300,000 on the clock...replace engine or junk the car?

Engine swap and complete main battery check out is needed. Get pricing on a used engine and look at reman main battery or a used main battery.

DBCassidy

 

And, based on other posts about 04/05's, you're going to need to replace something in the dash cluster to go beyond 299,999 miles. Odometer limited to 299,999 miles | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

Only if you care about the odometer. It won't keep the car from running.

 

Aye, but seeing as how it's used for business, someone is going to care about mileage .

 

Drive slower on the highway. Don't exceed 70mph. I have 214k on my 05. I've experimented with Lucas, and it wasn't worth $20 a bottle. My engine burns about half a quart every 5k, which is not bad at all. I still use Mobile 1 extended version every 10k. The engine would burn more if I drove 75mph. Keep it going to 500k...lol.

 

If it was mine I would run 20w 50 and let it roll. You are using a quart every two tanks. Not too bad. Add the quart while the pump is pumping fuel. No real time wasted. No need to buy synthetics either. Or do oil changes since it is changing itself. Since its a Toyota it might go another 300000 miles as is.

 

I went with 10w40 for summer driving, following a mechanic's suggestion. I have to add about a qt every 2000 miles but there are no leaks from the gaskets.

 

In a Prius??? A quart every other tank is a quart every thousand miles.
Well....maybe not that Prius.
And you're right.....
There's probably another 200-300K on that motor if you live in a place where there's no VET...

 

Where's that oil going? Into a child's lungs? Into your drinking water? Do the right thing and fix the car.

 

I'm interested in this question. My WAG is that most is combusted, while the remainder is caught by the catalytic converter. I'm not sure how it could be otherwise and not have an engine light come on, unless the oil is dripping on to the ground.

 

Yes, a qt/1000 miles isn't pleasing but it isn't high consumption as far as performance or emission go. Most car manufacturers won't fix a car under warranty unless it is considerable worse then a qt/1000 miles. I have heard Toyotas standard is 1 qt/600 miles but haven't seen that in writing from an official source.

 

I don't think that a quart every 900 miles qualifies as rolling Super Fund site, or an ad-hoc mosquito control vehicle. I've seen more than a few vehicles that burn a quart every oil change, and even this Prius's reduced fuel efficiency probably still earns it a place in the upper 50-percentile for pollution throughput.
It's pretty clear that the OP is interested in getting the problem addressed with the only question (for now) being whether the "change engine" or the "change owner" light will get illuminated.
I'm thinking that if the owner of "Smiling Bob's Auto Salvage Emporium" gets his fingers on an operable G1, he'll convert it into a "used car" in some state that is currently a dumping ground for vehicles that aren't up to scratch for VET inspections in states that have (and actually enforce) them.
Think about it.
43 mpg.
1 quart of oil (@ $3) every other tank.
Gasoline @ $4 per gallon.

There are people who would be alllllllll over this car like a hobo on a ham sandwich!
If you're a bunny-hugger?
Swap the motor.
If you're into the other kinda green????
Probably swap it out anyway....but it's not my car.
I have a CPO coin, if the OP needs a "binary decision generator."

 

Not worth it to get new engine ... what is 300K mile car worth ? $5K ? Chances are, as well as engine (let's say $2K), you will need new battery soon (`$1K used), Transmission at some point and shocks. I'd run 15W50 oil and/or high mileage oil, change PCV ), just in case that is part of the problem - and even if I have to add a quart every 1000 miles - I can run another 100K for $500 or so (in oil) ... or at least until the next major component breaks ....

How often were you changing oil before that ?

 

Let's say the car is worth $1 to anybody else -- who cares ?
Seems to me the calc should be cost to fix for miles gained. E.g., $5000 for another 200k miles is a heck of a deal.

 

I got one of those coins too. One of my most prized possessions.

 

If you bought a replacement car as good as yours, would it cost more than $3500?

 

I'd change the PCV valve and try running valvoline maxlife conventional (which is syn blend) on a 5k mile interval (and run for at least for a few oil change intervals). Obviously check the oil regularly and top off as necessary.

I wouldn't bother with Lucus or similar additives, they don't do anything but increase the viscosity. If you want more viscosity then you needn't spend money on dubious additives, just go up a grade.

I'd try as far as 10w40 on the oil, but I wouldn't bother with 20W50. If it's still consuming around 1qt/1000 with 10w40 then personally I'd just let it use it rather than going to 20W50.

 

^ Yeah.
Me too.
HOWEVER....(comma!) then we circle back to the VET and the goofy "poisoning the landscape" arguments.
1Q/900-miles oil consumption on an 05 with all highway miles, in a state (PA) that has and probably enforces a VET...
ME?
I'd club up to 10W40, and replace the plugs and other filters, and monitor for a change. Sooner or later the high oil consumption will force a repair, but in the meantime I'd try to save some coin and get the motor replacement down to the $2-2500 price range. Since the vehicle is mostly being used for highway duty, the traction battery is probably going to be OK, since it's duty cycle is a lot lighter than a city or short haul commuter beast.
If I lived in a state without a VET, I'd wait until the oil consumption redoubled before I started to worry about it. As stated by the OP...we've already vetted the car for leaks, and a possible CAT replacement will be well within the delta of the highway robbery price for a new motor quoted above, and a more reasonable self-swap or replacement by somebody who is trying not to make three boat payments on one repair job.
Who knows?
10w40 might leg the oil additions out to 1q/1500mi....

Setting aside $5k for judicious repairs for an 05 (in the condition described above) sounds like a good way to convert a 300,000 mile car into a 600,000 mile car, and the same $5k won't even cover the first few years of depreciation on a 2013.
JMHO.....

 

Yeah I don't discount those arguments, and as you say, in many states you're going to have to pass some kind of emission control tests anyway. But if he can get it to even just a little under 1qt/k you're only looking at 1 part oil per 100 parts gasoline. At that sort of ratio the oil will be fairly completely burnt and not really a pollution issue. You could just about guarantee that every diesel SUV out there would be putting out worse anyway.

 

I'd be careful about assuming there wouldn't be a whole lot of pollution since cats can get gummed up from excessive oil consumption and their effectiveness may be reduced. That said, the OBD system will pick it up, so an owner can know if it's an issue.