2012 Prius - Engine Fluh?

How many miles are on your car? I recently flushed my 2010 w/ BG EPR and oil burning has so far been drastically reduced. I think it did a great job cleaning a lot of carbon build-up in the engine and around the pistons. I'm not familiar with Kleen Flo, but I'm now a fan of BG products and think they're effective as advertised.

 

I don't think it'd hurt to flush the engine at this point. You may even be able to mitigate oil consumption by keeping the piston rings clean of carbon build up if you start doing it now. I guess for now just do some research about your options.

 

Look into BG EPR. It's completely safe for your engine and is likely much more effective than running transmission fluid through.

 

I use transmission fluid. Drain the oil, leave the filter. Fill with atf, run at idle for 10-15 minutes.
Drain the fluid, replace the filter, fill with oil. You're good to go.
As stated, there are other produces. I wouldn't use anything dura lube though.
It seems to want to gum up the oil. I used it in two different vehicles where the engine was not
super dirty and it came out like sludge. I ran atf afterward to clean that crap out. But it's your motor.
ATF is a cleaner. Look how clean an automatic transmission is, unless someone has never changed the fluid.

Someone somewhere used wd-40. But that seems expensive. I guess if the engine was really bad.
But by then, it's probably too late and needs to be rebuilt.

I did it on my town&county at somewhere around 150,000 when I changed the oil pan gasket and valve cover
gaskets. The valves train looked like new. The crank and rods looked new. I had been using synthetic oil,
still do. Engines don't get near as dirty with synthetic oil.

I haven't seen any of the piston ring from a Prius that are supposed to be clogged. Not that I'm doubting it, I just
have not seen any photos. I wonder if the valve guide seal get hard allowing oil to get sucked through?

 

Also check on the guarantee.
diesel or kerosene is like fuel on fire,
with a brand name product that offers protection against damage, I would throw a few more bucks towards it vrs without.

 

Using ATF to clean an engine? " It's just another one of those backyard mechanic tricks that never go away" Quest (3/14/10)

Using ATF to clean an engine - Bob Is The Oil Guy

 

It works for me. Can't speak for anyone else. Feel free to throw money at other products.
The only PROPER way to clean an engine is to take it apart and clean each part with cleaning solvents.
Steam clean, glass beader.......

As always, results may very.

 

If no dealerships in your area sells it you can buy it from Amazon or eBay.

 

I think there is no need an engine flush...
In the worst scenario, I will take out the oil cover underneath...

 

I use what the engine calls for. It's just over 4 qts for the Prius, but I would just use 4 qts.
The Prius calls for 0-20w, I think the 16 would be too thin. But it's such a small change, doesn't
seem it would be worth it.
I used 0-30w last oil change and I don't see any difference. The way I drive I've only used 1qt in 10,000 miles.

 

You should understand that motor oil can be clean and dark at the same time. It’s getting loaded with black carbon from gasoline combustion, and that’s fine up to a point. The color change alone isn’t an indicator of a problem. Use a lab analysis if you want to really know the condition of the oil. A visual check just isn’t meaningful until there is an extreme condition.

 

The Prius calls for 0W20. 0W16 should have really been called 0W10 but they wanted to avoid people confusing it with the 10W weight already on the market. That is more than the small change you think by looking at the numbers.

Manufacturers are specifying lighter oils to improve mileage but at the expense of engine life. That makes the mileage tests look good in addition to increasing sales due to failed engines. That is a reason many people run heavier oil than specified. Obviously that is not a good choice in colder weather.

 

I toy with the idea of going back to 5W30 sometimes. The switch to 0W20 was a similar measure.

 

I pretty much agree with the mpg/oil weight thingy.
I would never go DOWN in weight, no matter what engine it was though. And only with a lot of miles
would I go up.
But that is me. I want the engine to last until I die! 375,xxx on my town and country, still going....