Warning when braking hard or going around sharp curve

It's doubtful that 2 seconds sucking air hurt anything.. it's not good but modern oils are pretty amazing in how they protect.

 

It is not necessarily the one-off 2 second air sucking event that is the problem (although to let it get to even one event is woeful), it is the fact that by the time the average non-mechanic car owner realises there is a problem, then gets over the procrastination (hoping it will miraculously self-heal) and finally does something about it, it has been many 2 second air sucking events and the permanent damage is done. To hope that you have good enough oil in the car in the first place to mitigate the negligence is also wishful thinking.

 

Good point.

 

These engines seem to be able to last a for a long time after they start burning oil. Most of my cars were oil burners before I bought them. Used engines are cheap and plentiful in the junk yards. This means that few are being sold because they rarely break down. The OP's engine could go another 100K as long as they start checking their oil now.

Brad

 

To that point, our '06 started using oil around 120k, took me by surprise because it was very, very good up until that point. It now has 215k and still going strong.

 

You have a rear wheel bearing that's starting to fail. The speed sensor is part of the bearing hub assembly and gets destroyed with the bearing.

You need a dealer or techstream to pull the codes. Alternatively you could drive it until the bearing starts to scream, but the first approach is better.

 

ah, the o/p, i remember now. still waiting for daylight, i suppose.

 

Did the dealer put in a new air filter cattail? I see on your work order it says "dirty." If not, ask your mechanic friend to throw one in there. You're good to go. And since your car is burning some oil, maybe ask your mechanic or dealer if a thicker oil would be better? Maybe a 5W-30 if you're not using it already. Hope you get 100,000 more miles!

 

Previously, I had two Toyotas that started using oil at around that mileage. One, I gave to some family members in need with the strong instructions to closely monitor the oil. A few months later during a visit by them to our home, I took it for an oil change and the dipstick was dry. That was ten years ago and although it isn't used much anymore it's still running!

 

maybe the last oil change place didn't fill it, and you're not burning much at all.

 

That is another reason to check oil yourself, including immediately after each oil change. That is how I once found the oil filler cap not replaced, and a spare wrench left atop my engine.

In retrospect, I should have kept the 'free' wrench. I did give that shop one more chance to do a job right, before putting them on my forever boycott list.

 

Having the oil changed at the dealer is a death sentence for a G2 Prius. And no they don't take good care of your car.
That's your responsibility. They could really care less. In fact they care so little they hire people that will change oil all day for peanuts and use the crappiest vat oil you could find. They don't make there $20 an hour techs change oil. Its foolish to think they give a crap about your car.

You just happen to own a Prius that has the toughest little motor ever made but will not tolerate running with no oil.
As Cattail said start saving up for a new motor.

 

That's a little harsh, Ed. EVERY dealer can't be that bad.

And where do you recommend people go for an oil change? Ladies, older folks, the handicapped? I'd trust the dealer before any other "lube" place. However, I'd like to find a good private small shop mechanic that knows the Prius.

(And I wish some of the "backyard mechanics" here, on PriusChat, would offer to do oil changes. I'd gladly pay them what I do the dealer... and I'd bring the oil & filter.)

 

I've bought 3 Toyota's from the same dealer. Have been getting service at that same dealer for 26 years?
Sometimes I bring my own oil, so I know exactly what's being poured in; and the exact correct amount to pour in. (I drain a little off the 5th bottle--so I have 4.4 qts.)

If I don't bring my own oil, occasionally they will overfill it with an even 5 qts, and I can see it is high on the dipstick. That makes me mad.

 

Our dealership (well, we bought there, and I've only brought it in for warranty items and recalls) had graduated pitchers of oil sitting on a table, carefully filled, waiting for pending oil changes. This is when we went to a new owners night. It was bulk Toyota oil, I'd assume.

I'm all over that: eliminates oil-contaminated bottles in the recycle stream, and stops the "rounding up" nonsense.

They're welling to sell me bulk oil for my DIY oil changes, reasonably priced too.