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Does 5k oil changes prevent...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by douglasjre, Jul 14, 2021.

  1. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    It's pretty general knowledge around here. I skimmed through a bunch of Professor John Kelly'sYoutube videos and didn't come across it but I'm sure he mentions it here and there. I did find one reference to it here. Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) | Prius Wiki | Fandom It's in section 1.2 about warmup. You'll also find it mentioned many times in various threads here on the forum. It can't actually keep the valves open while spinning up the engine, but it does alter the timing as much as it can to minimize the compression till the oil pressure is adequate. I'm pretty sure someone like @Elektroingenieur or @john1701a would have a more authoritative source.
     
    #41 jerrymildred, Jul 23, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2021
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  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Thanks!
     
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  3. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    We got it directly from the lead engineer, way back when gen-1 rolled out.

    Many of us were quite curious about how the engine differed and why.
     
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  4. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Well, people doing 5k mi oil changes, how many mi are we talking about in a year? Have you separated those that are doing two oil changes a year at 5k mi every 6 months vs those that only drive 5k mi in a year? The fact that 10k mi oil changers reach the point of oil consumption earlier may just be because they reach the 150k mi way earlier than those who don't drive so much.

    Case in point I do oil changes annually on our 2012 and now is nearing 32k mi. That's an average of 3600 mi oil changes. Mobil 1 Extended Performance, Mobil 1 Annual Protection, and now going back to Extended Performance. I experienced the cold soak knock that sounded like an animal was stuck in the warming up engine compartment. EGR clogged, already? I'm going to side with a design flaw and replacing with newer design as per T-SB, along with better programming....

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  5. Mdv55

    Mdv55 Active Member

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    I'll be one of the outliers here. 15k oil change intervals and no consumption. Car used for rideshare so sees lots of thermal cycles as well.

    I'm not convinced either is a smoking gun at all.
     
  6. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    This is useful feedback. How many miles on the car so far. What yr Prius? How long have u done 15k oil changes. Using the special Mobil 1 made for that purpose? Which oil filters?
     
    #46 douglasjre, Jul 26, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2021
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  7. Mdv55

    Mdv55 Active Member

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    Been doing that since I bought it with 42k on it. I used Amsoil 0w-20 for most of them and Amsoil 0w-30 for the last 2. Mostly oem filters with the occasional Carquest one.

    Car is sitting at 143.6k right now.
     
  8. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    What model year car do you have
     
  9. Mdv55

    Mdv55 Active Member

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  10. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    How do you drive? Highway? City? Drive it like a Prius, or Formula1 car?
     
  11. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    let interrogations begin!
     
  12. Mdv55

    Mdv55 Active Member

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    Subjective terms but how it is driven is all over the map. I wouldn't say I don't drive it like a true hypermiler like some on here, but I don't race it either (I have other vehicles for that). I would say I drive it assertive to aggressive depending on who is in the car. I keep up with traffic. The only exception is I rely heavily on regen braking when I can and it makes sense to do so.

    It almost never sees full throttle, but it does frequently see healthy amounts of pedal (50-75%) and is often loaded heavily. Highway cruising ranges from 60-65 in more urban areas and 75-80 mph if traffic permits. Sometimes it might do 180 miles in several hours and never leave the city streets. Typically, once it's booted up it's on for hours at a time. I went just over 1,000 miles in 3 days last week for example. I live 24 miles of highway from the area I target to work, so the car sees that usage at the beginning and end of most trips.

    When it's not winter time and I have the lower grill blocked I pretty much always have A/C on which seems to help keep inverter coolant more stable as well. It cycles engine coolant temp in summer between 180 and 195. Heavy throttle will get that to climb to 200-201 and then it comes right back down when power is reduced. Highest I've seen is 206, but it's rare it climbs over 201. In winter it cycles between 155-195 with the occassional spike to 200. It sees plenty of thermal cycles people talk about here...

    For reference, I've been averaging almost 50mpg long term with it. Currently it's sitting on Michelin Defenders, it's hot so the a/c is cranked and speeds have been averaging much higher so I'm sitting in the mid 40's.
     
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