1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Oil consumption

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by MABell, Mar 4, 2014.

  1. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2015
    932
    523
    0
    Location:
    Cow-lee-fornia
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius
    Model:
    LE
    Well almost all modern gas engines are designed to burn a small quantity of oil to lubricate the cylinder. Its only a problem when it becomes excessive.

    This is the reason diesel engines last so damn long.
     
  2. uart

    uart Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    4,215
    1,202
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Mine is currently at 250,000 km on the odo, and it's consuming on average about 1L per 8000 km (approx one quart per 5000 miles). Not too bad in my opinion.

    I've always checked the oil every few weeks, and always topped off as needed.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,164
    50,060
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    maybe troy heagy with a new account.
     
  4. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

    Joined:
    May 13, 2012
    2,170
    750
    0
    Location:
    Delaware
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    it looks like you haven't been checking your oil regularly like your supposed to do. then when it gets so low the light flashes to tell you your actually losing oil pressure because the pump pickup is sucking in air, you've damaged your engine which is gonna cause it to use even more oil. the solution from the gitgo is to check oil regularly and top off when needed, not wait until its so low you're losing oil pressure. by that time its already too late.
     
    uart and valde3 like this.
  5. Jeff Scott

    Jeff Scott New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2015
    7
    1
    0
    Location:
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
     
  6. Jeff Scott

    Jeff Scott New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2015
    7
    1
    0
    Location:
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I finally figured out the issue around 80,000 miles.

    Using 1 quart of oil every 800 miles deserves a Class Action

    We should not use 1/2 quart in 5,000 miles
    It should just get black and dirty like most car

    Lets put it this way:
    I add 5 quarts of oil by 4000 miles and so I am dry, That is insane not having any oil leaks.
     
  7. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2014
    2,002
    745
    0
    Location:
    Finland
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    But if you didn’t check your oil level regularly, which you probably didn’t since you didn’t know about the problem. It probably originally used very small amount of oil (expectable amount) but you didn’t check the oil level or top it up so oil got very low. Low oil level caused engine wear. Engine wear then caused more oil consumption.

    How can this be cause for Class Action? Only if oil level was newer allowed to get low would this be manufacturers fault.
     
    uart likes this.
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,164
    50,060
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    'class action' involves a 'class' of people who have been damaged.
     
  9. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

    Joined:
    May 13, 2012
    2,170
    750
    0
    Location:
    Delaware
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    actually, in today's world, a class action lawsuit means the lawyer scum make a small fortune and the class action victims get about $7 each...
     
    RogueMech and srellim234 like this.
  10. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

    Joined:
    May 13, 2012
    2,170
    750
    0
    Location:
    Delaware
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    I would try Pennzoil platinum 10w30 for a while and see if it un-gums the oil rings a bit. perhaps that would help the oil burning somewhat. hell, in phoenix you might go with 10w40. is it ever not hot there?
     
  11. RogueMech

    RogueMech New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2023
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    SE
    Have people given up on this thread? My daughter has a 2007, and it needs a quart, sometimes a bit more approximately
    every 600 miles. This is totally unacceptable.. has anyone spoke to Toyota (or attempted to at least) to see what the
    justification is around this being an acceptable parameter?
    My son has a 2008 prius, and it does not have this issue at all...
    WHAT THE %$@%$#@ TOYOTA?!?
     
  12. MattStone

    MattStone New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2023
    1
    2
    0
    Location:
    Northern Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Have you looked into doing a piston soak? My brother has an 07 that was burning probably half a quart a week. After I did a piston soak the oil level a week later had not dropped.
     
    Paladain55 and ColoradoCrow like this.
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,693
    39,237
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    What’s the miles on it?
     
  14. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2019
    980
    398
    1
    Location:
    Leawood, KS
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Yes to the PCV Valve. I ould clean your throttle body, intake manifold and the 2 hoses that connect to the throttle body. dealership calls them breather hoses. FYI. Nice Sig.. you must have the ill communication.
     
  15. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2020
    3,675
    1,716
    0
    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Why do you blame Toyota? If it was a design flaw, then "all" Gen2 would have oil consumption issues- which they don't.

    I think most problems stem from poor maintenance over the car's operational lifetime. Bet you that 07 has heavy varnish and sludge covering the entire innards of the engine.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    PriusGuy32 and Todd Bonzalez like this.
  16. Todd Bonzalez

    Todd Bonzalez Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2022
    250
    160
    1
    Location:
    Ireland
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Excessive oil consumption on a 16-year old car? I'm not being sarcastic but what do you want Toyota to do about it?

    They could probably do an expensive engine teardown on your dime...?
     
    PriusGuy32 likes this.
  17. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2019
    980
    398
    1
    Location:
    Leawood, KS
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    I
    A Piston soak would make an improvement in the oil consumption. It is pretty easy to do but it just takes time. A weekend would work but 3 days would be better. While the pistons are soaking you could clean the throttle body and its 2 breather hoses and the intake manifold and replace the PCV Valve. That would be time well spent and would make improvements on the fuel efficiency and lifespan of the car.