Best oil for gen 2 Prius

5W30 is what it says on the cap (in the US). I use Mobil 1 5W30

 

Yeah for sure get back to 5W30. When you say "disappear" after 4000 miles, do you mean the dipstick is bare? That would be 1.5~2.5 liters low.

 

I use Mobil 1 also. Seems to work best for me. I suggest that you check and add more frequently.

 

Go up weight to 10-40 M1. That will slow down the oil loss.

How many times has the dash logged a red triangle?

 

I have used the Wal Mart 5W-30 Synthetic oil for the last almost 100k on mine. 186k and all still is good. The oil stays very clean looking for the 5,000 miles I leave it in there. That being said, all of my Toyotas have been this way as well.

 

Note how much top up it takes to get it back to the top mark, and the mileage, and you'll then have an good idea of your consumption per mileage.

I wouldn't think any particular oil is going to save the engine, from the sounds of it your consumption is high enough that you'll need to swap engine, or throw in the towel and sell it, maybe to a restorer or parter.

FWIW I use Toyota oil since incept, with our 2010, it's good, and very cheap for me.

 

Given the fact that that you don't check the oil till the engine has no oil pressure and throws master caution usually means on this site the engine is toast. In fact sometimes one good triangle event is enough to damage the wrist pin on the piston and or main bearing. At the very least it ruins the oil scavenge ring and then it becomes a OEM.

Oil Eating Monster.

If damage has occurred other than oil ring you'll know as you will hear engine knock first under load then all the time then boom, hiss, smoke.

 

I'd heavy up that oil. Mobil-1 High Milage 5W-30 is one option, or the 0W-40 is good sounds like.
You gotta get out of 0W-20 on a Gen2 if you have oil losses, it was never the recommended flavor in the USA, although Toyota USA said it was OK in one owner communication shared with us years ago. I believe engine/piston tolerances were tightened up after Gen2, so it's a bit older technology than Gen3+

 

What does “never” mean?

 

You might have been lucky and dodged a bullet, but I wouldn't assume that everything will just be "back to normal" once you get 5w30 back in there. You may well have permanently increased oil consumption now, so you need to check it fairly regularly (every 1k to 2k miles at least).

With a 200k mile Prius you need to check the oil reasonably often anyway. If you had previously been checking the oil (prior to switching to M1 0w20) you probably would have notice significant oil consumption anyway (just not enough to take it all the way down to sucking air in under one oil change interval). That would have been the warning that you needed to keep an eye on it, especially when changing to a thinner oil.

Also, eating oil doesn't mean that you need a shorter oil change interval, it just means that you need to check it more regularly and keep it topped off.

TBH 0w20 was a really bad choice for a 200k mile Prius in winterless tropical climate like The Bahamas.

 

Cars really should have an "oil level" light. If you lose pressure, that means you're not getting oil to the bearing surfaces and you might have one second at most (depending on rpm and load) before you damage the engine.

As said above, use heavier oil and hope there isn't significant damage. Oh. And check the oil every time you get gas. That used to be standard procedure for all cars. They are so reliable now, that we forget.

 

Some modern cars do have an oil level warning (in addition to an oil pressure warning). I know that some VW/Audi do, and also some BMWs. The only problem is that once they include this feature they often remove dipstick completely, and then it becomes a nuisance to top off without overfilling. I know that my brother had to get an aftermarket dip stick fitted to his Audi because it didn't come with one from new!

Still you're right. As this thread (and many others like it) illustrate, for many people checking a dipstick seems to be an incredibly onerous task. Why that is I'm not exactly sure, but I suppose it's something to do with having to pop the hood and being exposed to a part of the car (the engine bay) of which they have little knowledge and feel uncomfortable touching.

 

Its amazing. How costly and stupid it is to ignore all the fluids under the hood. Takes 30 seconds from seat to seat. This poster is unique. He's using the NO OIL PRESSURE light to remind him to check the oil lol. I guess it's a testament to how tough this car is.

 

The oil pressure light is, unfortunately, like the tornado warnings used to be in the 1960's when i was a kid. If you heard the siren, that meant you or someone nearby just got clobbered.

My car uses and loses no oil at all, But I still checked is yesterday when I got gas.

@uart, I didn't know that about some high end models having oil level lights but not dipsticks. That would be maddening for me to not know if the low level light was just about to come on as I hit the road for a 5,000 mile trip.