HELP Is my engine messed up?! Oil dry

The prius engines are known to consume a half a quart to a quart between oil change intervals in higher mileage engines. You don't say how many miles are on yours. But yes, your mom could be right about damage to the engine. You were out of oil when your dad put in 3.5 qts.

You need to check the oil more frequently, not rely on the maintenance light to be your guide. This is what you get if you don't be proactive. If you plan on keeping the car, a used engine is not expensive to drop in, approx. $1k. Your engine will not likely blow up tomorrow, but will consume more oil, you will have to be vigilant to make it last longer.

 

Lex,

Before you go into panic mode, when the engine is running, is blue smoke pouring out of the exhaust pipe as if you were batman putting up a smoke screen? If not, then you have not had any really significant/catastrophic damage. Our blue 2005 Prius (currently at ~290,000 miles) suffered through a few similar occurrences when my son first started driving it. That car is still going strong.

A good option for you is to go ahead and do a proper oil and filter change. Adjust the oil level so it is exactly on the top 'full' mark. Drive the car as you normally would. Check the oil level again every 500 miles (or just do it every time you fill the gas to make remembering easier) and note any level difference. If level gets to about halfway between the 'full' and 'add' mark, top it off again and document how much you add and the current odometer reading. This will allow you to get an accurate idea of your oil consumption rate. ALL cars burn some oil. It's a mechanical device. Anyone who tells you it should burn zero oil doesn't understand how in internal combustion engine works or how it's lubricated.

 

Is there any way to check for engine damage?

Yes, see paragraph one in post #4. When an engine is damaged due to oil starvation, the most obvious damage will be to main bearings, connecting rod bearings and piston rings. A damaged bearing will many times result in a 'knocking' noise, like a loud clack, clack, clack that will increase or decrease in frequency and intensity with engine RPM. Piston ring damage will result in burning additional oil, and if bad enough, will result in significant smoke exiting the exhaust pipe while the engine is running. Although I'm not positive about the Prius 1.5 liter engine, many engines are designed so the main and rod bearings have priority oiling, where they will be the last to starve in a low oil condition. That's why I'm saying look for smoke. If the piston rings are effectively undamaged, then the bearings are most likely fine.

Also, if the warning merely "flashed" across the screen then disappeared, then oil pressure was only lost momentarily. Even less to worry about.

 

Yes, do this. Then:

Never mind the missed reminder, don't EVER go the full oil change distance without checking the oil level. That is a recipe for potential disaster. While most people will get by just fine most of the time, a certain fraction will get a very nasty reminder that the allowed oil loss rate on even a brand new car is fast enough to completely drain away the entire oil supply in less than the specified change interval. And if you don't catch it in time, the new car warranty does not cover the resulting damage. Only class action lawsuits can do that.

And your engine isn't new, so it could burn more. And it may not give any warnings before it suddenly starts burning faster.

Note to other readers, of all car models: if you haven't checked your oil in several thousand miles, go do it now. Don't wait for the next scheduled service.

 

Hi Lex,

1. The difference between the upper and lower dimples on the dipstick is ~1.6 US quarts.
2. As previously pointed out, you should check the oil level each time you refuel and add as needed.
3. It is OK to use the gauge on the side of the 5 quart plastic container as an approximate guide.
4. You'll find out soon enough if you have caused engine damage, based upon visible exhaust emissions or unusual engine bearing noise as mentioned above.
5. An excellent idea to change the engine oil and filter now.
6. Engine oil consumption typically is due to leaking valve stem seals or excessive wear between the engine pistons and the cylinder walls. These are not trivial issues to repair.
7. Regarding the engine vibration upon cold start, if it goes away after a warm up period then don't worry.
8. If you did not replace the iridium spark plugs at 120K miles, do that now.
9. As a comparison, my 2007 has 120K miles and uses a quart of oil per 2,500 miles. The engine oil level has never been allowed to drop below the lower dipstick dimple. The oil consumption rate will increase when traveling at highway speeds vs. city traffic.

Good luck with your continued Prius ownership.

 

It isn't practical to inspect the engine for oil starvation damage- the procedure requires far too much labor to be cost-effective. You can do a "quick-check" by looking for blue smoke as others have posted.

The next best test is an oil pressure test. A pressure gauge would have to be temporarily installed on the engine and some readings taken. I've done this on a number of other cars and it is is great (if not totally deterministic) way to determine the health of the main & rod bearings. I've never tried it on a Prius though.

Add a repeating reminder to your smartphone for oil checks. It's just an extra layer of defense that doesn't cost anything. Better to check too often at first, then reduce frequency once you have a feel for how often the oil needs topping-up, if ever. Oils change with usage, so consumption rates can vary over time. One of my other cars doesn't burn any oil once it has a fresh load, but after 2500 miles it will start consuming on an accelerating pace since the oil has been sheared down over time.

 

I hope your dad changed the oil filter.

I you have not had the spark plugs changed and plan to have it done, ask if they can do a compression test on the engine while changing the plugs. This will tell you whether the engine has any significant wear in the rings which would likely show any trouble first.

Your mom is right as well ( aren't they always?), if the engine had a close call, the engine might show more serious issues down the road, but its unpredictable and much less likely with a Prius. I wouldn't sell the car based on this issue, certainly not yet.

Definitely keep an eye on all the fluids and your tire pressure. All are important with a Prius.

Poncho

 

OK....
So, yes......presume that the engine is "damaged."
The first thing that you have to determine is "how much."

It's like aging in humans.
You have a 2009, which is a middle aged car, even if you don't drive very much.
Mileage is important know...as well as "what kind of mileage"... because this is also similar to aging in humans.
It's possible for humans to be couch potatoes and eat all the wrong foods, and still live to be centenarians......but it doesn't happen very often....if you know what I mean.
It's also possible for people to exercise daily, eat vegan, and avoid bad karma and kick off before they hit the manufacturer's warranty of three score and ten for humans.

Here's how this applies to your car:
Wear happens...where it happens, which is why your car was over 2 quarts low when the ID10T lamp illuminated.

Where did the 2 quarts go?
Well........PRESUMING that your dealer performed the oil change correctly, (or......at all) and PRESUMING that you do not have a leak, and presuming that nothing else happened to the oil such as theft, alien abduction, dipstick error, etc.........then I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your car was probably drinking and maybe even smoking behind your back....for a while now....and yes.
It's probably your fault, but that's OK.
Many people with pre-teens have this problem, and it's usually caused by the same thing.
Not paying attention.

The good news is that......your car is still running, AND (here's the phrase that pays!!!) it's probably still getting good mileage!!
Cars that need extensive engine repairs do not usually get good gas mileage, so do not think that you have to do anything involving dealership mechanics and boat payments!!!
The other good news is that you can still get YEARS more service out of this car by monitoring your fuel efficiency and your oil consumption.

Things to do:
Thing number first: make sure that the oil and filter were changed.....hopefully correctly and determine when this happened.
There's no need to be super anal about it, the nearest hundred miles or so is OK.
Then? Find out how to check the oil, and start doing so every month or thousand miles.
If this sounds familiar, it's because the manual that came with your car says to do so.
What you're going to wind up with is an oil burn rate, and chances are that this burn rate (based on your OP) will be about a quart every three thousand miles or so.
Then?
All you have to do is keep the oil topped off between 5,000 mile oil changes by adding as necessary.
If the oil burn rate stays the same, and your fuel efficiency stays about the same, then it's going to wind up killing your car..........at about the 20 year/250,000 mile mark.

If your car burns excessive amounts of oil, then you're going to know about it fairly quickly!!!!
You see a large blue cloud of smoke behind you.....or your county wants to borrow your car for mosquito control....or you have to pay off your local emissions tester, kids won't let you drop them off at school, and friends start asking "which car are you driving?" when you drop by for lunch........then it's probably time to consider "next steps."
What is excessive you ask?
Well....Toyota says 1 quart every 600 miles, but this is because they do not like to replace engines under warranty.
Things like spark plugs and your catalytic converter will probably start giving you trouble well before this level of consumption!

Things to DON'T:

Don't try any daffy additives in the Marvel Mystery Oil aisle of your local parts house.
Don't tell your dealership. It makes them salivate all over their yachting magazines.
Don't think that you have to go into your garage every four hours to check your oil level. Once every other fill-up is probably fine.
Don't give up the ship! Oops....wait. I have that wrong.........in other words:
Don't think that your car is ruined. 1Q/3000 miles for a nine year old car is closer to normal than you may think.


Good Luck!

 

I'll let some of the G2 owners weigh in on maintenance periodicities, but yours seem a little suspicious to me.
If you do not feel like reading all of the crap below, here's the reader's digest:
$190 is a little high for the Spark Plugs, but it's not the worst price I've seen, and if you're confident that the dealer is capable of performing this task, I'd do it.
I would not do the compression test, since you do not yet know how much oil you're consuming, nor can you.....nor should you use the compression test results to determine whether or not it's time to do a heart transplant....and quite frankly I would not trust the dealership to provide accurate readings since they have a 4-figure financial incentive to put their thumb on the scale.


The rest....

Here's a web site that you may use to download the for-real maintenance schedule from the people who designed and built the car.
Keep in mind that there is.....(*cough-cough!!*) "sometimes" a stark difference between the maintenance that a dealership recommends, and those items recommended by the manufacturer.

If it sounds like I'm a little jaded towards stealerships......I am, so do not take my word for it.

Here's the link:
2009 Toyota Prius Owners Manual and Warranty - Toyota Owners


OK.....so, I almost blew it.
Some would say....."again."
Sometimes I don't know as much as I think I do, and when I read "check valve clearance" I actually had to download a copy of the schedule of maintenance for the G2 (2009) Prius because I thought that nobody did valve clearance (sometimes called valve lash) checks since they filmed the chase scene in Bullit.
Ah......get your Dad to explain that one to you.

However (comma!) according to your schedule of maintenance, it's actually listed!
https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms-s/T-MMS-09Prius/pdf/09%20Prius%20SMG%20127073%20EN%201st%20Print.pdf

Note that according to the schedule of maintenance that it states that.......and I'm quoting:
(6) Check for tappet noise and engine vibration and adjust if necessary.
Anyway, if a person were to actually perform this maintenance item, then it would involve removing the valve cover and .....no.
There's no way on GOD's green earth that I would ever ALLOW a dealership to perform this maintenance.
More than likely, they would charge you a few hundred bucks to start the car, pretend to listen for noise, and call it good.

YMMV.

 

"Inspect engine valve clearance" only means "accoustic inspection", meaning listen if there any strang valve noises. Your dad is right: otherweise you have to take your engine apart.

What is the difference between line 7 and line 25?

Thorsten

 

dipstick

 

i meant, learn how to use it.