Question about all 2010 Prius's

91,000 runs like new. Never a problem. Mileage actually improving in last year!

 

No problems, at 63,000 km's. Build date Aug 2009.

 

My 2010 burns oil and now has developed a slight play on the steering wheel when stopped. Mpg isn't all the great, around 40 mpg around town with 17 inch wheels.

My 2015 is really solid but Mpg is also suffering around town with 17 inch wheels.

 

other than squeaks and rattles, the only major complaint i have read about is 2010's with 100,000+ miles burning oil. it's hard to figure a percentage or how many, and no one knows the details of driving style or maintenance.
that being said, when you're looking at one, how do you know if it's burning oil, or will in the future?

 

it's a hit or miss, many people here with properly maintained 2010 models, have very little issues.

 

i guess look for a one owner, no accident, well maintained with docs and hope for the best. how much is 2011 with similar mileage?

 

100,100+ miles, no issues other than recalls. Minor battle scars...

 

of course, the 2011's might be next, i've no idea if they made any corrections to the piston rings or whatever.

 

2010 Prius II with 137.5 k miles. A little oil consumption (1 quart every 6,500 miles).

But pencil me into the happy owner category. The Prius is reliable and gets 45 mpg going 70-75 mph on the freeway. Glad I bought my 2010 in August 2009.

 

change oil at 6500 miles and you won't need to top up

 

That's one way to look at it. Another way is to look at the cost: $4 for a quart between oil changes Or more frequent oil changes at a cost of about $40 all in. In the long run, the cost justification I do not see.

 

Got a 2010 Prius III; it's got 106,000 on it, still getting around 45-55 mpg (as it has always done), and no excessive oil burning and such. Has had a couple of minor repairs.. A new 12V battery (right, big deal), can't think offhand of anything else.

On the other hand: Consumers Union says, "Never get the first model year of a car." And that's what the 2010 Prius is. It's gone through two recalls that I remember; one on the brakes, the other on the inverter software. But that first model year stuff holds.

By the by: Having overhauled a car engine or two back in the day, there's some straightforward logic as to why a car burns oil excessively. It's usually stuck piston rings.

Most engines have pistons with three rings. The rings fits into slots cut into the periphery of the piston, with the openings on 120-degree angles from each other, the better to cut down on the blow-by from the high pressure from the combustion chamber. The rings are extremely springy and have to be compressed into their slots in order to get the pistons into the cylinders.

As you might expect, high pressure attempts to get past the rings, either between the ring and the cylinder wall or around the ring, going into the slot, around the ring, and back out again. Not that there's that much flow in that second direction, but what's attempting to make it through there are combustion products - gunky, black, full of carbon and tar combustion products.

Normal engines run hot enough that most of that stuff gets burned off; it's one of the reasons that people with high-performance engines are told to let it rev 'way up there from time to time, in order to heat things up and burn off the tar and black junk.

However, the Prius is a kind of car that tends to turn off the gas engine on the drop of a hat. Hence, unless one is driving one's Prius at speed, those high temperatures won't be reached. My suspicion is that on those driven-only-in-town the engines have always run cool; the gunk builds up; and the piston rings stick and stop sliding back and forth in their slots. Result: Heavy oil consumption.

Back in the day there were additives one could pour into a carburetor that would result in huge clouds of white smoke going out the exhaust; I think they were called "head end cleaners" and, if the piston/ring/cylinder wear wasn't too bad, could reduce oil consumption for a while. But that was for non fuel-injected cars without catalytic converters; it's a good bet that with a Prius in this state, one would be stuck with having to pull apart the engine and clean things manually, which is pretty much doing an engine overhaul. And if one is going to do that to an engine with 100K miles on it, then one might as well go whole hog, put in resized pistons, rings, and re-score the cylinders, not to mention checking the crankshaft bearings and all that.

My car's daily commute usually involves 10 or 15 miles of freeway driving, at least two or four times a week; hence, I'd like to think that my engine isn't going to run across the stuck rings problem. But we'll see.

KBeck

 

I have 61K on my 2010 the only problems I have had was a rear brake caliper got stuck and I had to replace the pads. The other was that three out of four of my wheel bearings/hubs had to be replaced. I've also have had zero oil usage so far.

 

2010 prius with 97000 miles. Everything is still good. Second owner since 22xxx miles. Original everything excep 17" rims and lower on coilover.