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Agggh! My Prius burning oil, what to do now?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015.

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  1. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    I was going on a trip and checked the oil before I left, I was about 2 quarts low !!!
    It's only been 5,000 miles since my last tune up.

    Took it to the dealer today to have a clicking noise and also had them look for oil leaks, (Prius parks on a gravel drive)
    Service manager said it's probably burning oil. Said Toyota knows about it.

    I'd really like to do a compression test to determine if I have worn rings or bad oil valve seals. Latter would make me feel better.
    How do you crank a Prius engine to do a compression test.

    2011 Prius THREE
    97,000 miles
     
    #1 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 11, 2015
  2. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    #2 Former Member 68813, Dec 11, 2015
  3. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    I really didn't think it was that common of a problem...

    Better grab a beer and start reading I guess.
     
    #3 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
  4. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    That's a problem for a lot of people that don't check their oil regularly.
     
    #4 frodoz737, Dec 11, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2015
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  5. mrstop

    mrstop PWR Mode

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    My buddy with a 2012 and a little over a 100K has the same issue. He was doing changes every 10K miles and notice a huge jump in oil consumption around 90K IIRC.
     
    #5 mrstop, Dec 11, 2015
  6. working1

    working1 Active Member

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    2012 @ 116K with 99% highway miles. No issues with burning oil. Oil/filter change is every 7500 miles since new.
     
    #6 working1, Dec 11, 2015
  7. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    Let see, I got 17 service forms for oil changes from the day I bought it. So maybe an average of 6,000 mi between oil changes.

    The real embarrassing thing about this is that I just replaced an engine in my sons Mitsubishi because he never checked the oil. For two weeks while we worked together putting in another engine I was harping on always checking the oil every couple of weeks. Doing the proper maintenance, yada yada yada. Even my daughter know how to check and add oil on her car.

    Never though there would be a problem on a Toyota Prius. Now I have to tell my son... Aggh....
     
    #7 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2015
    PriusGuy32, Robert Holt and bisco like this.
  8. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    The problem is "not entirely" the oil change cycle as much as it is checking your level. You burned 2 qts of oil in 5,000 miles. It did not happen in one day or even the gravel would have been covered.
     
    #8 frodoz737, Dec 11, 2015
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Use Mini VCI to crank the engine at the appropriate speed.
     
    #9 Patrick Wong, Dec 11, 2015
  10. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    Good point
    As I think back on this, I relied to heavily on the dealer changing the oil.
    Normally I do all this myself and would of notice that I wasn't draining out enough oil and start checking the level regularly.

    I had assumed that someone would say "Hey, I only drained out a couple of quarts on your car" or "I checked the level before I starter and it was low"
     
    #10 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
  11. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    One of these of is there a software package I have to buy also...
    [​IMG]
     
    #11 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
  12. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Looks like no one cared enough about the engine to check the dipstick. The drained oil goes into a large container and the tech will not know how much used oil came out of the crankcase.
     
    #12 Patrick Wong, Dec 11, 2015
  13. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Notice the little disc in the photo which is the software.
     
    #13 Patrick Wong, Dec 11, 2015
  14. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    Great!
    Thanks.
     
    #14 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe they didn't fill it at the last change. you might not be burning oil at all.

    i would fill and monitor weekly or at certain miles. all the best!(y)
     
    #15 bisco, Dec 11, 2015
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  16. JStrenk

    JStrenk Active Member

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    That's interesting. Last time I had the oil changed, they didn't turn off the "Oil Maintenance Required" I thought that was unusual.
    I should of checked then....
     
    #16 JStrenk, Dec 11, 2015
  17. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Candidate for a GEN IV?
     
    #17 frodoz737, Dec 11, 2015
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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    does it have electronic oil monitoring?:p
     
    #18 bisco, Dec 11, 2015
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    They were too busy, ticking the boxes on the 127 point check form. :D
     
    #19 Mendel Leisk, Dec 11, 2015
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  20. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    I think the oil burning is a little more common than realized. My 2005 started burning oil around 145k miles. Uses maybe a qt every 1500 miles now. I think the constant on and off of a hybrid does it. Makes sense. the fact that it takes over 100k miles is impressive. I still expect my 2005 to go over 300k miles. That car has been a model of reliability.
     
    #20 roamerr, Dec 11, 2015
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