Survey: Oil consumption vs build dates

2010 II
08/09
57000
No oil consumption yet
No other issues

 

2010 II
07/ 09
232k
no oil burning
hybrid battery replaced once at 111k, failing again, all else runs like a top.

 

2010 Canadian Touring
Built August, 2009
(Sat on lot till Nov 2010)
70,000 kms
Consuming no oil
Using Toyota 0W20 so far, changing every 6 months or 8,000 kms.
No issues apart from recalls so far.

 

2010 Prius, trim level V
Build date 08/09
93,xxx
No oil burning
Had no issues yet, but I bought it at 83,000 so.....I didn't see anything in the history or dealer records other than oil changes, filters ect.
Running Mobil one synthetic hybrid 0-20.

 

2010 Prius II
Build date: 07/09
Car consumes 20-25 ounces per 10k mile oil change interval
First saw consumption around 120 k miles (when I started topping up between oil changes)
No other issues (knocks on wood)

 

I hope owners can also chime in about their oil change intervals. I've read a theory here that changing oil at the Toyota recommended 10k intervals play a part in burning oil.

 

I'll have to look at old owners service records for prior history. I did it just a bit after buying it, and I'll be doing it again at 7500 miles. I just can't bring myself to go 10,000 miles. That's with synthetic oil. My normal interval is 5000 for synthetic oil and rotate tires. With the new job and the long commute it's almost exclusively highway miles, with a bit of traffic at the Nashville end, so I extended it to 7500 for the prius. I'll do the tires at the same interval unless I see a wear issue then I'll change that back to 5000. Do you think the highway miles is easier or harder on the oil? I'm doing my best to keep the speed at 70-73 and using the cruise?

 

I do the 10 k mile oil change interval.

The correlation I feel is the case is that now the drain interval is 2x what it used to be, and most owners believe in the "closed hood" philosophy .

So they are 1/2 as likely to catch it before the light on the dash alerts to the problem and consumption is significant.

Check the oil level often to stay ahead .

 

At a Toyota dealership "new owners" night, the service manager took us through the service bays, and actually advocated "closed hood", saying something like "you'll never need to pop the hood...".

I seriously find that unconscionable; I should have called him on it. It was getting close to door prize and snack time though.

Guess we should get back to answering the survey, maybe updating with oil change interval where needed. I think this was all done before, but maybe not exclusive to 2010.

 

Mendel! I am SO disappointed in you. You sold out for a door prize and some Scooby snacks! Well, at least tell us what the door prize was. Maybe that'll make it better.

and

Raytheeagle, I agree. I check the oil level most of the time when I fill up. I'm just washing window and waiting on the fuel to stop anyway. On a car that uses oil, I check it more frequently. Waiting until the light comes on is too late. There's a reason people call them "idiot" lights. No disrespect intended to anyone on here.

 

2013
Build 2012
110k miles
No consumption

 

In a shameless attempt to save some time from reading and searching older posts (there seems to be so many oil related threads here!)..... was there a general consensus on whether the oil change intervals, average highway speed, acceleration habits, etc... were major contributors to oil consumption issues?

 

nope, everyone had a different opinion. and opinions are the whole problem. but we do what we think is best.

 

The Truth About Engine Oil Consumption in a Modern Car | Auto Expert John Cadogan | Australia

AutoExpertTV

Published on Jun 16, 2017
Oil Consumption in Modern Cars: The Truth
Does your car have a drinking problem? A destructive relationship with engine oil? Is the manufacturer brushing you off as it churns and burns oil between services? Plenty of people complain to me about this.
Here are the facts.
Now look - there’s nothing I like more than the repetitive application of lubricant. Maintenance is very important.
Frankly I get several hundred complaints by e-mail about alleged excessive oil consumption. Often in relation to Audi, Holden Colorado, and Subaru.
Luke’s question on this is typical - I’m just picking his because it’s the most recent. And he’s literate - he uses sentences and everything, which is not always the case.
“I have a 2014 Holden Colorado with 67,000km on the clock. I’ve owned it since new and it is using two litres of oil between 15,000km services. Car has been fully serviced. Holden has replaced the dipstick and continued to monitor it for a year and have now put 5W40 in it at the last service but it hasn’t helped. I have recently been told in writing by my local Holden dealer that “Anything below 2.5l per 10,000km is considered acceptable, and additional top ups between services are not uncommon. Is this reasonable?”
To do this question justice we need to do a crash course in engine design basics - past versus present:
In the past, engines were built tight, and they consumed, essentially, no oil for years (if you maintained them). Then, inevitably, wear would overcome them, and the piston rings and/or valve guides would give up the ghost.
After 150,000 kilometres, or whatever, mechanical wear would take over, blow out the clearances, and as a consequence, a great deal of engine oil would burn, and every takeoff at the lights would make you look like the Batmobile in ‘smokescreen’ mode.
Wear would then accelerate and your engine would be a dead man walking.
Then, about a decade ago, maybe 15 years, manufacturers started to get real serious about fuel consumption, and there are three ways to tackle that.
The easiest way is just to make cars lighter - but since that also makes them, typically, smaller, and less brimming with the cool toys you expect, manufacturers are disinclined to do that. Cars keep getting bigger and heavier.
The second way is to improve combustion efficiency - which is what variable valve timing, direct injection, variable geometry turbos, etc. - all the cool engine engineering toys - are about. Burning the same amount of fuel and extracting more useful work from it.
And the last way - in many ways the most accessible way to make real efficiency gains - is to tackle resistance. Things like aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and internal friction. Losses. These are the things you can’t feel, but which your engine needs to battle every rev, just to get your car out of the blocks and moving.
Internal friction in your engine is one of those big-ticket ‘losses’ items. So, in an effort to reduce fuel consumption, manufacturers have for several years now waged war on internal friction in engines, and they’ve wound back the tension in the piston rings and valve guides, in particular.
This saves fuel (and it saves you money - let’s not forget that while you’re bitching about oil consumption - you’re saving money on fuel here) but it also opens the door to oil consumption. And this understandably sets off warning bells in some owners’ minds at least.
This oil consumption is a feedback effect - looser piston rings and valve guides slide easier but allow some oil to be burnt. Classic example of an overall positive change also generating negative feedback.

 

I'm not sure if this has any validity, but I started looking around and found this recent video. Summary above.

 

2010 Prius V w/ ATP.
Build date:06/09
106,XXX miles.
10K oil change intervals, except for one it went 17K around 70K miles from a previous owner unless the dealer didn't enter it in the history.
No oil loss or burning.

 

the only problem with this opinion is, it doesn't explain all the 2010's that don't burn any oil.

 

I'm interested in the data, and the interval.