Looking at a 2010 Prius IV - Should I avoid due to Oil Consumption issue?

My assumption is all cars consume oil. Look up any make or model ICE vehicle and you will find a forum of disgruntled oil burning vehicle owners. So whether you get a 2010 Prius or 2015, they will eventually consume oil. Of course a 2010 Prius is older and will most likely be consuming more oil than a 2011.

Also, all it takes is for the owner to neglect routine maintenance to make it an oil burner. So the newer you get the car, the better.

I'm at 123,000 miles on my 2012 Prius and I noticed a little oil burning (~1/4 quart) over last summer's oil change. No loss over this winter's change. I do 10k mile changes with the cheapest 0w20 oil and filter on Amazon and drive routinely up to 85 mph with steep elevation changes on my daily commute. I rack up those miles every 4 months.

My take? Get a 2012+ Prius but not because it is less likely to burn oil but because Bluetooth is standard starting in 2012.

 

As @mmmodem said, there will be oil consumption as a car ages. We own a 2010 Prius II with 152 k miles on it and going strong. I began to notice some consumption after 120 k miles and it peaked at a quart every 4500 miles.

I have done some things to reduce consumption, but the key is to check the oil level every so often. I check the oil level every Saturday morning along with the voltage of the 12v. It takes 5 minutes .

The problem with a used Prius is you cannot be sure the previous owner or owners were checking this and simply had the "dealer maintained " philosophy. In this scenario, the dealer doesn't check the level when the car arrives, they fill it up, then you get the dash light that comes on and the serious consumption begins.

I would not shy away from a 2010, but definitely try to understand what type of owner and situation the Prius is coming from.

 

You'll stay ahead of the game with that plan.

Good luck with your search.

 

FWIW, My 2010 consumes no oil

 

there is at least one thread here, dedicated to oil burning 2010's. but it is impossible to know what percentage of 2010's are burning oil, why they are, or if the ones you look at are.

 

I would say 2010 with over 100,000 miles would be expected to burn some oil. It's up to the owner to either top it or neglect it and burn the engine.

 

I gave each of my 3 daughters a prius. (I had to structure that sentence carefully to avoid the prii-tentious plural). I've urged them to check oil levels with each fill-up. It helps you get a general feel for the car. My wife's Volt is another animal. She may go months or years between fill-ups. My minivan uses so much oil, I can't decide if it needs changing. Is it self-changing if I add a quart with each fill-up?

I say go for it. When my daughters have scraped the paint off the bottom half & the carpet is under 2" of fast-food sediment, they will still be going.

 

There must be something wrong at my house. My inventory of cars:
2004 Mazda 3, 195,000 miles
2002 Nissan Altima, 230,000 miles on body, 90,000 miles on replacement engine
2010 Mazda 5, 135,000 miles
2011 Prius 3, 132,000 miles

None of them gets even half way between full and add on the dipstick between 5,000 mile oil changes so they never get oil added to them between changes. If I were going to top them off right before the oil change, they would probably only take 6-8 oz of oil.

 

The difference is you run 5000 miles. Double that for 10,000 miles and you're up to 0.5 quart.

 

Regardless, pretty good.

 

No perceptible use of oil with my 2010 that has 117,200 miles on it.

 

is it the car, or is it the driver? an unanswerable internet question.

 

To add to the anecdotal evidence:
109,000 miles on the clock (bought new in July 2009)
DIY oil/filter changes every 7,500 - 9,500 miles (4 quarts each oil change, not 4.4 actual capacity)
No noticeable oil depletion between oil changes (Checked every other week or so, never had to top it off...)
Of course, YMMV
Enjoy your Prius, whichever year you decide to buy...

And welcome to Priuschat!

 

Oil consumption is not linear. Little at the beginning and a whole lot later.

 

Would it stay more linear with frequent top ups to the top mark? I would think so.

Our 2010's still consuming nothing, at 67K kms, just for another "data point". Doing an insanely low oil change interval.

 

The answer is no. My 2010 with 85000 miles consumes nothing in the first 4000 and then it starts slowly despite top ups.
Similar with my RIP Corolla, except the interval was 3000 extended to 5000 by intensive piston soaks. My son has Saturn with major oil consumption and little in first 2000 miles. And it's not related to oil viscosity drop. When I started using 15w40 in son's car for top ups, no change.

 

So what changes, as a car gets further beyond an oil change, that could accelerate consumption? The oil filter would progressively, but very slowly, clogged. The oil itself is changing somehow? Sounds like a testimony for shorter oil change intervals, anyway.

 

To answer the original question, "how to avoid oil consumption?", answer=buy electric.