2010 vs 2011 vs 2012 oil consumption

That max consumption which is acceptable is rubber stamped in all years of Owners Manuals, I think. It's pretty atrocious too, they should put that statement in the new car brochures, a real selling point, lol.

Our 2010 consumes zero oil so far, actually a first for me. I doubt there's a mechanical difference in any of the years. Newer's got many advantages tho.

 

there were more 2010 cars sold than any other year in the 3rd gen. 2010 cars also have more miles, hence more complains.

 

Why complaints with the 2010 seem more numerous is an interesting question. It may be simply due to their greater age and average mileage. Also, 2010 was an extra-long model year, so there are a lot of them. I haven't heard of any physical change that would make newer ones less susceptible. If there was such an improvement, that would be surprising news, and a relief to me as owner of a 2011. So far, at 56,246 miles, mine consumes remarkably little oil---like Mendel's 2010.

 

Picked my 2010 up in July '09. 94k miles. No oil consumption issues at all.

 

2012 Prius IV with 104k miles and no problem so far, no oil consumption and only did 1 recall for their air bag igniter which was covered for free.

 

Yes, my 2010 is experiencing oil consumption. I currently add about 1/2 quart every 2 weeks which is approximately 750 miles (or let's say 1 quart about every 1500 miles). First noticed this about 85,000 miles or so, but to be honest, I hadn't really watched it until one day I checked it and noticed it was low and had to add 2 quarts which scared the bejeebers out of me.

I did Google and found the same issues posted that you mentioned about 2010's. Seems that many of the comments indicated the problem started at about 80k-90k miles, which I think is true in my case as well, although I wish I'd paid more attention to when it began.

I'll also have to say that I have a 1980 Toyota Celica with 640,000 miles (and original engine) that doesn't use this much oil, so the Prius consumption has really surprised me.

With that said, I love the 2010 and it has served me well for it's now 94,000 miles and will keep it a few more years I think. Adding oil is cheaper than dealing with the problem. I too am curious about 2011's and above though..

 

Brought my 2011 in for a 100K service yesterday. Got the oil changed and the ICE coolant changed. I have just recently noticed an oil consumption issue, and it is very similar to what happened with my 2008. Right around the 100,000 mile mark the engine will suddenly start using some oil. Not a lot of oil, but some. Both were purchased with nearly the same existing mileage, 57K on the 2008, 54K on the 2011. Both were driven over the same course, the same distance every day, nearly the same weather conditions, and with the same strict adherence to scheduled maintenance. I was able to reduce the burn in the 2008 some by using a high-mileage blend oil. I mentioned the oil usage to my service writer and asked if Toyota has a high mileage 0W20 and he said no. So my options are continue with their standard 0W20 or start changing the oil myself and try one of the high mileage variants. A quick look around at what is available and I'm not seeing anything in the 0W20 range. Closest is Valvoline Max-Life 5W20. There are several threads in the Gen II forum about this kind of oil usage, with the top suspects as cylinder wear, coked-up oil control rings, or hardened valve stem seals. The high-mileage oil blends can supposedly soften up the valve stem seals which reduces the amount of static oil leak-down into the cylinder. In the mean time, I have two ticks on the clock of oil usage estimation to consider. Prior to the 90K point it was using maybe a pint between 10K changes. At 96K I topped up 10 oz. for an estimated burn rate of 1 quart in 20K miles. A more recent topping-up at 99K I added 9 oz. and the burn rate was 1 quart in 9344 miles. A considerable difference. I will continue to monitor to see if that recent figure holds.

 

One quart in 10K~ miles is still quite low. I would avoid high mileage oils unless it got markedly worse.

 

The engine long blocks are identical. Rate of oil consumption is a direct result of use and maintenance.

 

the slippery slope has started and this eventually will end in a major oil consumption. the problem is stuck oil control rings and you can fix it by a series of piston soaks if you catch it early. google for piston soaks if you are not familiar with it.

 

Key to extending life of any vehicle is maintenance! harsher the operating conditions requires more attention!

 

My 11 is using a bit 130k -- maybe 1/2 Q in 10k. Not too many years ago not having to add in 3500 was a feat.

 

Anecdotally, oil consumption is noticed on a Prius at around 100k miles. Assuming average of 15k miles per year and all you're going to hear about is 2010. You'll start reading about 2011 and so on next year. I don't think there is any difference between the model years. I noticed some consumption on my 2012 starting at the 90k OCI. The dipstick read lower than what I filled at. It was a small amount and entirely expected from reading on these forums. I do 10k OCI, if I did 5k OCI, then I'd probably not notice any consumption. That's how small the amount was.

 

This isn't really normal, it is just a boilerplate figure above which the manufacturer will disclaim any warranty claims for excessive oil consumption. It is approximately the same warranty threshold I've found in all my car owners manuals, over four decades and five brands.

 

check again. i believe other toyota cars specify 1qt/1000 miles and some other brands (GM) are more like 1qt/2000 miles. i suspect prius' low tension rings has partially to do with that.

 

My 2010 V with 112K hasn't yet required any oil between changes. Lots of highway driving in the past year (5 trips of 600 miles each way) accounted for most of my driving.

 

I haven't had any other Toyota models. Other household cars are/were Ford, Honda, Acura, and Subaru.

 

OK, i'll bait. what are the oil consumption limits in those brands?

 

On the household's 20th Century models, all the cars -- and owners manual -- are long gone, except for the Acura. I'll check it when I get back to my own home (at dad's now). The Honda was the same era, so ought to have the same figure.