2005 Pruis using oil

I would also see if you can befriend a Toyota service person (they're not all bad) and ask them to run the VIN number. If there was problems that another Toyota dealer was working on it might give you a clue to it's previous maint. history and possibly why the owner got rid of the car.

 

Thanks, that sounds like a very worthwhile exercise. I'm about to hit the phone and see if I can get this thing sorted. I already really like this car so remain motivated to get it right even if it takes a few bucks. Apparently there is a private Prius specialist in Phoenix, anybody know him or used him? My issues are crappy steering, darts about under braking and using oil. Although, upon reflection, I think the dealer told me the services were up to date when in reality it probably was very overdue, and looking at the tires, they look very uneven, sort of scrubbed on the inside edges. Hoping just wheel alignment and a couple tires!

 

Hi Derek. Get your tires and wheel alignment sorted out and your oil changed back to either 5W30 or 10w30 and monitor your oil consumption for a while. Check it weekly and top off as necessary until you've figured out what's going on.

Don't jump straight to getting a new engine until at the very least you've fully accessed the oil consumption and tried a few simple possibilities such as the PCV valve, or a piston soak, or if all else fails a high mileage oil.

 

OK, many thanks to all who responded. Her's the latest development. I finally got hold of my regular mechanic after the weekend and he said he has worked on several of these and was happy to take a look. I got a call from him, seems it's not all doom and gloom after all. He drained out that rubbish they put in, said it needed a wheel alignment and as I thought, the front tires had worn funny and effected the handling. Interestingly, he managed to trace it's history. It had been serviced at Toyota dealers on time all its life, but upon deciding to trade it seems that the original owners may have been a little cheap and skipped the last one, and he said the oil was probably broken down due to having done excessive mileage. He seems confident that it will be fine with some common sense and a good service to get it back up to date. What a relief!! I remain hopeful as, like I've said I'm enjoying this car and its features already, don't want to bail out of it without trying to sort it. He said the heavy oil was simple madness and definitely explained the heavy gas consumption, given what he knows about these cars. I'll update once i pick it up and see how the oil burning goes....he put Toyota oil, the recommended grade in it with a genuine Toyota filter, he thinks we can't go wrong with that approach. Sounded plausible to me.

I also asked him to check the whole front end, struts etc, he seems to thinks it's fine and handling issues related to bad tires and alignment issues. Fingers crossed.

 

That's good to hear, best of luck to you and keep us up to date.

 

Ok picked up and driven. Different car already. Engine sounds so much sweeter to my untrained ear. Takes off like a rocket too. So glad I persisted. Thanks again to all that posted.

 

Great advice. Thanks.

 

Ok, here we go.

Had a day off work, shift worker, so went for a 4 hour drive to see how the car is going after work done. I checked the oil before and after, no change at all.

It drove very nicely, better than it has so far and the gas mileage came up, as in better figures. Seems it may turn out alright after all.

I could get to like this thing. They're different but sort of addictive. Don't laugh, but it reminds me of gaming. Seeing if you can better your score each trip/tank, etc.

 

There are A LOT of "Prii Burning Oil" threads out there. The one I keep an eye on and post to most regularly is this one:

2008 Prius - burning oil at 135,000 miles | PriusChat

There seems to be a lot of good information on there and there really isn't a consensus as to what is causing or how to cure "oil burn" other than a salvaged engine. Some people have had success with Restore, Risoline, Sea Foam, high mileage oil, 10W-40 and some have had no changes with any of those. It can vary from Prii to Prii it seems.

My personal experience is 10W-40 has helped the most along with keeping the engine under 4,000 RPM's as much as possible. Ema still "burns" though but at 354K she's allowed, LOL.

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

hi guys, since I drove over 10,000km's with my new LPG installation I noticed (accidentally) that my dipstick was nearly dry!

I had to topup 2 liters of oil. This never happened before. I wonder whether LPG kit is a culprit here.

My engine has 200,546km's at the moment.

Can someone please post pdf how to replace the mentioned PCV valve. (sorry if this is in the thread - I didn't have time to read it through).

I suspect that engine might eventually fail. Therefore, can someone recommend good affordable code reader. I wish to purchase one in advance. This would allow me to be ready just in case I need to troubleshoot.

Question: I am due oil change soon, can someone please advise whether to go through the procedure hybridkarpower posted in his post number #6 here: Hybridkarpower | PriusChat ?

Should I get 5W30 or 10W40 oil for 5000-7000km's and see how it gets with that distance ?

thinking of getting this oil:
Shell Toyota Helix HX7 AF 5w30 5Ltr | Euro Car Parts UK’s No.1 Car Parts Retailer

Please advise whether or not should I replace PCV valve or add any additive to oil with the next change?

thank you

update: just found the link to the DIY PCV valve replacement - PCV replacement how-to with photos | PriusChat

Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/2005-pruis-using-oil.133429/#ixzz2lep6y4uQ
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I have my prius on lpg too. I would advise that you drive conservatively when on lpg, as the exhaust valves tend to get hotter. I too noticed a slight oil burning but only slight (like 70ml/1000km), ie I have to add 700ml-1kg of oil per 10000km. I use mobil 1 0w30.

I have been on lpg for ~100000km now.

Lpg is said to be heavy on exhaust vavles. I did a valve adjustment at 80000km on lpg. 3 valves were at their lowest limit and had to be adjusted, though I can't say if it was because of lpg. I will know in 2-3 years.