2013 Prius V Wagon consuming 15 quarts of oil in between 7000 mile oil change

They do leak at the timing cover and I believe its very hard to access. These cars also burn oil because of the piston rings which were changed in later years. I don’t know if the excessive use could be attributed to leakage while driving but it would seem that the bottom of the car on the passenger side would be covered with oil if that were the case. Perhaps someone will be more definitive and explain if its possible to severely leak but still not drip on the garage floor.

 

If it uses that much oil, I'd suspect that it ran out of oil at some point.

Then you are left with an oil eater.

Check the dipstick often.

 

New engine.................thanks again toyota.... at that mileage it shouldn't use any oil....

 

You might have some leakage at the timing cover, and $1200 is about right for fixing that, but I don't think they've correctly diagnosed your oil loss situation. I really don't think you're losing that much out the timing cover.

Lots of Priuseses have a little weep at the timing cover. Enough to notice the dirty bit when you're standing under the car in a maintenance bay. Not enough to cost you 2 quarts in 1000 miles.

I can't tell you where your oil is going but I urge you to get a second opinion, I think you've got a dud diagnosis so far.

 

I would not suggest that running it low was the primary cause. First, most well designed engines don’t burn enough oil between changes to be a problem. Most likely the piston rings gave out first or there is another answer like a stuck open pcv valve. I would take it to an independent hybrid shop with decent ratings and get their opinions. Its worth a diagnostic fee if necessary. Pic from google “hybrid repair phoenix az”. In the meantime check the oil every week and keep it full.

 

there's an aero cover under the engine that could catch a little oil before it hit the ground, and maybe high speed wind could then move it out, but it sounds a little far fetched.

your car has an egr circuit that should be attended to, and then there are things you can look at to see if it is burning the oil, rather than leaking it.

with 8k left on the loan, i would just keep adding oil, after cleaning the egr. but you could look around for a low mile engine.

 

Hi Devinkalt,

Have to suspect PCV valve (beside some other issues)?? Check oil in the IM.

Thanks

 

Wow.
2 quarts every 1000 miles.
Bought used car with 12K mileage on year 2018.
Vehicle (Prius v) had one year of its current ownership life as a taxi and is/ was used in mountainous areas.
Current mileage 155K in year 2020.
Maintenance was done on schedule, yet owner did have low oil message multiple times with out timely refilling.

Two quarts is a huge amount usage (every 1000 miles if not even every 10000 miles).
A substantial leak (timing cover, valve cover, oil coolers) should be obvious, remove the under fairing!
(I am specifically unsure about the Prius, but a leak at the engine rear main seal, draining into the transmission bell housing ,could possible be a hidden leak, but 2 quarts ! Again I'd think this would be obvious.)

Mathematics (155K - 12K = 143K mileage) then 143K / (365 days x 2 years) = 195 miles a day over two years - including Sat, Sun, Holidays.
(Noting OP's running low oil comments - perhaps for multiple days or heavy mileage days before refill?)
Wow.

Looks like this will be be needed to be diagnosed in person.

Good luck.

 

I've never had unusually high oil consumption on any car, but I've always carried a quart of oil just in case.

 

I'd think that, from multiple prior runs with low oil, the cylinders and rings may no longer be up to the job and the crankcase ventilation system may be clogged. Or the head is cracked and or the head gasket not right.

So I'd:

• check the color of the anti-freeze
• do a leakdown test,
  
• do an EGR inspection and cleaning
  
• and see what the results are.

 

Did the low oil pressure indicator light up these times? For past readers here, that has meant the oil level was really low. Often damagingly so.

Most individual engines don't, at least when new. But some fraction may do so, and still not be bad enough to fall under warranty coverage.

The Owner's Manual of every car I've ever had, insisted on frequent oil level checks, because the oil loss rate allowed under the warranty is high enough to run dry between oil changes. If the owner didn't catch the low oil in time because they didn't check frequently enough, tough. No warranty coverage, they are responsible to cover for repairs out of their own pocket.

I always carry one too. And over my lifetime, I've needed to use some of this spare oil a number of times when a random irregular (usually a bit tardy) oil check found it somewhat low. Only one of those engines ever progressed to significant oil burning, fortunately that was not out of line with the wear level of the rest of the car too.