Excess Oil Consumption in the 3rd Gen Prius?

perhaps the pan widens out at that point on the dipstick?

 

The burning of oil may not necessarily mean the the oil is seeping up through the rings into the combustion chamber. Oil is being pushed into the combustion chamber thought the pcv valve system. Oil travels from the pcv hose to the throttle body/intake plenum and then into the combustion chamber. The spring tension on the toyota rings are light weight. The issue started to arise when people hit 80-100k miles and/or higher rpm's cause more blowby. If I were to gently drive the car around town, I would never burn any oil. The majority of prius haters loath this driving technique. I drive the prius like a normal car because road rage is retarded. I had a guy in a duramax diesel that wanted to race. I thought he was going to roll coal on me and I was in fear of my life(jk).... I smoked him by two car lengths and saw his girlfriend beating him in my rearview while the look of astonishment hit his face. Priceless.

 

What does the combustion chamber have to do with the pcv valve? It's venting the crankcase.

The pcv hose to the tb is clear evidence? Evidence of what?

 

Sorry, I was distracted while typing and edited it. There is clear evidence of oil traveling through the pcv valve and into the combustion chamber. The crankcase vents a lot more than hot air, it has oil/fuel/water condensation.

 

Never heard that before how does pcv interact with the c chamber?

Of course it vents all kinds of fumes into the tb that's the design.

 

At 90k, I would use 5-20w for your next change if you haven't already. 0-20w may be too light for your high mileage. Try this and see if you burn less.

 

5-20 and 0-20 is the same weight oil at op temp.

 

So, he would need 5-30w?

 

I am not talking about the fumes, I am talking about the wet agent, oil/water/fuel. If you look at the post for oil catch can, you will see how much oil is found coming out of the pcv system dumping into the can.

 

Works well for me. Started using that weight at 120 k miles and got 155 k miles now and going strong.

 

Any difference in mpg using a different oil?

 

52.7 mpg on the current tank at over 200 miles averaging 44 mph !

No noticeable mpg hit that I can discern.

 

This was the other night on rebuild motor with running 0w20 and I will think about running 5w30 later.

 

Not bad for a 25 mile stretch .

It's relatively flat in your neck of the woods, so that is a good average. If I do not crest the pass I need to get to work, I can achieve that in normal commute traffic and around town. My tires are also at 35 psi in the front and 33 in the back. I could pump them up, but then I would have a harsher ride and wear other components out.

I'll take the softer ride and very slight mpg hit.

 

I also have a 2011 Prius. I have over 200k on vehicle and noticed I was burning oil in the 150k range. I do oil changes at about 10,000 mile intervals and add a quart when the oil change indicator comes on the first time at about 3,000 miles. I was not aware of the oil consumption test but will look into it at my local dealer.

 

Forget that. They will tell you that you need new engine for $5000. That's only good under warranty.

 

Gentlemen, I am one of the Prius owners who is getting excessive oil consumption. I say poppycock to the posters who say if you take care of your vehicle it wont happen. I serviced my vehicle EXACTLY when it was recommended. If you are not burning oil now you may be just fortunate . The more miles you put on the chances will increase of this happening to you. I burn a qt every 700 miles or so. This is not normal for ANY vehicle. I have 141,000 miles on my car. If I knew I was going to have to baby this car I would not have purchased it.

 

some here believe that the10,000 mile ocv's are the problem.

 

Has anyone run a 0w30 oil. I wonder if the fuel/water contamination is breaking down the oil to the point it can no longer thicken up to 20 weight as the engine hits 195 degree's.