My Prius is down 4 quarts of oil 9000 miles after oil change

2010s are getting a reputation as oil burners. (Unfortunately, so is the engine series in my 2014 Forester. Someone has already filed a class action lawsuit.)

Even absent that reputation, you are supposed to check the oil level much more frequently than once every 9000 miles. What about that maintenance check every 5000 miles? The fluid levels are supposed to be checked then, even if none are changed.

Even new, the manufacturer doesn't consider it to be a warranty issue until consumption exceeds a liter (~quart) every 1000 km (~600 miles). This is in line with the rest of the industry. Manufacturers and customers are on very different pages on this issue.

 

how many miles on her?

isn't 4 quarts pretty much the whole shootin' match?

 

4 quarts would be close to everything in a gen3, minus the oil in the filter

 

hard to say. 2010's stand out, but they are the oldest. who knows, as 2011,12, etc. rack up miles.
i seem to remember that toy made a change to the piston rings at some point, but not sure.

you would be wise to start monitoring your oil level every day, then lengthening the interval as you gather data.

 

Before this low level was discovered, when was the last time you personally checked the oil level?

Never checking it yourself, between service visits, is a recipe and invitation for oil related problems. Based on before-Prius history, I also check the oil immediately after a service visit. Some shops handed off this job to the lowest paid trainees, some of whom produce undesirable work.

 

OP, you have a burner now and no easy way to go back. Someone reported 10 techrone treatments fixed that in 2nd gen. If that really works (doubt it), it would be an easy fix.

 

OP, just do some searching around here and you can see that you are not alone. The 2010s are absolutely are standing out as burners.

Some of us have tried different things to fix it...with varying levels of success. However, I have seen very few people that claim to have conclusively 'fixed' it once it starts.

Checking the oil has become a regular part of my 'routine'. I check it about once a week now.

 

I do mine monthly....or every other fill up.
Since I get 500 miles on a tank, it makes for easy math.

Almost everybody under 30 these days neglect oil checks.
Mostly, it's not that bad a thing since many cars have 5-6 quart sumps and 5-8k oil change intervals.
Kids under 30 change out cars every 4-5 years, and so they never get a chance to wreck their motors by driving them for thousands of miles with 30-percent of the oil supply missing.
Priuses only stand out as oil burners because they have small sumps and long oil change intervals (OCIs.)

That means......if your dealer screws up and doesn't get enough oil in the sump (or puts too much in) then it's going to be as much as 10,000 miles before this condition is detected.
Yeah......some people bring their cars to the dealer every 5K....but sometimes things get "accidentally" not done.

The manual says check every month or every 1,000 miles. This is the second best way to prevent a screw-up at the dealership from REALLY hurting the car's longevity.
The best way is to check and see if the dealer did it right by looking at the dipstick.
It only takes ONE screw up for your car to start burning a liiiiiittle bit more oil than normal (all cars will use SOME oil between changes) and if you do not detect this condition early enough then the wear rate increases very rapidly before you "suddenly" have a car that burns oil........which is like "suddenly" having clogged arteries from eating too many cheeseburgers.
I know a guy......who knows a guy who's busted an undisclosed car brand's dealerships more than once for not bothering to change out the oil filter.....and Prius filters are a PITA to begin with.
They will be sprinkling rock salt on the sidewalks down in HELL before I let another dealership change my oil, but if I did, I'd make sure to check to see if the filter was changed as well.
Mostly they are, because it's too easy to tell by looking at the oil on the stick if it hasn't been - but you'd be surprised how many people do not do this one basic check.
Dealers don't use their $200/hr ace mechanics on oil changes.
Just sayin....

If you absolutely INSIST on a closed-hood maintenance philosophy, then have your oil changed every 5K.

Good Luck.

 

I'm not sure who you are referring to in your post (probably the OP) but for the record ...I never let a third party change the oil. I have always done it myself.

 

Maybe instead of, or in addition to the US maintenance light, there should be a periodic prompt to check the oil? Say every 1000 miles. Something that's not a total pain to dismiss, but yeah.

 

You probably also (not coincidentally) have a 2010 that.....like my work car, does not burn a measurable amount of oil.

For the record, I was referring to MOST people under 30.
Not all.
Back in my youth, a little known activist coined a popular phrase about never trusting anyone over 30.
He's 77 now, and I've always wondered if @ Jack Weinberg ever amended that point of view.

I will say this....about that.
There will never be anyone smarter than a person under 30, nor anyone more stupid than the parent of somebody under 30.
Me?
I have grandchildren....so I'm starting to get to be 'smart' again!

If I ever buy a used car, it will probably be from a person under 30, but I will presume that the maintenance has been neglected and go from there.
YMMV

 

Yeah I've got a 2010, with so far, knock on wood: zero consumption. That's a first for me, I'm used to a little oil going missing beteeen changes.

So far I'm following a VERY short oil change interval, fwiw.

 

how bout the ionic? same mpg's, much better product. and they are gonna need all the help they can get, when their neighbors to the north decide to drop the big one on them.

 

Since I've been in a pretty good groove lately, I'll go ahead and throw the BS flag on this one, too.

"it seems to me that rewards them for incompetence."

Seems pretty competent that a car went 9000 miles between oil changes and only burned 4 quarts............

Certainly....."In my over forty years of owning cars, I've never had this condition before",

Which condition is that?
1. racking up 9000 miles between oil changes?
2. burning a little oil between 9000 mile oil changes?
3. that you've never had to check oil before?
4. that you've never had to top off? In 40 years?

That's odd, because I've never owned a car in my 33 years of driving that didn't need oil changes (at significantly less than 9k intervals) and top-offs now and then.

Maybe....you caused your own 'burner'..........maybe you need to rethink where the incompetence might actually point to. It's mighty easy to point it at Toyota, but...........

As evidenced by:
My oil pressure light has been occasionally blinking, so I took the car to a service station I trust

What you really said was: After 40 years of driving I had no idea an oil light meant low oil pressure, so I kept driving the car. I never thought about checking oil level, because I really wanted to see if it would light solid so that annoying blinking would stop.....

 

Ahh, yes. The confusion between an oil/filter service interval and the need to maintain/check per owners manual. But, I digress, maybe I'm the one who misunderstands. Apparently, a 10k interval for oil/filter changes actually means 'you never have to look at it' between changes, even though Toyota specs of "1 quart burning per 600 miles is within spec" is fairly common knowledge. You win.