to get an email address for the local Toyota Dealer there and ask them what you should do.

 

Well, I took a peek at:

http://www.toyota-caribbean.com/countrytop/belize

And saw no mention of Prius. That's a bad sign, isn't it?

If you really will be spending that long down there, I have to strongly suggest you sell your 2 Prius cars and get something fairly common down there. It's not like you're going to lose money on the Prius, right??

I know folks who have vacationed and/or lived in Central and South America, and they claim the "safest" bet is a small pickup or car with a diesel motor. Diesel fuel is usually easier to get and of higher quality than the gasolines down there.

The Hilux sold there has a 2.5 litre turbocharged diesel motor. You won't get anywhere near the fuel economy of the Prius, but it won't be a guzzler either. If you intend to explore down there, that would be a far safer and more practical bet than a hybrid car with North American and Western Europe exposure.

As far as converting the Prius to run on leaded gas, I'm not sure if Toyota has even bothered to do so. If the procedure is the same as the shop manual claims for my 2000 GMC Sierra pickup, you have to remove the O2 sensors and catalytic convertors. You then have to load the PCM with software to run in Open Loop or Speed Density mode, since you can't use the O2 sensors to fine-tune engine operation.

 

Wow. The RAV4 with the2.5 litre D-4D turbodiesel get's *good* economy:

http://www.toyota-caribbean.com/showroom/r....html?selcon=05

They claim 7.1 litres per 100km combined. That works out to 40 MPG Imperial gallon. In contrast, the Canadian Prius has a claimed city of 4.0 litres per 100km and a highway of 4.2 litres per 100km.

Given the terrain down there, it seems that the diesel RAV4 is a nice compromise. At least you wouldn't have servicing worries.

 

Also, in reading a retirement guide on Belize they charge a serious import duty if you are going to have the car there I think more than a year. I don't think cars are alowed in San Pedro?