Hey all, Not sure if this is proper section to post as I'm not sure exactly which model Prius GF has. 2013 Persona 235k Recently purchased high mileage from out of state trips. Previous owner took excellent care of car with all scheduled maintenances done at dealer. So upon purchasing the car we brought it to our Friend /Toyota mechanic to have him check it out and do an oil change. Well "2 weeks" had past and I heard a slight tapping noise, kinda like older car lifter tapping but light, and it went away. Didn't give it much thought and another week goes by.."Week 3" I get a call from her saying oil light was blinking then went off.. I told her to immediately stop car and check the oil.... she does and Not a drop on DS... I tell her to buy a large container of oil and slowly add the oil until its where it needs to be. It took 4 quarts....Shocked !! Car doesn't leak oil, car doesn't smoke, cap was tight....Previous oil was within its limit prior to this change..... I truly believe a Mistake was made. But.. So far no issues at all period and it's been another 2 weeks since adding the oil... What can go wrong that hasn't happened yet? Also.. What's best oil to use for higher mileage and do they make Ext cap/ mileage filters. Or is it best to just use the standard oil/filter when they do put it in..lol
Personally I would keep using the 0W20 per Toyota manual, but check the oil level more frequently. If your car eats oil excessively, it is either leaking or burning. I doubt how effective it is to use higher grade oil. At least I have not seen any credible study. If the oil grade change is small, you don't see much difference. If it is too large, you will have incorrect lubricity and hydrodynamic film thickness at low/high temperature.
2013’s have been known to burn oil. A lot of it! Watch the oil level. Lots of threads on Priuschat about it.
Toyota used flawed engineering on the 2010-2014 Prius pistons and piston rings. They are known to cause excessive oil consumption, defined by Toyota as more than one quart per 1200 miles. The problem was repaired free within the powertrain warranty but most engines do not burn oil at those rates until 150k miles. A few owners who changed oil at 5k mile intervals rather than the Toyota recommended 10k miles have had better experiences. Some of the blowby ends up in the egr and pcv systems. The exhaust gas recirculation system picks up before the catalytic converter, clogs up the egr cooler and intake manifold passages while the pcv collects liquids in the intake manifold. A combination of these factors often causes cold start rattles that sound like a broken rod but clears in seconds. This is a head gasket fail the vast majority of the time but does not present as a traditional head gasket for many months. Even if your oil consumption is less than a quart every 1200 miles, it does not take long to run out of oil and further damage the all aluminum engine. No flush or oil will fix it. The catalytic converter does an excellent job of burning the excessive oil but it will eventually clog up and require an expensive repair. If the car is in otherwise good shape with a replacement hv battery and brake booster in recent years, a used replacement engine is the typical "lower cost" repair. Rebuilding a used engine is the better solution often recommended by dealers and pro mechanics. Or simply sell it.
It's debatable what percent collects. Air comes ripping through, with a crankcase olio mist. Some of that mist pools, but maybe a lot remains airborne, goes right through?
if you burned 4 quarts of oil in 2 weeks, i think you would notice. have you looked at the drain plug?
Thank you for your posts.. The car Doesn't burn oil yet.. thats the thing.. Think mechanic forgot to refill it... And it hasn't burned a drop since refilling several weeks ago.. the car is driven too.. with 6 hr round trips on weekends, daily 2hr round trips to work and back and being a daily driver..
Start checking your oil before and after all long interstate trips and each time you get gas. Eventually, you will figure out what causes the oil consumption if there is any. If it isn't leaking there are good odds a 200k gen 3 Prius is consuming oil. Your main goal here is to keep oil in the car and next is to see how many miles it takes for you to burn a quart of oil. Shoot as long as you aren't getting misfires they will go a long time even with consuming oil. Filling the oil can be cheaper than a new car.
