Drove with low oil.. Need your advice

There's a big difference between the car "burning oil" and being driven WITHOUT oil or very low on oil, which is what the OP was concerned about. The OP was wondering whether he should get rid of the car, having possibly done internal damage to the engine after driving it for two months with only one quart of oil.

There's nothing wrong with a car that burns oil. Consumer Reports did a story about certain car models that excessively burned oil -- specific BMW, Audi, and Subaru engines were the worst offenders. CR gathered a half million surveys from customers. While CR considered burning oil unacceptable, the bottom line (quoting from the article): "Consumer Reports data does not show a direct connection between increased oil consumption and other engine problems." SOURCE: Excessive Oil Consumption Isn't Normal - Consumer Reports

But if I knew or suspected that my car had internal engine DAMAGE that was not visible from the outside, I wouldn't sell it to another person without telling them, regardless whether they asked. You know, golden rule.

 

I am one of 30 million or so Californian's. Everyone in the state speeds. Most of us are still alive.

Semis and passenger vehicles pulling trailers are limited to 55 mph. The only place where the combination vehicles obey that limit is climbing mountain passes and in congested areas like LA.

Speed does not kill -- I have had the 2016 Two up to over 100 mph and am still alive. However the other items in your list do contribute to collisions and accidents, hence some loss of life due to poor driving habits/skills.

The biggest problem with automotive safety is driving while intoxicated (alcohol, drugs, wildwood weed), which is a HUGE issue. Over 35% of fatalities are due to intoxicated drivers. I have heard that over 50% of ALL motor vehicle accident involved intoxication.

 

Another case of "If it hasn't happened to ME then it can't be a problem."

Speed DOES KILL. If you run into a tree at 5 MPH, you likely won't die. If you do that at 80, odds are that you WILL.

Then there is reaction time. Do you know how FAR a vehicle travels each second when doing 100 MPH ??
It's about 147 feet.....per SECOND; about half a football field.

 

Sometimes it's easier to agree with those who say that speed does not kill. Most often it's the sudden stop!!

 

I'm happy to report that hasn't been my experience ... yet, anyway.

I parted ways with my 2001 around 232,500 and I wasn't seeing oil use anything like that.

I am now in a 2010 and I keep reading all the reports of 2010 oil consumption, so I am furiously knocking wood as I type this, but it's a bit north of 120,000 now and still pretty steady between changes. I've probably just jinxed it by writing this. I do pull the dipstick every fillup, so if it changes, I'll notice before Bad Things happen.

Interestingly, with the 2001, I did go through a period of high oil use. It was after a year of family hospitalizations and chaos where I let an oil change interval stretch to something like 15k if I remember right, and it did lose oil faster for a few changes after that, but it surprised me by getting better! My best attempt at explaining that is that the oil rings may have gotten gunked up during the one long OCI, but over the next few changes the detergents in the fresh oil helped partly reverse that. Anyway, by the time I parted with it at 232,500, it was back to being down well under a quart between changes. (It had just begun to show some compression loss past the pistons on my most recent leakdown test, by that point, so nobody could call it a like-new engine.)

-Chap

 

Well, you've all missed my unexpressed point. If the OP didn't check the oil for three months, then another car would be pointless. They would destroy it too. They now know the Prius can run without oil, so keep it.

 

Sam,
Have you ever driven in Nashville? Or Atlanta?
Almost everyone does all of the above, while speeding 10-20 MPH most of the time.

 

Xavierking,
What brought the oil leak to your attention? Did the shop tell you about it, or did you discover it? If you didn't hear or see anything unusual I think you are probably safe, but I'd pay close attention for a while. Listen for excessive engine noise and watch the level. Good luck.

 

I think I'm just approach this from a different viewpoint.
It's a 6 model year old Prius. And by the OP's admission he does at least occasionally drive it hard.

I think it's impossible to determine whether or how much damage may or may not of been done.

What I'm going to say, is that if trading it in, or selling it would create a financial hardship, then keep it. And start monitoring closely your oil level and usage. But hope for the best.

If trading it in/selling it? Is possible, and wouldn't be creating a huge financial burden? Then I'm going to say go ahead if you wish. You would be separating yourself from the "future" risk that indeed damage was done.

Another aspect I would ask about and consider strongly, is would you be trading it in on a "New" vehicle or another "Used".
Because obviously if it is on another used vehicle, you are simply moving away from the risk and damage you are aware of...to potential risk and damage you may be ignorant.
If you trade it in, somebody is going to be buying your used Prius, probably unaware of this incident.
If you buy another used Prius or any other used vehicle...you similarly can't really be aware of it's entire history.
If those are the parameters, I'd stick with the vehicle you know...with the potential damage you are aware of...

But if you want and CAN afford it? People have traded in and switched vehicles for reasons far less tangible than this one.

 

Well stated. I'm already wanting to trade mine in on a PiP.

 

There are only two ways to get an idea of how much your engine is wearing: either tear the engine down and measure the bearings or get an oil analysis. An oil analysis should tell you how bad the wear accelerated.

VS985 4G ?

 

A lot as a matter of fact.
And around Chicago.......which makes Nashville and Hotlanta look like pedal cars.

None of that makes it right or safe.

I've seem more than my share of REALLY nasty wrecks too, where the amount of damage clearly indicated that excess speed was a factor.

Have YOU ever asked anybody in law enforcement about the relationship between speed and fatalities in car wrecks ??

 

Had an urge to post this.

 

in a CARB state - you'd still be under warranty and you could go after the dealer for his piss-poor poor work. If you're not in a carb State you might still want to go after whoever the Shlomo mechanic was that did the same type of Shawty job.
.

 

They don't have oil level sensors.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Have you changed your oil since you found out the oil was low?

 

If never gone out of my way to ask ANYONE about the relationship between speed and fatalities. It's really quite simple to understand, I don't need it explained. As a volunteer on a rescue squad I've seem plenty of the results as well, but nothing I say is going to change how people drive. At least that's my opinion.

 

using the rolling eys icon, eh? well how 'bout it being legal in anyone of over a ½ dozen states?

someone needs to get out more often.

and of course some countries have what's tantamount to an open speed limit (Montana's used to be called whatever's "reasonable/prudent") - Germany's Autobahn comes to mind.
.

 

I realized that after the post.
But 6 out of 50 works out to about 12 %.
Not a big factor overall.
AND......the traffic in most areas of those states really isn't that heavy, making the likelihood of a crash much less.

Thanks for providing the facts.

 

What ever happened to 55?