Prius engine has an easy life

I think they got mixed up with the Miller Cycle Engine which has a supercharger and like the Atkinson Cycle Engine leaves the inlet valves open for part of the compression stroke to make it a high expansion engine. It is also something that works well with a supercharger because there is at higher pressure in the inlet manifold so air isn't being pushed into the manifold by the piston so much.

 

"Prius engine has an easy life" is a general statement about engines and I meant to say because the Prius has a down sized engine (in order to accommodate the hybrid system) it has to work harder to keep up with a similar non hybrid car (that has a larger engine) when driving in a way where the hybrid system doesn't provide any extra power.

I have a Prius and like it but it's not the best car for engine longevity driving in the conditions I mentioned.

 

Hold it. The original poster is pointing out the Oil system in the ICE section, which is not active when the ICE is not running. This is because the ICE oil pump is driven by the Crankshaft like in conventional engine. And the lub is 5W-30 motor oil.

What you mentioned is true, but it belongs to the Oil system in the 'Transaxle' side (section w/PSD + MG1 & 2 + Differential). This oil system is not like in the ICE, and its lub is Toyota's ATF WS.

Traditionally, it is true that most engine (ICE) wear occurs when the engine is started, esp during COLD start. The idea is there's no oil pressure (no oil film layer protection exists between metal parts) when the pistons + valves/cams start moving and rubbing against each other more.

I believe Toyota has put this ICE freq start/stop running condition in the design. Thus the Prius engine is also limited by the computer to a lower than normal maximum spin rate. This reduces the peak stress on ICE components and Toyota can make the Prius engine's internal moving parts MUCH lighter, resulting in less friction loss and increase running efficiency at the same time.

 

At a bit over 16,000 km, my Mobil 1 0W-20 tested ok. Keep in mind the Prius operated in the EU - running ACEA motor oil - has a 12 month or 16,000 km interval

 

not sure if anyone mentioned that the "redline" is real low, 5000 rpm for 04 and up and 4500 for 01-03

 

John and Jane should car pool...

 

prius also has a special intake manifold, in comparison with the 1nz-fe

 

Basically... Because they're two completely different engine piston designs.

Well, not just the pistons, but thats the idea.

It's like asking to change a transistor into a vacume tube on the fly.

 

There are quite a few Prius taxi's being flogged on city streets in Vancouver, BC and Winnipeg MB. They are written off in accidents before the motor goes

 

See attached file from 2001 Toyota New Car Features manual. It contains a table highlighting these differences.

 

When I bought my Prius, the salesman told me that ALL Toyotas are going to 5,000-mile oil changes, not just Priuses.

 

Every new Toyota I've seen has the 5,000 mile interval, which is among the shortest in the industry. That's ironic from a company that purports to be so "green"

 

I believe this is due to the recent engine oil sludge litigation that was resolved in early 2007. Toyota Agrees to Sludge Settlement for Consumers

 

Patrick

Yes, of course. They got burned by a crap oil and a 7,500 mile interval. A good synthetic is no problem at 10,000 miles, at least not for me it isn't

jay

 

Not so much Green but "Quality". I told the Lexus people the same thing, for a quality product, you have to be able to show that your product does not need maintenance so regularly.
If you force the consumers to spend more money to keep your product in tip top condition so that you can claim reliability etc, then it is not a quality product per se.
MB has a 12 months or 13,000 miles oil change on their cars, why not a Lexus or Toyota? Looking at it another way, if you have to service a Lexus or Toyota at twice the interval of an MB, then aren't you half the quality of an MB?

 

Those are good points. Perhaps looking at it another way, the same Toyota model operated in the EU has an oil change interval twice as long as in North America: 12 months or 10,000 miles

That is still considered a "frequent" interval in the EU

So rather than require better oil standards, as they do in the EU thanks to the ACEA, to avoid getting burned by any more sludged motors they universally lowered the interval to every 6 months or 5,000 miles. Both my FJ and my Prius have the same interval