1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Burning Engine Oil

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Joaquim Silva, Aug 24, 2017.

  1. Joaquim Silva

    Joaquim Silva Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2017
    31
    30
    0
    Location:
    Lake Havasu City AZ
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Just wanted to share a conversation I had with a friend today, he is the marketing manager at the local Toyota dealership in Lake Havasu AZ. He said that Toyota has solved engine oil burning issue for 2013 Prius by limiting the engine to 4000 rpm electronically. I am not sure if this is the case for all gen 3, but certainly for 2013 and beyond because I was talking to him about my 200K, 2013 Prius.

    He also suggested that I avoid a refurbished battery in our hot climate, those do not do well. Here a lead acid battery only lasts 27 months. We are the hottest part of AZ.
     
    bisco and Merkey like this.
  2. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2016
    2,036
    1,023
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    There are 3 kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies and marketing. :ROFLMAO:

    I kind of doubt that story......for several reasons, not the least of which is:
    "Toyota" has no way of accomplishing that on a used car without having the car IN a dealers shop.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,946
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    not sure about the rpm limiter, possible though. we would need data. he's right about the battery.
     
  4. Joaquim Silva

    Joaquim Silva Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2017
    31
    30
    0
    Location:
    Lake Havasu City AZ
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The marketing manager belongs to the Rotary club I am in and we do many community service events together, so he does not have a good reason to lie to me. What he is saying is that for my model year, this is built in.

     
  5. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2016
    2,036
    1,023
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    VERY HIGHLY likely that is NOT true.

    Marketing people usually know NOTHING about how the stuff they sell actually works........and often what they do "know" is wrong. He probably is not purposely lying.

    For that to BE true......Toyota would have to have KNOWN when they built the cars that there was a defect that would cause excessive oil usage down the road.....and their solution was to change the control computer to limit the engine revs.

    Possible but not likely.
     
  6. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2015
    1,946
    1,785
    0
    Location:
    Southern MN
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    II
    May be false..but an interesting tidbit of info nonetheless.

    After 2+ years of observation, our 2010 certainly does consume MUCH more oil when at extreme RPM. Probably just a coincidence with this post...but it does seem 'reasonable' that limiting it could make a difference. I'm highly skeptical though until we get official word from Toyota ( good luck with that )! It also seems like limiting max RPM would cripple the car under high load.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,673
    38,211
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    For me avoiding high rpm would mean avoiding Mount Seymour.
     
    farmecologist and bisco like this.
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,946
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I wonder how often Prius goes over 4K, and if people with scan gauge see it. I'm thinking more the ipm flash.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  9. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,673
    6,492
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Your friend might not be overtly "lying" to you, but this is very different from his statements being....accurate.

    He may just be wrong.

    As far as the rev limiting, I'm unaware that the 2013's are rev limited differently than my 2010, and I'm suspicious that even if such a measure was implemented on the G3s after 2012 that it would have a meaningful impact on oil use.
    Besides......very few Priuses "officially" use excessive amounts of oil given Toyota's definition for this condition.
    Perhaps you might ask him to comment on that the next time that you're sharing a rubber-chicken entree at the next Rotarian event....

    The comment about refurbed batteries is also sketchy, since most of these are re-manufactured in facilities outside AZ besides.....they stopped manufacturing G3 batteries.......what? 2 years ago?
    If I drove...........let's say a 2010 Prius, I'd probably be tempted to roll the dice on a remanned unit whereas if I were driving a 2012 it would be more of a wobbler since the 2012 is only 5-6 years old and might benefit from the added lifespan from the OEM battery.
    It would depend on the price difference.

    Good luck with the 2012.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.