Why does Gen 3 have EGR?

Short answer: emissions

Toyota used an alternative method on their Valvematic engines in which they used valve overlap to create internal EGR. You need variable valve timing on both camshafts to achieve this though. I don't know the exact reason Toyota didn't employ this in the current hybrid models but I suspect that it has something to do with the Atkinson-like cycle the engine is operating in.

 

+ efficiency

 

Toyota seems to have got the message, did major revisions to EGR in fourth gen. Everything seems to have double the cross-sectional area. OTOH, access if it needs cleaning access appears to have gotten tougher, requiring unbolting and shifting of the inverter.

 

Was hoping this post would be a short joke like “why did the chicken cross the road?”

Be back, refill glass of wine.

 

I’m not looking forward to the inspection and cleanse of the Primes egr circuit.

But I’ll persevere .

I’m getting about 65% EV miles now, so even at 100k miles, the engine will have a small faction of mileage compared to our 2010.

I’m hoping for uneventful when the inspection happens.

 

Check the pipe first.

Do you have an oil catch can installed?

 

On the Gen4/Prime that isn’t as easy .

As for the catch can, I’ve had good intentions of doing such, but life has gotten in the way a bit. And the access / ability to do so is more challenging than on the Gen3 .

I have taken the air box off and investigated though.

At 153 mpg, the engine in our Prime is running 1/3 of what our 2010’s was at 50 mpg .

But it’ll be soon on the install.

 

Use gen 3 parts to relocate 12V to the trunk? You'd have lots of room.


Pixel XL ?

 

If there were only room in the back to do so.

I don’t even have enough room to store other things.

The thing that bothers me the most is the inability to Jack the car up with the central jack point.

My 3 ton floor jack ain’t got enough reach for that.

 

If you make the drive I'll let you borrow this:

 

I have a similar Harbor Freight jack.

The reach to the center cross member is 47-48 inches .

So even though I can put the lift cup on it, there’s no room to move the handle up and down.

So from the side anymore it is.

 

Wow, I checked the 3rd gen reach: 16~17". The Toyota engineers are getting increasingly out-of-touch. A couple of ideas:

1. Is the jack handle two-part? They tend to have "slop": maybe a sheet metal sleeve in the joint, to tighten it up? Also at the point where the handle connects to the hydraulic cylinder, any way to reduce slop there??

2. Roll the front wheels onto 2x10's, or even a couple of them, a 2-step ramp, to gain a little vertical clearance for the handle to travel.

 

I'm new to this car (2012 Prius v), but I've got that yellow HF Daytona DJ3000 jack.

I did oil and ATF changes, and general inspection recently. It worked just fine jacking at the frame support about a foot behind the front bumper and a few inches to the driver's side. No problems at all with that. I know the manual specifies the engine crossmember as the front central jacking point, which is much deeper into the car, but this point appeared to be, and proved to be plenty strong enough. As a jack pad, I used a home-made hockey puck with a bolt through the center (I've made many customized interfaces like this for my other cars, most of which weigh a lot more than the Prius), with that bolt going through one of the ~1" diameter holes in that frame beam.

UPDATE - wouldn't ya know... I found this in the 2010 service manual, and that jack point I used is actually the one specified there. Not sure where I saw the engine crossmember specified - maybe the owner's manual.

 

That is the engine cross member.

BTW, I wouldn't use the proscribed "safety stand" locations, they're very flimsy and skittish. For both front and rear, if you look inward a little, you'll likely find beefy points, much more stable and solid. FWIW, here's what I use on regular 3rd gen, might be similar for the v:

 

I know "engine crossmember" are just words and can maybe be defined differently, but the thing I jacked from, and shown in that graphic above is not even really under the engine. I would definitely not call it an engine crossmember.

I did, from a quick google search, find the graphic I had previously seen, which shows the GEN 2 jack point, which is what I would call under the engine, and that thing might be called an engine crossmember on most cars, or a cradle, or maybe a front suspension crossmember.

But regardless of words, that point is slightly aft of the front wheels, so it's very different from the Gen3.

Here's that pic claiming to be for Gen2 as found on priuschat by google, not sure of the original source or correctness:


When I got down there under my Gen3, needing to jack, I was expecting to find something like this ^^^ (now known to be for Gen2, probably). On the Gen3, that front jack point is covered with plastic (what I would call the engine under cover) (*). Luckily I was correct in estimating that the jack point a foot behind the front bumper would be strong enough to jack from, and proceeded that way. Then earlier today to my great surprise, I found that it is more than OK. It's correct, for Gen3.

So with the Gen3, there is no reach issue at all. If anything, those Toyota engineers are on the ball.

(*) And BTW, THAT would be a design issue. LOL. The jack point is covered, so you need to remove it prior to jacking, and to remove it you need the car in the air, so ...

 

Yeah, @Raytheeagle is saying his prime's front/central jacking point is 47~48 inches beyond the front bumper. That is just nuts.

Lessee (I just happen to be in the Prime Manual):


The front point looks to be completely beyond the engine underpanel; that is a stretch...

 

It is a stretch for sure.

I think they’re trying to engineer the car to the point you have to put it on a lift to access the underside.

Don’t forget the front is also over an inch lower too, so ramps are more challenging to use.

But somehow we persevere .

 

LOL yes. The graphics literally show you how to jack the car once it is already levitating. I mean, who needs a jack if you've got powers of levitation?!?!? And even then, you'd still need an endoscope for alignment so you can hit that front jack point without crunching surrounding plastic.

So is "prime" a subset of Gen4, and is that pic for all of Gen4? Might be helpful for others who find this thread one day. Thinking about how I was confused myself when I found that Gen2 graphic and foolishly assumed it's what I'd find on my Gen3.

Thinking about it ... if I ever had a Gen4 like that, I'd take a look after removing the engine under cover. If it has a similar looking structure like on the Gen3, I'd call that the jack point and cut my own little door in the plastic for easy access.

 

While I’ve never lifted a “Gen4” I have lifted a Prime:

What did you do to your Prime today?

Pretty sure the setup is the same.

Leaves something to be desired.