Gas Recirculation Valve (egr Valve) problems of the 2014 Toyota Prius

The cylinder head gasket blew because of the poor design of the intake manifold and the egr system. There are updated parts to fix this issue, but there was no recall. This poor design led to the vehicle having "the death knock. " it started doing this knock on my trip driving my daughter to college. The engine could have seized in traffic on the way to [xxx] from [xxx] . No warning lights came on telling me there was an issue. The vehicle is being taken apart now to see if my connecting rods were bent from the coolant entering the combustion chamber. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The air temperature was probably about 50 or 60 f. On a route I routinely drive , I accelerated up hill normally from 0mph to about 45 to 55 mph. I did not accelerate aggressively. Just after climbing the short hill, the engine suddenly loses all power. I had to pull over. I look under the engine to find five pieces of metal blown out of the bottom of the engine block above the oil pan and oil spilling out onto the ground. The car has about 98,000 miles on it and was maintenance regularly including on schedule oil changes, coolant change, state inspections. There were no check engine lights or electronic error codes to indicate anything was wrong with the vehicle which I would have been able to diagnose and possibly fix. The car had been maintenanced in August/September for winter by myself. On the last maintenance, oil was discovered inside the engine air manifold and throttle body that had to be cleaned out and (the egr was also moderately carbon clogged). I'm very dissatisfied with how Toyota handled my case. They called twice to ask when I wanted to schedule my next service appointment when they had the car sitting on their parking lot for three months. I also wrote them a detailed email similar to this report asking how Toyota could help and that I could not afford to buy another car. The engine failed and it can be inspected upon request. The vehicle had complete loss of power. The vehicle was towed to the nearest dealer. I have seen videos on youtube. Com that show other people replacing blown Prius engines and head gaskets. You would see chunks of metal missing from the engine block. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer police or insurance. I could have been hit by another car from behind especially if the hill were longer like on a mountain side or some other situation. Separate issue: mice enter the two rear ventilation openings to nest in the car. Mice chewed on of the oxygen sensor wires to cause an electrical fault.