2004 Reaches 200,000

Wow! Congratulations!!

You say your mileage has stayed the same, but how about the battery behavior? Are you in the green most of the time, or does it behave much like it did five years ago?

 

That really isn't that bad at 200k. Long ago, a coworker bought a Chevy Cavalier and the dealer tried to convince her that a quart every 1500 miles was normal.

 

Congrats! It's good to hear that someone has really gotten their money's worth out of our favorite car.

 

1 quart every 5k miles at 200k miles on your Prius seems good to me,also.

Our brand new 2001 VW Beetle used to use 1 quart every 1000 miles! VW considered this to be normal!

I am so glad that car met with an untimely end!

 

Yes, in fact, our litigious friends at ConsumerAffairs.com have a page on VW oil consumption:

Consumer complaints about Excessive Oil Consumption in the VW 2.0 Liter Engine

 

I'm confused, I thought the Prius uses around 3 quarts? What does 1 quart every 5k mean?

 

Additional oil added between changes. I think most Prius owners do not have to add any oil between 5k Oil Change Intervals. I have yet to see the level drop on the dipstick with almost 30k on my car.

 

So if they change oil every 5k, then do they add 1 quart after say 3k? and then when they reach 5k, they change out the oil again?

 

Yes, its been awhile since I've owned an oil burner, but that would be typical.

BTW, the owners manual for the Prius recommends checking the oil level during every refueling. However, I only check every 2nd or 3rd time because I haven't seen it drop yet.

 

The 2nd that I'm aware of over 200K. A friend who purchased both a Gen 1 and a Gen 2 from me is now waiting impatiently for his Gen 3 to arrive. His Gen 2 purchased in Jan 04 is currently at 242,000 miles.

His report of maintenance issues is very similar. Serpentine belt at about 180,000 miles and brakes at about 225,000 miles. This week he was still getting 50 mpg on highway trips in good weather. It may need shocks and/or struts if it was going to be driven much further.

 

Luscious Garage | Blog | 270k Mile Prius: Dead A/C Compressor

 

I don't know I've never owned a car past 80,000 miles..it was an Escort, I had to add oil here and there, and I really did not take that great care of it. Most 4 cylinders are very easy on engine oil. V8 on the other hand drink motor oil like a dry drunk on a binge.

i take care of my fathers 2004 Town car that mainly sits in the garage while he is away on jobs, I will drive it sometimes and my mother..she can go on a tank of gas for a whole month or more.....anyway I have to add oil in between changes, usually a quart or more to keep it up to the mid-full mark on the dip stick. This more common in larger block motors of course


your engine is just old I guess, probably would be a good idea to have seals, etc checked...even with that mileage a quart seems excessive. But I'm no expert.

 

Also more common in Fords than Toyotas. :madgrin:

 

Right from what I understand American motors have a fetish for oil in large amounts.

Most 4 cyn though will barely eat through oil. My old Elantra could go 7500 miles and just be in the middle of the dipstick.

the prius I don't know, because I always change it @ 5k,it's always at the same full level..

that old escort I had ran really well, just needed oil top off's from time to time, it wasn't much worse though than the import on oil.

 

My worst oil burner was a 74 Ford Courier (aka Mazda) pickup, about 1 qt per 500 - 600 miles. My dad used to have a 68 Chevy Pickup that burned so much oil he stopped changing it, he would just add more when needed.

 

My 2004 Prius is ONLY at 150,000. Oil changes at 5k (synthetic, no loss between changes yet). At 60k and 120k changed ATF (Type WS tranny fluid), At 100k changed both coolant loops, plugs, and PCV valve. Still on the original MFD! Just started the fourth set of tires (now Nokian WRg2, better MPG than HydroEdge but only 50k tires) and still on the original brakes. Yes there is a heel hole in the driver's floor mat. and replaced both taillight bulbs recently. Will probably replace BOTH coolant pumps and the serpentine belt soon as the coolant needs to be changed again at 150k. My MPG is creeping up as the Nokian tires (WR first, now WRg2) get better MPG than the Integrity and Mchelin MXV4 that came first.

These are GREAT cars.

JeffD

 

Wow! Congrats! You sure bought the right car!