2005 Prius Gobbling Up Oil

How long has the qt/1000 miles oil replacement rate been going on for ?
Mostly I am wondering if the increased oil use has been gradual and progressive, or abrupt.

 

Even Toyota's lawyers say one quart per 600 miles (which is ridiculous) means time for new motor. Go ahead and milk it for a while...but it's time to start shopping.

 

Yeah I'm wondering the same thing. I'm also wondering if the car has been run low on oil very many times (or at all).

 

And give "high mileage" oil a try.
In some cases, it does wonders; in other cases not much.
It can't hurt and only costs a few pennies more.

For some things. In an engine using oil, it is only effective if the cause is a stuck ring or two.

It is a VERY thin oil and in most cases of increased oil consumption it will just make matters slightly worse.

In a very high mileage engine, it probably is not worth the trouble even trying.

 

I've noticed that the oil consumption increases on my "very high" mileage engine whenever I drive faster than 70 mph (which I've been tending to do a lot lately because I've gotten tired of being tailgated when driving at the 70 mph limit.)

It makes perfect sense for oil consumption to increase when driving at a faster speed - engine rpm is higher so whatever blows by the piston rings or through the valve stems goes out the exhaust at a quicker rate as well. Sure, the total drive time is a few minutes less from A to B but it seems that the if you were to calculate the average rpm over time, the total engine revolutions would still be greater for faster velocity/less time.

In addition, the EMF provided by the traction battery isn't assisting the little 1.5L gas engine as much as it had when new. It's likely that the engine rpm needs to run a little higher in my 05 to climb hills, drive fast, etc.

 

Cathy is just over 5hrs drive (Southern Indiana) from Prius hybrids sales and service Scottsburg Indiana. Steve can supply a low mileage replacement engine at a reasonable cost ($550 + labor)

JeffD
(only 27k miles from ODO limit, using about 1 qt per 3000 miles)

 

Best of luck. I hope you got the answer you were seeking.