Oil consumption on all Gen 3's?

If it were me, i would replace the engine with a good used unit and keep driving it. But i can swap engines in my garage in a few hours on a car like this. If you have to pay someone else to do all of the labor, then it might not be worth it to you.
Not all of them burn oil and i cant seem to find a direct correlation between oil consumption and history, how its driven, oil change interval, etc.
I have limited history with my 2010 Prius (8 months and about 8k miles). But i bought it cheap with 197k miles. I changed the oil, all other fluids and cleaned the EGR immediately after buying it since i did not know the history.
I have since put on about 8k miles and changed the oil after 5k. This car burns zero oil between changes, averages 40-50MPG on my 70-75mph commute and drives perfectly so far. This is why i say it might be worth fixing yours and running for another 100k miles.

 

We have seen lots of head gaskets fail recently, particularly in the 2010-2014 models.

If you can afford a new Prius, this would be a good time to do it and its what I would likely do. New Prii are not selling fast due to low gas prices and multiple other options like the Rav4 Hybrid. Consider a Prius Prime. Clearly the gen4s have better engines, improved mpg and plenty of safety features. I would think you could get $5k or more off and low interest.

If you want to save money and take a chance on the rest of the car, put a rebuilt engine in assuming the car is clean and the hv battery has been or will be replaced in a couple of years. Also consider a possible brake actuator failure if yours has not been replaced yet. Some are getting good used engines rebuilt and installed for $3k-$4k. You would easily get another 150k miles or more in this scenario.

The choice is yours.

 

I am not giving out bad advice. You are.
"#15Mendel@ASRDogman if you drain your oil at 10k miles and collect a cup in a glass, it's clear?
(I'd quote you, tried for 10 min on my effing iPhone, but no joy. It's just a royal pain on a phone.)
The color of the oil doesn't determine if it is bad or good."
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I have researched.
Blocked EGR's coolers would create more pressure and could cause excessive pressure
and could cause the head gasket to fail.

Maybe 3000 miles oil changes are best.

 

Toyota recognized the oil burning issue and changed the rings after the first couple of years of gen 3, so later gen 3 and gen 4 shouldn't have the oil burning issue.

 

I never mentioned the color of oil. Why did Toyota initially state 5000 mile oil changes and then changed it to 10,000 miles?

 

Yet, they do.
I think it was just some type of an attempt to fix it.
I just don't understand why they didn't change to better valve guide seals?
This IS a know issue with other engines because they will become hard and brittle.

 

That was true, but did not actually improve the oil situation, as there are Gen3s of all years that are using oil. 5K mile oil changes, not driving hard, thicker oil, and cleaning the EGR have shown to be the only things to help with oil usage and prevent it in the first place.

 

Nothing to add but my 2015 gen 3 with 67k miles doesn't burn any oil. It is still a baby though.

 

2010 94K miles absolutely ZERO oil use so far. I drive it normally around town, on the highway it is never driven over 65 mph. The vehicle gets biannual oil changes averaging around 4200-4400 miles between them.

 

2010 126k miles burns ZERO oil also. Driven normally. Mostly highway miles. 10k oil change intervals with 0w20. Oil catch can installed and EGR system cleaned at 100k. At 100k I started using BG Advanced Formula MOA for Hybrids and BG EPR Engine Performance Restoration for Hybrids to prevent piston ring sticking and oil burning.

 

This thread is becoming like those survey posts "How many miles driven, oil change interval & how much oil you be burnin."

 

Easy peasy, so you'll be fast tracked to buy the current Toyota car

 

Yeah cast your vote:

3rd gen model year and oil consumption | PriusChat

 

Sounds like the engine is toast. If it’s rattling when starting as burning oil it sounds like the engine overheated and is fried. Have you ever changed your water pump?

 

FYI In Europe Prius has 15k km (~9k miles) for oil change. There is no more engine issues on the Gen3 than Gen2 - most cases due to waterpump, head gasket issue is not a well known problem.