engine oil went dry

LOL, can't read the date in the magazine. but, with Papa Francisco, it must be recent enough.

Lets make it a priuschat policy, to register, one need to present a picture of passport, prius, and dated newspaper in correct language, LOL.

 

love the pope!

 

Happy to know my English is good though
It was the first time I felt 'challenged' to participate in an online forum...

I will try to bring updates on this oil consumption thing.
Anyone here knows how the 'oil consumption test' is done?
They are supposed to just check the level and refill it, or are they going to drain all the oil and put new oil in it to the top again, while also replacing the oil filter?

I guess I am going to start reducing the oil change intervals, specially after this episode. When I now check the level I can clearly see some very small black particles on the end of the dipstick and the oil is slightly darker than it used to be, which leads me to think that, appart from any engine weakness, there was a time where the oil stayed inside the engine too much time (extended service intervals or some oil change missed, by me or by the dealer) or it ran with low oil level for some period, allowing the carbon particles to build up, thus helping to this consumption issue. I bought the car new and never missed a service at the dealer, but looking at the service records, I see that 3 or 4 of them were slighly extended by 3000/4000 km, which never thought it was a problem and never had been alarmed by the dealer about that on this car as well as on any of my previous cars with similar service patterns which never suffered from oil consumption issues (if it were a problem, I guess the majority of the cars around the world should be suffering from oil consumption issues... Some tolerance levels should be acceptable).

An engine flush seems adequate, to clean the interior or help to free the oil rings if by any means they can be stuck. I will have to ask the dealer if this is possible or a part of the procedure.

Despite a consumption rate of half a liter per 3000kms does not seem alarming, it is a sign of wear and I will keep an eye on it.

 

wear or plugged piston oil return holes. read the whole thread from the beginning.

 

These observations about engine design are important. Another observation is that the Prius engine has a relatively simplistic crankcase ventilation system, having only a PCV valve and not a sophisticated oil trap like most European cars. So, if a piston does clog, thereby increasing blow by, aerosols of oil can readily pass the PCV valve. This may explain why the onset of oil consumption in the Prius is often sudden, taking the owner by surprise. So what's the bottom line? Perhaps the 10K oil change interval for the Gen III is just too long and this can ultimately allow piston clogging?

 

When I see a competing petrol ICE design that routinely beats Toyota in longevity I'll be interested in the design.

Hlunde: Perhaps, but I'm more inclined to think that a dumb episode* by the owner or a facility changing the oil predated the "sudden" increase in oil consumption. I think the much more important lesson to learn is that these Alu engines do not tolerate abuse and do not have much oil reserve. Moral: Check the engine oil level monthly!

*I cannot think of a single instance of a DIY'r giving that kind of report. This is what makes me think maintenance is key in preventing the problem.

 

"I think the much more important lesson to learn is that these Alu engines do not tolerate abuse and do not have much oil reserve." That was my observation. My daily driver has a 2.5L engine, 6.2qt oil capacity and there's 1.5L between full and add on the dipstick. I maintain my cars well so this doesn't matter to me, but it does help the neglecter.

 

^ That's a nice idea: a dipstick indicating range.

 

you have to open your toyota fan-boy mind for some reality check.
i have been a BITOG member for over 10 years and DIY over-maintained my previous daily commuter, 03 corolla. it started drinking oil at the "advanced" age of 70,000 miles. and yes, i eagerly checked oil every fueling or weekend (whichever came first). toyota had oil issues since 1998 and they are not fully resolved yet. probably a side effect of fuel efficiency.

 

Right. That's the best point of the whole argument. Between the first two words of that sentence we could insert "Toyota" or any of various other specific brand names, and the statement would still hold true. Not all engines are prone to high oil consumption at high mileage. Not even all engines of many decades ago, when that was considered the norm. By now, it's reasonable to feel that an engine design is defective if it is prone to early high oil consumption despite proper maintenance.

Meanwhile, I'd just like to know what I have to do to avoid this problem, besides the obvious ones of watching the oil level and changing oil at proper intervals.

Is the oil ring plugging problem more prevalent on cars that have been habitually driven at high speeds, or any other sustained high-power situation?

 

A tip worth doing, if you're not a klutz.

Capture old oil in one of those recycling oil pans. Save old gallon milk jugs (4 US quarts). See how much oil you recover after an oil change. This is a good indicator of what you put in vs. what you got back. You might account some for what's trapped in the oil filter, but the Prius oil filter is quite small. If you see a significant difference, start looking for problems. If it gets worse, you have a problem. If it stays the same, it might just be the norm for your particular situation.

 

I found this other report on CarTalk Community, on a topic related with oil consumption :

"In the Owner's Manual, Toyota considers 1Qt./1000 miles acceptable oil usage. Out of curiosity, what is your oil change interval? Do you check the oil level between changes? Has the car ever been run low on oil?

I ask because a coworker has a 2010 Prius that needs a quart of oil every 600-700 miles. He drives 500 miles a week (mostly highway) and was changing the oil every 7500 miles. He wasn't using oil between changes and got out the habit of checking the oil level. Unfortunately at 120k miles the Oil Pressure light started flickering one day and the Prius was 3 quarts low. Since then it has been using oil, but he regularly checks the oil level and adds a quart as needed. It has 150k miles and is running well except for the oil consumption."

losing oil - Car Talk

I felt like if I was the coworker quoted on that guy's post, since that was exactly what happened to me.

It seems this is not uncommon, and I definitely feel like these engines have small tolerance to maintenance deviations.

 

i would say yes. this is based on the fact my corolla oil consumption abruptly started exactly when i took the car for a high speed interstate run on a very hot day and it the end of OCI. i was also able to partially reverse it a couple of years later when i applied a rather long sequence of piston soaks with various solvents.

 

Interesting! What sort of oil was in it?

 

Valvoline "semi-synthetic" durablend API:SM 5W30. 5,000 mile/6 month OCIs. I had a case of free after rebate. in retrospect, it wasn't a good oil. it left some deposits in the bottom of bottles with new oil and did poorly in my oven oil baking test i did in the aftermath.

 

FYI, just hit 200000km this week, checked the oil level (oil changed 6000 km before) no change in level. Using 0W20 as recommended

 

just so we understand, how fast is high speed?

 

I am currently on the second oil consumption test interval.
First one, 1800 miles (3000 kms), it used about half a quart.
Now the second test seems to be much likely the same, but still running.
I wonder if this will lead to something good coming from Toyota, but my expectations are low.

By the way, I found the following complaints below, very similar to what I had experienced (even the mileage of the car is similar) :

2010 Toyota Prius Excessive Oil Use: 7 Complaints

2010 Prius Oil Burn | Passenger Car Motor Oil (PCMO) - Gasoline Cars/Pickups/Vans/SUVs | Bob Is The Oil Guy

Not difficult to find similar reports.
Maybe a real issue with some Toyota 1.8L Atkinson engine lots.

 

Assuming that the mechanism for oil consumption in this particular engine is clogging of the oil-ring drain holes in the piston, I would continue to use the specified synthetic oil but shorten the change interval to try and avoid additional clogging.

 

good find. i didn't see that site before.
there are 3 possibilities I see, but not sure which.
1. 0w20 is not good enough to prevent ring wear (as if 5W30 was better).
2. 10,000 mile intervals are too long even for "full synthetic" 0W20 (most oils sold in USA are not truly full synthetic).
3. some people ware duped by oil change places and low quality oils were used instead of "full synthetic" 0W20.