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Does 2013 burn oil?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by ExcessiveOil, Apr 18, 2019.

  1. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    So size won’t factor in?
     
  2. spiralhelix

    spiralhelix Active Member

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    ETC definitely gave a complete answer. But I figureI would add my experience for shits & giggles. Granted we have a CT and not a prius but engine is the same as the 2013. I'm also gonna change the term from burning oil to "oil consumption".

    Original engine, didn't consume enough oil between oil changes. Checked it periodically and levels rarely fluctuated enough for me to key in on them. Oil changes 1x per month or every 4k miles (lots of highway driving). Engine swap (the story is other treads) and first 2k miles if I didn't add oil it would have fallen below the indicator. Got the oil changed at 3k miles, dealer said they would do an Oil Consumption test. Returned at 2k miles and they just did a subjective, "oil looks good, about 1/2 full". At the oil change they had actually overfilled it which would skew any results if reading from the full indicator (also argued with me saying the dipstick was only 1 quart and I was insisting it was 1.6 quarts). Using a ruler and taking measurements, the engine had gone through 1 quart in 2k miles. Opened the user manual (which states that the dipstick indicates 1.6 quarts p518) and Toyota says Oil Consumption of less than 1.1 quarts every 600 miles (p519) is ACCEPTABLE! Drove the car for another 1k miles (now at 3k) and they oil was below the indicator.

    So it looks like I will be on the team that has to continually refill the oil. At roughly 30k miles per year and 0.5 quart every 2k miles (since I will be changing it at 4k) I will only need to add 6-7 extra quarts per year. The initial shock of it has worn off and 7 quarts isn't /THAT/ big of a deal. Also, as I've said with the egr discussion, oil is directly related to the ICE and therefore the more the ICE runs, the sooner you will have to deal with oil loss (and egr cleaning). The more city (battery) driving you do the less you will have to worry about adding additional oil.

    The silverlining? 0w-20 oil has been dropping in price and lately all the stores seem to be running a sale 5 quarts and a filter for less than just getting the 5 quarts. Too bad I had purchased 10 filters off Amazon before I realized it. I have over a years supply of filters now. Also, ProjectFarmer on YT did an interesting segment on if Amazon Oil was any good. He isn't 100% scientific, but he does a pretty good job with his controls, so Amazon Oil seemed pretty decent. With my frequent changes, I'm gonna give it a go.
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That seems to have been superseded by this Technical Service Bulletin, which outlines a test, with the "acceptable" consumption limit at 1 US quart per 1100~1300 miles. The first TSB (...168-16) is the test description, the second (...169-16) is the remedy.

    Still, this is only warranty approved for 6 years or 60K miles. :(
     

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  4. spiralhelix

    spiralhelix Active Member

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    Mendel, as always, I love you and hate you at the same time. hahaha . Thanks for posting those TSBs.

    The tech, even though he was reading the dipstick wrong, did correctly say that Toyota was saying 1 per 1200 miles. Since he was wrong with the dipstick, figured he was wrong with that as well. Reading the procedure for the Oil Consumption Test is boiling my blood though. The dealer didn't do ANY of those procedures! However, knowing and measuring myself, i know that the test would have passed showing no oil consumption. It definitely seems like the consumption got worse as the miles increased.
     
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  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Some have been getting good results, taking out the spark plugs and putting an ounce or two of solvent in each cylinder, letting it sit as long as practical (at least a day?), maybe cranking the engine manually (socket wrench and extension on the crankshaft through passenger wheel well). Then baste out any solvent remaining, reinstall spark plugs and coils, maybe run the engine a minute or so, then drain and refill the oil.
     
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  6. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Size of what? The filter? All filters that fit are close to the same size. Some will obviously have a little lower pressure drop than others (at a given flow rate, which is determined by engine speed and pump design, not by the filter).