Yep, many people report mild oil consumption at 100k miles+ (or there about). Always top it off well before it gets too low on the dipstick and it wont cause any problems. Just don't ever let it get low enough to trigger a warning due to loss of oil pressure or it will definitely reduce the engine's life.
My 2009 Prius Base Model began dropping oil level around 60K miles - down about one-eighth inch at 5K miles. Now at 111K miles, down about half a quart at change time. Will this become serious in the next 100K miles?
OP: It looks like you've just asked exactly the same question in the same forum. No need to start a new topic, it helps to keep all the replies together. burning oil | PriusChat
Hi Gaile. If you post more details about the nature of your problem, like how much oil you're consuming, what type of oil, any other problems it's causing etc, then people here might be able to offer some insight or to help you manage it. But simply repeating the same question isn't going to get you far.
I repeated it because I saw no replies. In the past, I have had quick and useful replies to my concerns. I am using 5/30 castrol and discovered the need only accidentally. Does this mean a valve job in the future as it did on cars in the "old days"? BTW--many thanks for your reply.
No problems Gaile. I think in this case there just wasn't enough information in your opening post to offer too much extra advice other than what was already given. Unfortunately that seems to be a very common story amongst people with oil consumption issues. Quite a few of us are reporting mild to moderate oil consumption after around 100k miles or more. I top mine off fairly regularly and my consumption has stayed very mild at only about half a quart every 5000 miles I assume you didn't check the oil regularly and eventually the oil light came on. Even with mild oil consumption you do need to check it and top off regularly or things can go from mild to wild pretty quickly. The thing to realize is that if you never check the oil between services then you may have run it low enough to get degraded oil and get poor lubrication many times before you finally got a steady oil light. It's hard to know how much damage was done and what condition the engine is in. The best indicator is probably the current oil consumption level. Usually when you run low on oil there is accelerated engine wear and an increase in oil consumption afterwards. The best thing to do is to log the amount of makeup oil you add over an oil change interval and estimate the consumption (how many quarts per 5000 miles for example).
I have had a few customers who have asked the same question. For over 50% of them, their Prius were showing minor leaks in the timing chain covers. Check that area to see if you notice any leaking. The leak is very minor that the average person wouldn't notice as it would only look like dark debris and not fresh oil, but at 3000+ miles that can lead to 1/2qt or greater. Clean off the area with some degreaser and water and observe the area over time. Hope that helps.
Hmmm.. I don't really get the question... Nope. It's just me. I do find it annoying when people ask questions without using google first... ( and funny when nobody answers them) On a side note whoever hacked me erased all my emails. that sucked
Thanks for the info--BTW-I did google this but this reply and uart's were both helpful. I have not taken very good cre of the engine but now is the time!
