5k Gen 3 Prime — Milky oil

You're one of those who thinks the mechanic shouldn't open the throttle in your car if he deems it appropriate aren't ya... probably think he's beating on it dontcha.... where do you get these belief systems from anyway?

 

I'd recommend you not include full EV with the, just stick with a regular hybrid or EV, statement.
My reasoning being, if you think the Prime is to complicated in a 4 season scenario, I'm pretty sure you might feel similarly in an EV as well, given that same 4 season scenario.

 

Honestly, all anyone really needs to do is make sure they run the engine for 15-20 minutes at temp once every week or two. It's not too hard to explain this to people. I think non-technical/non-car people like my wife who are environmentally minded, want an EV but the practical/financial sweet spot just isn't there for them to go full EV.

She's going to do as much EV driving as possible. But even so, she understands that doing 30-40km, every week or two, on an open 20 minute drive down the highway is going to be good for the car's longevity. She wants to be EV, but she also wants the car to last us as long as possible. If this car can be another 20 year car, then our kids will both be in university by the time it gets close to retirement.

Mind you, I didn't realize when ordering the power the prime actually has under the hood, so maybe its not the best first car for our daughter 14 years from now ;D Even now she is always telling me to go faster. She's a speed demon and a daredevil already lol

 

Ah, I'm thinkin terrible twos, keep your fingers crossed that this too shall pass !

A lot of owner of the Gen 4 when it was new thought that it should behave just like any other EV. I also think that a lot more owners had milkshake oil and never realized it, especially the ones that would run EV until it ran out and the engine came on ice cold at 70 mph. I also think there'll be a lot of Gen 5 owners that will have it and never know.
Besides there are lots worse things that could happen to the car, some already known, others may take longer to show up.

 

this is derailing a bit now, but aside from milky oil - anything else to keep in mind in the "lots worse that can happen" category under owner control? Ignore, of course, the obvious ones like car accidents and ignoring fluid related maintenance schedules excluded.

On the terrible twos - no, the speed demon is simply within her. By 11 months she was walking and it took 2 to 3 weeks to go from wobbly walk to wobbly running. Once she learned her legs could move her quickly, she's only ever gotten faster and faster. She runs circle laps around anything that lets her run round laps and she also inherently understands that cutting corners makes for better lap times. Honestly, I am thinking about putting her into a go-kart as soon as she's old enough.

 

The battery is a big one. It really sucks when the traction pack gets weak or out of balance. DrPrius DrHybrid app is your friend.
It shouldn't happen for a long time with the Prime, but getting to know the warning signs and pitfalls of certain types of driving will pay in dividends.

 

The car has a larger oil capacity too at almost 5 qts, which adds a little to the cold oil issue.
I have had milkshake oil in cars, it would need one more oil/filter change imo. The water residue from first oil change is still there initially after the oil change. Maybe it has been burned away by the dealer test drive, but I am just liking one more oil change to get any water left in colder nooks and crannies. Maybe a couple more. An oil temp gauge should be standard. Ammeter too for the 12 volt.
Just to add regular gas guzzling behemoths get water in the oil too, even in Calif moderate climate with temps getting below 40 f. Cars like Mercedes where a 3.2 liter engine taking 8.5 quarts, the oil keeps the condensed water much longer. It isn’t just these hybrid cars, it’s short trips.

 

Most people with PHEV just don't realize a trip where the engine came on for only a little bit is a short trip in terms of engine use, no matter how long the trip was in total.

 

If you go 3 months without putting gas in the car, you probably need to run the engine for a short trip to boil off condensation more often ;D I think that's a sign.

 

To me it's about finding a balance that works for the owner. And that doesn't mean having to run the engine, if it's not needed. Also, if the engine is needed, than it's a good idea to use it enough and not necessarily just long enough for it to complete it's warm-up cycle and than shut off. HV mode can be tricky to figure out and easy to complain about if it doesn't behave like an owner expects it should.
The Prime does have a few odd behaviors, some more noticeable than others.

 

^ From post 7.

 

My 2009 is like this. Drives me nuts. I sometimes stop at the dealership to have them look at level. I was looking forward to a new improved dipstick when I get my 2024. Oh well…

 

The dealership?

 

Oops!

 

Yes…I even brought my own quart of oil the last time I had them check. The guy at the service counter checked and topped it off. : } It’s close to impossible to read unless the oil is dirty. I wouldn’t do this if they were charging me for it. Needless to say I profusely thank them!

 

Off-topic for this thread, but as long as we're here*:

Gas stations used to do that when you gassed up. Truth be told, I'm glad those days are gone.

It's not that hard; the main issue is the design of the dispstick tube, maybe coupled with the thinner oils in use, causes the dipstick to draw oil up the tube when first pulled out. If you immediately reinsert/withdraw the dipstick for a check the dispstick picks up that drawn-up oil in the tube, makes it hard to discern the actual oil level down in the pan.

Workaround:

1. Wait 5 minutes before reinserting the dipstick. This'll give the drawn-up oil some time to drain back down.

2. Check both sides of the dipstick when trying to read it. At least with our gen 3, the side towards front of car tends to be clearer.

3. Hold the dipstick level, in "glancing" light, makes it easier to discern what's oil and what's metal.

Also: always do the oil check with the car on relatively level ground.

* Philosophical aside: "as long as we're here" is a cool expression. One instance that comes to mind:

I came into my work office one Monday morning, and the vice head of my department spotted me, said "what are you doing here?", reflected a moment, then: "I must have forgot; I was supposed to lay you off last Friday", and then: "Oh well, as long as you're here, can you have a look at this, go see so-and-so....", and so on. That kept me busy there 4~5 more years. I think he genuinely forgot, but hey...

 

Howdy all. New to the forums with my new 2024 Prime XSE. Thought i would document this here for others to reference. Just did my first 1000 mi break in oil change and it came out milky and smelling like gasoline. White gum under the fill cap. Took the oil to the dealer and they thought it was within expectations for the first change. It is winter in Vermont and the commute to work is 6.5 mi. I run it mostly in HV mode to avoid the engine warm up issue when it is very cold out. I will monitor this closely and report back as time goes on. Planning for my next oil change at 5K.

 

My 2023 Prime with approx. 3300km also exhibits the milky oil issue. It's been cold this winter, hovering around 0 degrees celsius and lower for the last couple months. I'll bring it up at my first service appointment later this week but I fully expect as we move into the summer months the milky oil will go back to normal only for the milky oil to return next winter. I'll do what I can to manage it and reduce the symptom but like others have said, it seems to be par for the course plug in hybrid.

 

FYI, this is a common enough issue with Dynamic Force engines(A25A & M20A) that Toyota has a TSB about it. It's not really a problem unless it also throws a code. Even then, there's no real damage, Toyota will just do an oil and filter change.

Repeated short trips in extreme cold weather allows moisture in the blow-by gasses to condense and accumulate in the engine oil. If the temps stay low enough, the accumulated moisture can freeze into ice crystals and clog up parts of the oiling system on startup. That can temporarily drop oil pressure and throw a code.

The easiest way to fix it is to just to let the car warm up and then take it out for a spirited drive. Once the engine gets good and hot, the moisture will evaporate out of the oil/engine and the problem's solved.

 

Had the Prime in for its first service this morning @ approx. 3300km and asked them to make a note of the milky cap and dipstick while I asked for an oil change. The tech noted the milky oil and said it seemed excessive so they're doing a test over the next 500km and put tamper tape over the dipstick, oil filler, and coolant bottles. I think the tech is more concerned them because as mentioned I believe it's simply been the cold weather and the engine not consistently getting up to temp but hey if they want to run a test I'm fine with it.