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Excessive oil consumption: Does using thicker oil help?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Preeeus, Jan 9, 2019.

  1. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Did you change your name:whistle:?
     
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  2. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Not necessarily. That depends on the exact oil used.
    Some turns very dark after only a few miles.
    Mobil 1 is known for that, just for instance.
     
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  3. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Oil gets dark, yes from blowby. And from the detergent additives.

    Clean oil is always better than dark and dirty oil. Toyota went to 10k oil changes on the Prius. Some manufacturers in the past went to 7.5k, and have since cut back to 5. Nissan still uses 5k.

    Any manufacturer going to less than 5k would be criticized by the competition. That's why the so called experts say that the old 3k oil change of yesteryear is a thing of the past. They just won't tell you that the engine will last longer with clean oil.

    I recently saw Walmart brand 0w20 for $16 the five quart bottle.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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  5. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    I don’t know what oil the seller used in my wife’s Edge just before we bought it, but it was black as the Ace of Spades the day after we drove it home. And it had 7 miles on it according to their tag. I made them change it again. I threatened to return it on their 3 day return policy. I don’t believe they actually changed it, as it’s still pretty clean 45 days later.
     
  6. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    Engine swap question | PriusChat

    If you choose to reuse your Gen 3 head or source a reman one, it is a direct bolt on to the Gen 4 short block.
     
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  7. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    I got very good control over the oil burning condition
     
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  8. Preeeus

    Preeeus Member

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    Did you make any other changes? How much is the Prius burning using those oils? Are they synthetic or dino oils?
     
  9. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Mine doesn't get dark as quickly in the Prius as oil did in any other engine I ever met.
     
  10. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    I’m with Sam spade on this one, depends on manufacture. Color will change quicker than other.
     
  11. jack black

    jack black Active Member

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    very true. noticed that myself. when the car was new it was very clean all the way to end of 10,000 miles. not anymore, but still not bad. my theory is we change only 90% oil and leave old one behind. the old one eventually turns to deposits.
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'd agree that oil appearance on the dipstick is much cleaner with Prius approaching oil change time. And that must mean something.

    Still, doing (DIY) oil changes every six months or 8000 kms (Canadian third gen schedule), and this is with months governing, only about 5000 kms if that: I've found a sample of the drained oil in something like a jam jar, is black as ink already.

    I appreciate that means it's doing it's job, and again, it still looks good, as a thin film on the dipstick.

    upload_2019-1-17_10-22-50.png
     
    #52 Mendel Leisk, Jan 17, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2019
  13. jack black

    jack black Active Member

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    no, it's still clear and translucent. probably good to use in a beater car if you have one. you should see used diesel oil to compare.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    [​IMG]

    ^The one on the right above (per the previous post) is new Toyota 0W20. The one on the left is the same oil, after about 4000 kms. Are you saying the oil on the left is "clear and translucent"??

    A couple more pics, in better light. New Toyota 0W20:

    upload_2019-1-17_14-45-53.png

    And again, after around 4000 kms:

    upload_2019-1-17_14-46-50.png
     
    #54 Mendel Leisk, Jan 17, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2019
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  15. jack black

    jack black Active Member

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    sorry i thought it was the same under different light. it got darker alright.
     
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah first picture was in artificial light, and a little odd, two superimposed pictures. Suprisingly: if I check the dipstick on the oil just prior to oil change, it looks quite good. And yes, conventional cars, same scenario, the oil even on the dipstick looks terrible. But with a larger volume of oil it's a night-and-day difference, between new and just a few K miles. Again, that's a detergent oil doing it's job.

    But still, I like to err on the side of caution: third gen Canadian schedule is 6 months or 5K miles (8K kms). Fourth gen, they set schedule same as US: 12 months or 10K miles. At the end of the day (don't you hate trite euphemisms...) it's up to you, when to change oil. (y)
     
  17. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    This does not compute.
     
  18. jack black

    jack black Active Member

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    sorry for you
     
  19. jack black

    jack black Active Member

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    i always though the toyota of canada OCIs were too conservative. if i was in canada and i used the car normally, i would use the US OCI recommendations.
     
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  20. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    This is not accurate information. Toyota Europe and Austraila owners manuals allow 40 weight and even 50 weight oils to be used. I currently use 0W-40 weight for the past 20,000 miles and the car runs great. Engine is actually smoother. 0W-20 oil is crap and only being used to meet CAFE standards in the USA. I have 104,000 miles and no burn. Also change your oil at 5,000 miles, not 10,000 miles.
     
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