Misgivings about 2010 Prius

That sucks but you never stated which type oil are you putting in?

 

i feel your pain, i just paid $1,200. to have two bathroom faucets replaced, and a whole house water filter installed, labor only. and the faucets were only 8 years old.
unfortunately, all too common a problem in the 2010's. perhaps not usually as bad as yours. i think there is a tsb on the manifold. call toyota, they might reimburse you.

 

I think the question is what weight? 0W-20, 5W-20, etc. Saying "synthetic" doesn't say much. In fact, Toyota does not even specify "synthetic". All they care about is the weight, 0W-20 is good for 10,000 miles, 5W-20 is good for 5,000 miles in Gen 3's.

 

Do you check the oil level between oil changes?

 

The 3rd gen (2010`2015) Exhaust Gas Recirculation system seem to predictably and reliably clog up, somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 miles. So far Toyota's staying mum on the subject.

They did acknowledge an issue, and did an intake manifold redesign, but how this resolves the issue, I'm not seeing. Just cleaning the crud out of the existing intake manifold would be just as effective I think. Coupled with cleaning the EGR system, from stem to stern, which is no trivial task, as Raytheeagle will attest.

And maybe checking on the Positive Crankcase Ventilation Circuit as well: the PCV valve is lowish on the crankcase wall, and there's reports of it sucking up oil and sending it to the intake manifold.

Your oil consumption might be caused by the EGR (and/or PCV) systems dumping carbon/oil into the intake manifold, fouling piston rings and valves????

 

What is you normal operation for your Prius: highway driving, a mix of highway and city?

I have found that high speed highway driving (say sustained periods above 70 mph) gives the 1.8 L engine a workout, leading to oil consumption.

Some negatives of oil consumption can lead to cat converter fouling / failure as well as egr system deposits. These deposits build up and can cause components to underperform, such as the egr valve or the intake manifold.

I have done or helped on 2 egr system remove/ replacements (and next month will be a third). Last one took about 2 hours and was a 2 man job. One was done at 120 k miles and the other at 140 k miles. Both had light deposits in the cooler.

Your situation at 100 k miles and a quart of oil every 600 miles sounds on the cusp of the oil burn threshold. Have you had the dealer conduct an oil consumption test? Are you still under warranty? If under warranty and have not done the consumption test, it might be worth doing.

If they will do it and if the level of consumption is over the threshold and they would agree to replace the engine, I would do the test and stack the odds in your favor. After they seal everything up, Fill your tank up with gas (take a bio break as well), then try to consume the whole tank of gas on a highway run at about 5-10 mph above the highway speed limit. That's the normal flow of traffic in my neck of the woods in the fast lane, but should give good conditions for the test.

Good luck.

 

Some would argue that checking your oil level is a basic thing to do.

Where I work we do a lot of "Root Cause Analysis" and in a lot of cases the root is identified as lack of knowledge. Monitoring oil level keeps you up to date on an important facet of your car. If low and the sump has no oil, lubrication will be lost and then bad things happen.

This is how some oil consumption leads to a lot of oil consumption. This is not just toyota and not just a Prius. This is for every car. I have been doing some research on the side with a preventative maintenance company and the rep I am working with has share "modern engines" are all more susceptible to oil consumption.

Think Honda is better? Check out some other forums and you'll see oil consumption is there as well. I have a coworker whose wife drives and Odyssey that burns a quart every 400-500 miles. He's done the oil consumption test and their response: within "spec". He still owes on the van, so he'll have to live with it.

If your Prius is paid off, you could get something different. But know that checking your oil should be something to make part of a routine to stay aware of issues before they get larger in any vehicle. I check both of our vehicles every weekend which is oil level and 12v battery reading. Both cars take a total of 5 minutes.

 

I just pull the dipstick while the tank is filling. I'm standing around anyway, usually under a lighted canopy and there's usually a paper towel dispenser next to the pump. It's easy to do, and exactly what my driver training instructor advised me in high school which was in the age of carburetors, three-speed automatics and 4- or maybe 5-speed manuals.

So far no discernible oil use between changes in my Gen 3 (knocks wood), and my preference is to keep it that way....

-Chap

 

I'm always as busy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, filling up at self-serve stations. But yeah, every time there's a lull in the conversation, I'm out to the garage, checking stuff.

My trick is to pull the dipstick and just leave it lying on a cloth, then go around and check tire pressures. By the time I get back to checking the dipstick, residual oil in the dipstick's tube has drained down, making it much easier to read.

 

Sorry you're so upset about your hybrid and Prius experience.

I would call Toyota, because the manifold is a known issue and maybe you can get some assistance with that bill.

That's asking for a lot of problems, without the luxury of the efficiency of a Hybrid.

 

It's always good to vent a little. It's even better to channel frustration into action.

Sounds like a good plan forward .

 

Before a person can be ssued a drivers license, everyone should be made to attend a mandatory eight hour class on the basics of vehicle maintenance. (And rules of the road!)

I would bet that about 80% of the driving public never check their oil or fluid levels. Nor their tire pressure. Some just dont know or have never been taught. And others just don't give a crap, or have every excuse in the book for not having the "time."

Poor bastards. Then they get all angry and upset when their motor burns up.

 

Put your iPhone down for three minutes people, and check your oil! I bet they are a whiz on every computer device known to man, yet they can't take a couple minutes and simply pull a dipstick out and read the level!

Sometimes you have to be very blunt with people. There's really no excuse for this stuff. Excuse me now, I have to go mark my calendar to remind me when to take a shower!

 

There are more than a few owners that do check their oil level regularly, AND have climbing consumption. It's not just due to neglect. I appreciate chronic neglect doesn't help matters tho.