Worst Model Year: 2010; Worst Complaint: excessive oil use

There are often suttle changes from year to year or even within a year that are not apparent to the consumer

 

Yes, exactly. Another missing critical detail is the ratio of oil-guzzlers to non-guzzlers at various mileages. Nobody seems to know exactly how prevalent the problem is.

 

no and there's probably no way to find out. smartest thing to do is keep an eye on it between changes, especially after 75k or so.

 

Here's a data point: 2014 Prius with 18k miles, and about 8.5k miles since last (first, only) oil change. The oil level has dropped not quite a quarter of a quart, so estimated consumption when "almost new" is about 1 quart in 40k miles.

Can other low mileage owners respond and answer with either a) how much the level on the dipstick drops between oil changes, or b) what's a dipstick? It would help answer the question of whether oil consumption comes on suddenly, or whether people suddenly notice the consumption because they weren't paying attention.

 

Thanks for the data point, tpenney67. Very low oil consumption when these engines are "almost new" seems to be typical. Mine has used very little, between 41,100 miles (when I acquired it) and 55,706 (now). Things seem to get more interesting around roughly 100K miles, plus or minus, depending on unknown factors, when something clogs or wears out, even on some allegedly well-maintained examples.

 

Just my $0.02 worth - 2010 with 118,000 miles on it. 0 oil use and I use 020W Mobil one and change at every 10,000 miles. I'm a happy camper.

 

I have a 2010 and mine started consuming at about 100k miles. I'm the second owner, but the car had been serviced regularly by the original owner at Toyota. I'm at 135k miles now and probably uses about 1qt/10k miles. I'm sure it needs a new PCV valve, but it's too cold and I've been too lazy to fool with it.

 

Original owner here who is diligent with service intervals. My wife's Prius has nearly 80k miles and uses several quarts between oil changes. It's very frustrating. That type of consumption is inexcusable and not normal wear & tear. Heck my old Porsche C2 that had oil leaks, used less oil than her Prius. The next time she goes in for maintenance, we'll need a diagnosis.


EBenke

 

Yes that does sound excessive. Is there anything notable in your wife's driving patterns? Specifically, does it get regularly highway mileage where the engine gets fully warmed up? Or is it a lot of city driving with the engine cycling on and off?

I have noticed that during the winter, the only time the engine gets fully up to temperature is on the highway. Otherwise, the temperature is all over the place as the engine cycles on and off, and I have to wonder what effect all that expansion and contraction has on the engine. Of course, is that was THE cause of problems then we'd never see high-mileage Prius taxis.

 

this is a new account but I frequent this forum and this is my experience

I recently bought a 2010 prius ( I was looking for a high mileage prius with good record because of my limited budget and wanting the latest model). The car has 170k miles (now 180k ) and I have put 10k miles on it with no noticable oil burning. Everything runs like new so if anyone is thinking of avoiding high mileage prius i recommend giving it a shot as long as it is taken care of.

I took it on a few 850 miles nonstop trips at roughly 80mph the whole way on interstate 5 and the oil level remain steady on this 2010 model.

 

congrats and welcome! thank you for the data points, all the best.

 

Original owner, around 58,000 kms, no noticeable drop in the dipstick level between (shortish by US std's) oil changes.

 

Im at 50k miles and I have no noticeable oil consumption. I hope it stays that way.

 

would be nice to see if Canadian Prius have same problem over here oil change is 8000 kilometre (5000 miles)

 

Even with sleeved aluminum motors, extra care should be given with oil maintenance...and one oops is all it takes.

 

She does a lot of stop and go driving. Short trips around town. She had to add two quarts last time. I'm guilty f not checking it regularly, and shouldn't have to. Really ridiculous at this amount of miles.

My '07 Tundra is has 87k miles and doesn't use a drop of oil, no matter how it's driven, or how far or how long...


EBenke

 

Most manufacturers say 800 - 1000 is still ok per quart. I think that excessive.

Our older Prius the 2011 has 135k -- I add maybe 1/2 quart over the 10k. With only a little over 4 quarts I keep them topped up.

I normally get the oil deals that come with 5 quarts -- so my local indie give me back the 1/2 quart and i keep that in the car.

 

Interesting. For comparison, we recently inherited an '07 F150 which at the time had 26k miles and had been used for the very occasional trip to the grocery store and back, and was driven only 1k miles in all of 2013 based on the service records. When we first started driving it, I had to top up the oil a couple times and estimated the consumption rate at about a quart every 4k miles. After a year or so of steady 100+ mile highway trips as we clean out the estate, it appears to have stopped all consumption, and hasn't used a drop since the last oil change 2500 miles ago.

Also interesting to note, the F150 hold 7 quarts of oil and has a 5k OCI, which means buying 14 quarts of oil every 10k miles even with zero consumption. That's comparable to a Prius with a 10k OCI that burns a quart every 1k miles.

And at the risk of really going off on a tangent, I recently heard about the million mile van (Home) which used so much oil the owner didn't feel the need to change it as frequently:

"I used Valvoline 10W-40 motor oil and change it every 10,000 to 20,000 miles. The longest I’ve went between oil changes is 55,000 miles. It used a quart of oil or more every tank of gas. I usually waited for the oil to turn black before changing it."​