Which is the way all of these engines run until they start burning oil. Mine was steady through 125k miles. The subsequent blowby creates more pcv flow and the burned oil dumps more hydrocarbons into the exhaust. Some say Atkinson cycle is a factor in a port injected engine but it has not proved to be an issue on Gen4s used throughout the Toyota line.
Our '10 will likely never get there; it's currently at 102K kilometers, and we're putting on around 3k kms per year. All my prep is cargo cult.
The definitive look at gen3 Prius and Lexus head gasket cause, effect and how to fix it right. This video is a year old but its analysis has aged well. It includes a discussion of oil in the intake. HG Fail Multifactorial Analysis Car Care Nut Spoiler Alert - It’s way more than a cleaned egr system and head gasket swap.
It’s a full engine rebuild, while he pontificates as to why the head gasket fails? I forget, and don’t want to wake the missus (early morning west coast).
The video explains his choices and the issues quite well. We have seen this video before but others have not. Rebuilt is the solution when you have oil consumption. Plus a new egr valve, rebuilt head and ecm software. It is more cost for his shop to clean the intake and cooler than new parts cost. The intake, egr valve and head gasket are revised Toyota parts. He uses a new timing chain and head bolts. Some can get a somewhat equivalent rebuilt engine for $3500 - others can have it turnkeyed for $5,000. His charge of $6,500 is not bad for a new short block, new egr system, new timing chain and new intake. It is the solution a dealer provides for another $1k-$3k.
Thanks Mendel, that is helpful information. The dual collectors is a bit more pricey than I would want to invest at this point, but helpful to know it is possible to reduce oil accumulation in the IM to almost nothing. Also helpful to know that if I ever replace my gen 3, the gen 4 would be an improvement for the carbon buildup problem.
