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excessive oil consumption solved*

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rufuslyon, Feb 26, 2019.

  1. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Very true. And there have been a multitude of threads on here debating oil consumption. In fact, it is one of our favorite topics it seems. (y)

    The reason most are resigned to oil consumption is that it is manageable. For instance, our 2010 liftback with around 100K miles on it uses around a quart every 5K miles or so. That, to me, is manageable. If it were consuming a quart every 600 miles...that is a a vastly different equation. Incidentally, we also have a 2012 Prius V (wagon) with 145K miles on it hat doesn't consume a noticeable amount of oil. Very odd indeed.

    With that said,the good folks here had a heck of a time convincing me that oil consumption is 'expected'. Most of our vehicles have been Mazdas...and we switched to Hyundai because of Mazda's rust issues ( at least on older vehicles ). NONE of them have ever burned a noticeable amount of oil. Frankly, I still have to shake my head a bit when folks bring up the fact that Toyota 'expects' a major amount of oil consumption. Heck, it says so right in the manual! :whistle:

    Frankly, in my opinion, Toyota has a problem that they never owned up to..and have covered their butts legally by stating the possibility in the manual. Subaru has had a similar problem.

    So yes...long story short...most of us are more or less resigned to the oil consumption issue.
     
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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Regarding oil consumption, with our parade of Hondas I got used to "some" consumption, considered it the norm. Nothing crazy though, anywhere between a cup and 3 cups between oil changes, added maybe midway through the oil's time in the engine, would keep the level from dropping lower than half-way between the two marks.

    The repair manual recommends a small bead of of (a specific) sealant at two locations, and to get the cover installed within 3 minutes of the application. More info in the attachment:
     

    Attached Files:

    #22 Mendel Leisk, Feb 27, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2019
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  3. Zeppo Shanski

    Zeppo Shanski Active Member

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    Sam ... I think maybe you have reading comprehension skill difficulties. I think you may also have a thin skin dealing with the idea that you accept that the cars you drive were engineered poorly or with low quality parts. Every car I've ever owned as my own has gone over 200,000-miles; some over 300,000. Not one(1) in the entire group has ever burned any oil. NO Sam ... regularly burning is not a normal thing. I find it goofy that you feel it is. I also find it rather gutless and irresponsible that Toyota feels it's normal too. I understand all different types of things. What I don't understand is some people's acceptance to throw $$$ away having to replace oil in cars that need serious repair.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I keep hammering away at: Toyota should prominently display the oil consumption statement, in their sales brochures...
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    uh, that would discourage sales. fine print has a purpose :cautious:
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Just like cigarette packaging these days: air your dirty laundry. :)
     
  7. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    And I think that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
    You are just stirring up unnecessary and unproductive conflicts here.
    Give it a rest, please.
    The fact that you don't understand something......likely is YOUR problem.
    It doesn't take much skill to comprehend that.
     
  8. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    I’m with you on this one. The only vehicle I’ve had in a long time that burned any oil between changes is my Prius. Mine burns just over the marks in 5000 miles. My understanding is Toyota had a bad piston design for the 1.5 L and early 1.8 L engines. It’s not the rings as much as the oil can’t get back to the crankcase from the pistons. The Corrolas of certain years have this same problem, as do Scions. I know a guy that had one of the oil burner Corrolas. He drove a lot and used almost a quart a day.
     
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  9. Zeppo Shanski

    Zeppo Shanski Active Member

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    Sam ... I DO understand everything said here. When I have said "I don't understand" , it's that I am making a rhetorical statement as to the fact that you are willing to accept what I consider outrageous oil-burning in a car that is not and/or should not be a piece of junk. It's the most polite and PC way of saying that I don't think you are very smart and completely ignorant of automotive information ... without including any rude unpleasant derogatory vocabulary such as ... you know ... "stupid".
     
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  10. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    The only way to really fix the oil burning issue would be for Toyota to replace the pistons and rings on the cars that burn oil. :ROFLMAO: That’s never going to happen. Much cheaper to just say using a quart in 600 miles is OK. There are several threads that people have posted about reducing oil usage. I think the one by “TechinAZ”? Sounded interesting.
     
  11. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    ***I*** am not "willing to accept" any such thing.

    Your stubborn insistence that "If you have never seen it, it must NOT exist." is about the best example of stupid I've seen lately.
    And once again, you fail to define what raises to the level of "outrageous".

    I quit. You are just being ridiculous.
     
  12. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    I think part of the problem here is we are beating a dead horse...over...and over...with this topic. There are literally 100+ threads debating the exact same thing we are discussing here. Frankly, nothing new has been brought to the table in this thread at all...except maybe some not so great behavior. Saying people have 'reading comprehension skill difficulties' and implying people are 'stupid' are not going to get people to consider what you say favorably at all.

    And I'm not sure you really understand who you are talking to. There are some absolute Prius gurus here the would put many professional mechanics to shame.
     
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  13. rufuslyon

    rufuslyon New Member

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    to quote the great Ron Burgundy - “Boy, that escalated quickly” @Zeppo Shanski @sam spade 2

    zeppo I completely agree. Toyota trying to tell us that their engines burning “x” amount of oil per hundred some odd miles as an “acceptable“ amount of consumption is absolutely ridiculous. it’s shoddy engineering and manufacturing at best. in all my experiences with cars the only manufacturer that comes close to burning as much oil than Saddam in Kuwait is Toyota.
     
    #33 rufuslyon, Feb 27, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2019
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah bury the hatchet.

    upload_2019-2-27_19-20-31.png
     
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  15. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    The thing that you seem to be overlooking is:
    Almost every vehicle manufacturer on the face of the earth has published similar "specs"........and has been doing so for 70 years or more.

    That in itself means NOTHING about the quality of their engines.
    It is intended to help people understand what a "warranty" really is.
     
  16. Zeppo Shanski

    Zeppo Shanski Active Member

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    PLEASE ...
    Site some type of reference for this information.

    Please don't say ..."It's out there.". Please don't tell me that I could go look it up myself. Please don't say that you're too busy.






    Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
     
  17. audiodave

    audiodave Active Member

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    Saddam in Kuwait.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I don't recall ever seeing an oil consumption statement in Honda Owner's Manuals. That's not to say they don't consume oil; it was invariably my experience that they consumed "some", never runaway amounts though.

    I just now searched our previous vehicle's (pdf) Owner's Manual for the expression engine oil, many instances, including checking oil level, but no statement about consumption rate.
     
  19. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    So how many cars have you owned that needed oil to be added between oil changes? I can only remember 3 myself. My 1972 MGB before I replaced the rings, my 1993 Camry before I changed the oil pump seal and my Prius.
     
  20. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    For the record, no mention of oil consumption in our Hyundai owners manuals either.
     
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