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How often should you use gas engine?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by GeoJ, Nov 4, 2023.

  1. GeoJ

    GeoJ Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2023
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    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    I find I can use the 2023 Prime on EV mode almost exclusively and never run the gas engine for a month or more. Is this bad for the gas engine, to not have it run occasionally? I am not talking about stale gas, I will go through a tank on trips every 3-4 months. But except for trips I may only drive in EV, unless I intentionally drive in HV. Any concerns? (Sorry if this has been asked, I searched and saw a bunch of discussion about stale gas, which is not my concern, but could not find a thread on "risk of under use of the gas engine").
     
    #1 GeoJ, Nov 4, 2023
  2. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
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    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    If your going through a full tank of gas every 3-4 months, your doing fine. I bet when you hit your 10K oil change interval, your oil will look brand new - no change in color, due to limited combustion, use of ICE.

    I go through a tank of gas every month and a half and have calculated about 5K to 7.5K miles on the ICE annually. I'll be doing annual oil changes, even though my odometer will display slightly over 10K miles annually - mostly EV mode, like you.
     
    #2 BiomedO1, Nov 4, 2023
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