Does motor oil brand make any difference for the Prius?

I wonder if the ticking increase was due to shearing? Most oils, synthetic or regular usually reduce in viscosity over the first couple of thousand miles and then it slowly increases over the life of the oil (as you probably already know). I wonder if the Motul oil just has a slightly higher viscosity or is more shear resistant? Another challenge is that ticking noise may or may not be indicative of the protection level of the lubrication. Some oils may quiet ticking, but not provide superior protection, especially on modern engines (that don't use the flat-tappets of old muscle cars).

In any case, I would do the same in your shoes - if I was going to use the Prius for hard duty such as long-distance towing or auto-crossing, I'd switch up viscosity and use oils with more wear protection. Replacing a cat is certainly cheaper than an engine! Under normal duty, the user manual gives good advice, but under harsh conditions, I would certainly consider oils with more protection.

 

I've been on the receiving end of this explanation for using same technique as yours, "You don't want to extract engine oil through the dipstick because not all impurities and particles a/re extracted. Without a direct downwa/rd flow with gravity, some will be left on the oil pan."

 

Use OEM Toyota filter. Best $5.00 you can spend.

 

Well...it's not optimal. However, the OCI is 10K and doing a 'mid-cycle refresh' of the oil is certainly better than NOT doing it. Not sure how anyone can argue with that? However, around here you will find someone who will argue with just about anything. ...

 

Au Contraire (spelling?)
Post#26
"PPS- I see my Walmart now carrying Mobil-1 filters in the store, after several years absence. I bought 2 but was a bit shocked they were about $10/each when I got home and saw my receipt. Anyone know why the added "A" as in M-103A? I'd like to buy a vowel too."

 

Interesting...never heard of the catch can either.
Yes though the ZDDP is a pain for recycling used oil. Once you heat it up a little, it turns into crap/gunk. I believe most of the used oil is burned for cement manufacture. it looks like the Mobil-1 High Mileage is normal ZDDP levels, so that does not seem to explain why they are not getting the ILSAC.

 

Amazing he doesn't get banned, **in my opinion**...

 

The Prius has a design flaw where a fairly large amount of oil is sucked from the crank case into the intake manifold, and then of course into the cylinders with with the air fuel mixture. Over time, this will cause additional problems with oil burning as the burnt oil coats the piston heads and rings.

Installing a catch can eliminates this problem before it starts, and has been installed and tested by many people on this forum. It's a very common upgrade for performance vehicles. It's a fairly trivial installation involving removing the intake manifold, cleaning the pool of oil and gunk out of it and attaching a 3/8 inch hose leading to a can to filter out the oil. Then you simply empty that can when you change your oil and admire how much you've prevented your car from burning.

Some people are noticing a SIGNIFICANT amount of oil and water condensing in the catch can, which means they're doing great things for engine longevity.

Here's the thread, lots of great info Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock! | PriusChat

 

Are you sure M1 HM's phosphorous is below 800 ppm? If not, that would be one reason. Seal swellers above ILSAC limits and viscosity out of grade (high) are other potential reasons certain HM's may not qualify ILSAC.

Edit, wj,

Found a VOA for straight M1 HM 5-30 with a P of 933, but it's from March 2014...pretty dated.

Mobil 1 5W-30 High Mileage Virgin Oil | Virgin Oil Analysis - PCMO/HDEO | Bob Is The Oil Guy

 

GM made oil choice easy, just look for DEXOS 1 approved and use the weight listed on the oil filler cap.

 

M1 5W-30HM I think it shows 800 ppm P on the spec sheet Kevin_Denver and others posted above.

 

I am in the middle of oil change.
Put the 0W-40 in the other car, and got a tiny back strain, so delay to next warm day to do the Prius.
I have M1 Ext. Performance 5W-30 for that. I do not seem to have a leak prob at 165K miles.
Ext.Performance means I expect poor performance on my part as far as drain interval.

 

I thought one could delete their own post immediately after.
Guess not.

 

Change it to something like "ignore", and report it, ask that it be deleted.

 

I haven't heard about problems recycling oil with ZDDP. It's one of the best anti-wear additives, so it's added to all motor oils on the market today as far as I know. Oil catch cans aren't as important for our cars, as the fuel is injected before the cylinders, so the intake just before the engine and valves get cleaned by the gasoline. I think catch cans only get really important once the cylinder rings wear, allowing additional gasses into the crankcase and increasing oil burning via the PCV. From the forums, it seems like a good idea to install a catch can as soon as oil consumption starts.

However for direct injected engines, the combination of PCV vapor, EGR fumes, and fine particles that pass through the air filter will gunk up the intake and intake valves, as there's nothing to continuous to clean them. There are some poorly designed engines out there from other manufacturers that need carbon cleaning ~every 100k (Cough Mazda, VW Cough). For them, a catch can is a must to avoid this.

 

Regarding oil consumption in my prius. I find that Valvoline Full Synthetic Max Life 0W20 works best and does not get consumed as much as other oil brands. I would use Mobil 1 faithfully due to getting a really good deal on their oil with their 12 dollar rebates a few years ago and I would use it in my 07 Accord 2.4L engine which would eat oil despite people saying that you can pour vegetable oil into it/motor isn't picky with oil. My brother recommended for me to use Valvoline Max Life which he really liked and said that his motor works so much better and the valves aren't as noisy versus using using Mobil 1. I opted to go with the Valvoline Full Syn. Max Life a few years back and have not regretted it. The Accord consumed less oil and it looks like the Prius doesnt eat as much oil when I use Valvoline in it. I tested Castrol Edge High Mileage and didn't like it. I read up on Odyssey forums for oil and one guy said that Mobil 1 doesnt use that high of a quality oil which I would say results in louder valvetrain noise. One guy also said that he put Valvoline into his Odyssey after his wife drove the van on Mobil 1(or vice versa) and his wife noticed the difference in the engine noise. So give Valvoline Full Syn Max Life a try and see if you become a believer like me