2008 oil consumption issue!!

i haven't read on here that the 2008 has this issue.

how many miles have you driven since your last oil change?

do you check the level at every gas fill up?

 

You need to check your oil level from time to time.

 

For now just add oil to keep the level between min and max. After you have done this for some time you will know how much oil the engine consumes. For example if it’s like quart per 2000 miles then there’s no real problem. And you can just keep adding the oil when it needs it.

 

what paper?

 

Do you have a URL for where we can go to start a case with Toyota as well? Thank you!

 

OMG.............doesn't anyone just check oil anymore? Have we all gotten to the point where we're incapable of doing even the most basic checks on our cars?

Here's my new recommendations for everyone:
Drive your car until it runs out of gas. Then figure out what to do. Maybe a new gas tank will solve the problem?
Never look at your tires. Just drive until all 4 are flat or fall off, then call a tow truck. Buying a new car will cure flat tires.
Don't worry about ANY light bulbs until you don't have a single one that actually turns on. Same solution as above.
Don't worry about brake fluid until after you plow into the guy in front of you.
Don't worry about washer fluid until after that truck splashes dirty water/mud across your entire windshield at 50 mph.
Don't worry about looking at the inverter coolant level until after your broke down on the side of the road. Solution..see above.
Oil? It's totally overrated. Kind of like blood. Who needs it? Burn that puppy up over 5 bucks worth of time and oil. Then invest $4k+ into a new engine and start the process all over again.

I just don't understand why these silly OEMs keep making cars with translucent reservoirs, dipsticks and level indicators. What a waste of money.

All this oil consumption talk is absolutely killing me.....................It's so confusing.. Do I buy a new engine/install new rings for $3800 or do I check my oil level and add a $4 quart of oil every now and then? IDK, but I'm going to start recommending that everyone go with a new engine. That way most will say it cost too much and just buy a new car for $30k. There'll be a lot more used Prii on the market for those who check oil as a basic maintenance task.

I wasn't due for an oil change so I checked my oil level and it was completely empty. Drove a mile to dealership

Did you really just say: My car had no oil in it., so I fired that sucker up and took it for a drive down the road...........
Isn't that kind of like:

I noticed I had no shoes on, so I walked across a 100,000 pieces of broken glass.
I noticed some bare sparking wires hanging down from a power pole so I licked them.
I noticed this big f-ing 150 lb raging dog foaming at the mouth so I went over to pet him.

Not trying to be an A**, just trying to make a point. Do you get what I'm saying?

 

They're not quite right about that.
It's not something you did, but rather something you didn't do.....about 108 times.
The owner's manual states specifically that you need to check your oil level about once a month or every 1000 miles, whichever comes first.
Since your car is an 08 that's "always been serviced from the dealership that it was purchased from."
then many of the monthly oil checks "might" have been omitted.
If you bought the vehicle used, then you're only guilty of neglecting it once a month for the number of months that you've owned the vehicle unless you drive more than 1,000 miles a month (many people do) in which case the math is still pretty easy.

Bad news: Your car burns oil, and it's your fault.

Good News: Unless you listen to the thieves down at your dealership, this won't cost you very much......unless you were planning on keeping your car for another 10 years. (Spoiler Alert!) That's not going to happen now.

1. Learn how to check your oil lever and immediately top it off.
It's in the user manual, and it's fairly easy. You can buy a quart of oil from the drooling thieves down at your Toyota dealership, but they already tried to talk you into a $4,000 repair without quantifying your burn rate. I'd get a 1-quart bottle of 0w20 from the nearest big box store or Walmart.
Don't sweat about the type or brand. If it's 0w20, then it's good enough for your purposes, since nearly any oil viscosity that starts with a "0" is going to be synthetic, and let's fact it......if your child is sick because she doesn't have enough water to drink, then tap water is good enough for now.

2. Once the car has the right amount of oil in it....DO NOTHING ELSE.
Don't buy any magic marvel mystery oil, start burning premium unleaded, or wash and wax the car to try to make up for the neglect.
(washing and waxing won't hurt..... )

3. Check the oil level again in a few hundred miles and take note of how much you have to add, and repeat as necessary.
The idea initially is to figure out how much you're burning in 1,000 miles, and then refine that estimate to determine if you can get to 5,000 miles without having to buy several large 5-quart jugs to keep it topped off.

4. Decision time.
If you're burning less than one quart every 2-3,000 miles (and I'll bet you are) then you're good to go for a while.......like....years.
Continue to use your new-found oil checking skills to keep your oil level topped off and look in the maintenance section of the owner's manual for anything else that's been neglected (plugs, PCV valve, other fluids, etc.....)
It might also be a good time to develop a good relationship with an independent mechanic, since your local dealership is clearly more profit-oriented than they should be.
(Hint: Check the employee parking lot. My guess is that they drive trucks with well worn BOAT TRAILER HITCHES.)

4a: Fortunately.......you live in a place where the air is already clean, and a VET is an fairly expensive way to scare your pet, rather than an annual inspection required by dot.gov.
This means that if your oil use starts to impact things like your catalytic converter then it will be a $300 fix instead of a $2000 fix......unless you keep taking your car to the dealer for repairs, in which case you just need to do whatever they tell you and pay whatever they tell you.


Good Luck!!!

No/Yes.

 

the phone number for toyota is in your owners warranty booklet. funnily, my daughters '08 with almost 100k doesn't burn any noticeable amount of oil.

 

No way, she doesn't check it

 

no need to, when it's always full.

 

Oil change maintenance by the dealer is a death sentence for a high mileage Prius....and TMR-JWAP for the win...but if you don't mind may I add one line to his great post concerning dealer maintenance

THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR OIL LEVEL

 

And you forgot to add: Start a case against Toyota for each of the above.

 

Yes, and that's why people can often get away without checking oil for a long time.

The problem with that however, is that your first warning sign will probably be your last. Things change over time. Not only in gradual engine wear, but things can also change re driving habits. A Prius that is only driven at 35 MPH around town might have a far lower apparent oil consumption than one that's driven at high speed and high RPM on the freeway.

When you never check the oil and something changes, then the first you know about it is that you are driving around without any oil pressure and the situation goes from zero to major in the blink of an eye. It is at this point that people start to blame Toyota, but they blame them for the end result major failure when they never even got to see the much more minor changes in oil consumption that preceded it.

When you check the oil from time to time and minor oil consumption begins, then you simply top it off and the oil consumption tends to remain minor, or at worst to only increase very gradually over time. I'm at almost 300,000 km on my Gen2, and between100,000 km and 300,000 km my oil consumption has ever so gradually increased from about 0.5 quarts per 5000 miles when I first noticed it, to it's current rate of about 1 quart per 5000 miles. Even at 300,000 km this level of oil consumption is quite minor in my opinion.

 

agreed, and 1 quart doesn't really need to be topped up in between.

 

I disagree, 1 quart represents a 25% loss of the total oil in the sump, so the remaining oil has to work harder and degrades faster. My mantra is to always return the oil to the F mark as soon as possible, but never let it get to more than 0.5 qt down, which is about 1/3 of the way down between the F and L marks.

 

i'm comfortable with either school of thought. some think the prius engine runs better when it's nearer the low mark.
either way, as long as you keep it between the min and max, you should be fine.

 

I just don't think the OP has much of a case here.
It's not Toyota's fault a 9 model year old Prius starts burning oil. And if you are driving it at low levels...or NO levels?

So it simply comes down to decision.

Most older vehicles at some point start burning some degree of oil.
It's our responsibility as owners to keep an eye on Oil Consumption.
If your realization of needing new piston rings and new pistons comes only after warning lights and running the vehicle with NO OIL, then I don't see how that's Toyota's responsibility to fix.

You bought a vehicle. That ostensibly did have a new car warranty. But 9 years later? You don't own a magical perpetual maintenance agreement, which holds Toyota perpetually responsible for the deterioration of components that simply will deteriorate, and deteriorate faster if ignored.

Sorry, I think you either need a new vehicle, new engine, or a Piston and Ring job, and I think it's all your choice and expense.