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Engine Failure.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by tspoerer21, Sep 10, 2013.

  1. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    If I were deployed overseas, and the kids were too lazy to check oil and broke the car, they would have to start walking instead.

    Besides, I almost reversed oil consumption by doing piston soaks every OCI.
     
  2. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Could you elaborate on "piston soaks"? If consumption is caused by a sticking rings, I could see that the use of a solvent would help, but I have not heard of people doing that to a Prius engine.

    I think OPs inverter failure seems early also, but where can we find statistics on the average lifespan of these major Prius components? was that too early or should we all be anticipating inverter replacements before 150,000 miles? I would very much like to have that info to plan maintenance and repair on our 2012 Gen3.

    Does Haynes or anyone else put out a manual for Gen 3 that would cover DIY inverter or ICE replacements, etc.? Given the high voltage of the system, correct and careful procedures would be a must.
     
  3. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    I'm in my mid 40's and when I was a kid I remember that just about any time my folks got gas the attendant offered to check the oil. It was because all of the cars of that age leaked or burned a bit of oil and you just kept on top of it.

    Modern engines are so much better built but that only goes so far. Burning a little bit of oil as it ages is something that I'd expect, though I'd hope that it stared well over 100k miles rather than when it started with you.

    Unfortunately with this the driver needs to be proactive. By the time the warning light flashes when cornering you have already missed the time to check it by a good margin and if you drive it past that point (any further than the nearest gas station or store that sells oil) you are rolling the dice. It stinks and I'm sure that both you and your wife feel terrible.

    Not to pile on, but when was the last oil change both in terms of time and mileage?
     
  4. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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  5. telmo744

    telmo744 HSD fanatic

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    My Haynes version for Gen 2 stays out of hybrid components, for safety reasons they refer...
     
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  6. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    In California a CARB state the inverter us under warranty for 10 years or 150,000 miles. The only cost should be the 12volt battery about $300
     
  7. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    My suggestion is get the inverter replaced under warranty and a new 12V battery is cheap. Let the dealer advise on the Engine. If the engine is seized up call Toyota corporate Customer Care and open a case and see if they can replace. If they do not have the car towed to an independent garage and install a salvage engine. Sell the car . Purchase a 2014 Honda Civic EX cost is $21,600. The car gets 39 MPG highway and is very reliable. Move on from Toyota.

    Thank You for your service to our country
     
  8. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    A failure-mode analysis of this engine would be really valuable, but most likely will never be done since it can be a tedious process. There are a lot of possible contributing factors here. The Prius crankcase has fairly low capacity (4 qts?); couple this with running one quart low, oil pan shielded from air flow, no oil cooler, and the oil will get really hot, especially in Palm Desert. But synthetic oil should withstand this and the OP said that vehicle had been dealer serviced so it should have been running on synthetic. Could the heat have affected the valve seals? Cracked them? Was the crankcase breather system malfunctioning allowing oil to get sucked into the intake manifold?
     
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  9. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Let us know the outcome
     
  10. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

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    What is not talked about is establishing exactly what is your 'Oil Consumption Rate'.
    Once a car starts to noticeably consuming oil, you should measure that rate.
    As stated, something like 800mi/qt. is the point when a warranty claim can be made.
    Anything more than that rate and it is up to you to pop the hood and add oil as needed.

    My Gen3 had a rate of 2800mi/qt during a High Speed Road Trip with a load. 128k miles on it at the time.
    Always used M1 0-20 or 5-20. Normal commuting usage was much less.

    I have a Bud with +350K mi on a Gen2 and was starting to get as low as 1800mi/qt during high speed usage.
    He switched to using Mobil 1 High Mileage 5-20 and it took a while but his oil consumption has gotten much better.

    The theory: All synthetic oils have to add a 'seal swell additive' to make engine seals behave the way they do with conventional oil. Can it be that with standard M1 the valve stem seals eventually get hard and allow oil consumption?
    With the 'High Mileage' recipe they have more 'seal swell', although it may take awhile for the valve stem seals to soften up.

    Maybe you high mileage Gen3 owners can quantify this if you are starting to see more oil consumption than before.

    Not me, I have moved on to the Next Gen Hybrid.
     
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  11. szgabor

    szgabor Active Member

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    WHAT SNAFFU man ??? your wife DID not re-fill the oil even after you told her ... not toyota's fault

    looks like your use case is the one referred as heavy load ... in which case the "regular" maintanence just doesn't cut it ...

    your engine melt down by USER ERROR ... any engine will do the same when it runs out of engine oil....

    update your wife not the car :) who would keep driving the car with CLEAR signal to check the engine etc...
     
  12. telmo744

    telmo744 HSD fanatic

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    Good point.

    Your CS mileage is maybe worse than 1 Gen Prius, so your have moved aside, not ahead.

    Then maybe your oil consumption is better. :cool:
     
  13. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    My theory is 0w20 promotes more oil consumption vs the old school 5W30 oils.

    Furthermore, the OP's description sounds like heavy duty/high temp use that makes 0W20 an unacceptable choice:

    [​IMG]
     
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  14. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    While all synthetics do have a swelling agent to make their behavior similar to that of conventional oils, the lack of sufficient swelling agent will lead to seal shrinkage, and not seal than hardening.
     
  15. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    I have to note that this plot "only" goes to 110F.
     
  16. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Did you read the text?
     
  17. jlaibson

    jlaibson Junior Member

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    Most people don't bother ever lifting the hood. It used to be the guy at the gas station checked your oil on every fill-up. Now it's the Jiffy Lube guy.
     
  18. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    oh man.. 3! time to list it! owned many BMWs prior.. checked motor oil often..
     
  19. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    We are asuming that the Toyota tech actually used synthetic 0w20 in the OP vehicle when it was serviced. I wouldn't assume that. OP (or wife), should look at the service invoice and check that out. There may be a real paper trail that tells all.
     
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  20. Sunny Sunny

    Sunny Sunny New Member

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