Does 5k oil changes prevent...

Even with no oil consumption the EGR circuit carbons-up (I can attest to that), but I’d suspect the oil-barf from the PCV hastens the process.

 

If you want your Prius to last, it is a good rule of thumb, to change your engine oil every 5,000 miles. You have to understand every time your pistons rotate up and down a certain amount of raw gas by passes the piston rings and ends up in your oil pan. The more raw gas seeping into your oil pan cuts down on the oils viscosity which leads to a lower lubrication factor and more carbon build up upon the piston rings especially the oil compression rings which become prematurely clogged. Oil compression rings once clogged , loose their free movement there by increasing oil demand. Oil is cheep, but rebuilding your engine is not.

 

If you need justification, there ARE various extreme condition scenarios described by Toyota, for which they recommend the shorter interval. When in doubt?

 

mmmm??? If gas leaks past the piston rings, then it must clean them some too.....

 

The longer you drive your Prius over 5,000 + miles the more carbon build up in the oil. The more carbon build up in the oil leads to more carbon build up in your piston rings. Once your oil compression rings become clogged with carbon, they will loose their free movement and you will see an increase in oil consumption. Carbon build up is a problem for those who think they can drive 10,000 miles without doing harm to their engine.

 

It is the raw gas that seeps past your piston rings that cuts down on the viscosity of your engine oil. Keep in mind the longer you go past the 5,000 oil change the more carbon build up in your oil. I just did an engine over haul on my 2010 Prius which I had purchased at 120,000 miles and found the oil compression rings full of carbon and frozen in place. I ordered new pistons and rings.

 

If gas is seeping through, it would clean oil out.
Every engine has some blow by. Some have a lot more.
Heat and pressure is breaks down the oil.
I've rebuild engine also, 2 stoke ones also.

 

I have only used the Toyota 0W20 that is supplied by the dealer.

Another thing is that I always check the oil the morning of my oil change. What I have noticed over the years, that even after 4000-5000 miles, the oil is still quite clean. The oil is totally clear when new but after all those miles it only has a slight amber tint to it. If I went by the color alone I'd think that 10K miles would be a walk in the park for the oil in my engine.

I run the severe service intervals because my Prius is used mainly for short trips between two and five miles daily.

 

Clean when viewing the thin film on the dipstick? You might think differently if you poured a cup of the drained oil into a mason jar. That said it does tend to be a lot cleaner than a typical gasser: then the oil is black-as-coal even on the dipstick.

 

I like Mobil 1. Since about 140,000 miles, I switched from 0W-20 to 5W-30. The engine is specified to support this slightly higher viscosity, you just have a marginal loss of mileage, which is why Toyota specs the 0W20 in Prius. (The same engine was used in Corolla and other Toyota’s.)

The slightly heavier weight is intended to reduce seepage as this engine ages. So far, so good. No oil loss, no problems at 153,000.

 

Once a year or 10k mi, until all powertrain warranty is gone, then 1 yr or 20k mi per Mobil 1 Extended Performance. On first sign of oil consumption, Lucas Oil Stop Leak is going in per instructions. Ignoring Porsche purists I have it in our Panamera V8, known to burn oil, and it seems to have stopped the burning. Just like coolant loss, if you have oil loss it's going somewhere it shouldn't be. I'd rather spend extra fluid money than allow that or spend big $ for fluid loss.

I'm gonna be a rebel and not do the EGR cleaning. May change the EGR valve at any indicator....

moto g(7) power ?

 

Most cars crank there engine slowly until the fuel/air mixture ignites and then the pistons push on the bearings to get it going regardless of oil flow or pressure.

Not so with the Prius. MG1 spins the crankshaft at about 1,000 rpm. Once oil pressure is established, the fuel and the valves start doing their thing. This way there is very little load on the bearings until the lubrication is ready for it.

 

I am NOT saying you are wrong, I'm just wondering where you got the info about the Prius engine?
It would seem to be the smart thing to do.

 

I’m gonna put a hard “no” on all that.
For starters, the longer warranties aren’t powertrain warranties, they’re drivetrain warranties, and a drivetrain warranty basically doesn’t cover anything breakable. It’s like warrantying the axles — you know, the things that survived the Oklahoma City truck bombing and allowed the FBI to identify the bombers.

Second, the name of the game here is longevity. If you’re going to run the car into a tree, it doesn’t matter but if your car lasts 250,000 or 300,000 miles, you’ve basically saved yourself the price of an entire new car, or maybe $20,000 to $30,000. That’s worth the extra effort.

Third, there is no question at this point that the 2010-2015 Prius is very susceptible to head gasket failure at the 150,000 - 200,000 range. We believe the cause is preventable. As they say on the Monroney sticker, your mileage may vary, just like you can eat bacon and smoke cigars daily and make it to 100… but it’s not as likely.