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Sudden Oil Consumption

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022.

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  1. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    A2C18D93-1838-483E-87AC-8A290EE6D782.png 45B97C67-71FB-4DE5-83B4-7DFDD5AA862C.jpeg

    I try to check my oil pretty regularly. The first picture was only from 10 days ago, roughly 300 miles of driving. I check today and I had to re check three more times because I couldn’t believe how low it was. Any ideas? I knew this was bound to happen soon but I was expecting a more gradual change.

    2012 163k miles.
     
    #1 Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022
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  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Clean your engine compartment & engine so you can more easily identify leaks. Hopefully your oil reading done 10 days ago was inaccurate in some way? Or perhaps the past 300 miles has been especially hard on your engine? Did you lend your car to a teenager perhaps?
     
    #2 PriusCamper, Oct 24, 2022
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  3. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    Driving has been the same commute and I’m the only driver. Looked around the engine bay and I did notice some oil on the passenger side. I reached back behind the engine and could feel hot oil. Any ideas where the leak could be coming from?
     

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    #3 Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Usually oil in that location is from people spilling oil when refilling after an oil change. But first step in diagnosing oil leak is cleaning up all the oil so you can better measure the rate of the leak. How's the gas mileage? Does exhaust smell more like burning oil than it used to? How's coolant level? Have you cleaned your EGR?
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Oct 24, 2022
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  5. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Looks like your oil pressure switch. Inexpensive. Fairly easy to replace.
    A tight fit, but doable. You might have to buy a socket to fit it, about $10???
    Gunk it down, then hose it off before replacing it, and make sure it's dry.

    The inside of the connector will be oily. Brake/Carb cleaner will clean it out
    before installing the new one sensor.

     
    #5 ASRDogman, Oct 24, 2022
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Car was level for both checks?

    163k sounds like about the usual time the consumption starts, about 100k after Toyota's warranty TSB runs out.
     

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    #6 Mendel Leisk, Oct 24, 2022
  7. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    Gas mileage shows 50 on screen but is 46 calculated. Entire egr cleaned at 140k with new manifold and valve. Set up OCC that I have to empty out every few thousand miles. No change in coolant and exhaust is normal.
     
    #7 Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Oil changes how often?
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Oct 24, 2022
  9. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    Thank you! It’s very possible that it’s the sensor. With this amount of loss shouldn’t there be a bit more dripping off the sensor? Do you know what size socket. I’ll have to check my dealer to see if they have the sensor in stock or they can order it for me.
     
    #9 Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022
  10. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    Every 5k miles since 130k. Before that I was tricked by dealer to do 10k changes. Car was level and in the same parking spot I always check the oil.
     
    #10 Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022
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  11. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    When you remove the connector, that is like a cup covering where the
    plastic meets the metal, there will be oil. For such a small thing, there sure is a lot of oil!
    I am not sure what size socket you need. Autozone would lone you one.
    It's a little different type of socket because it gives room for the connector which goes
    through where the rachet connects to the socket.

     
    #11 ASRDogman, Oct 24, 2022
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  12. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    It looks like the best way to get to the sensor is to remove the passenger side wheel. Do you think this rock auto one will be good? Not sure how critical it is to get oem for this replacement.
     

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    #12 Noahdoge, Oct 24, 2022
  13. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    27mm. If it's not OEM it's Chinese crap. Will you buy a Chinese car?
     
    #13 douglasjre, Oct 24, 2022
  14. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    I'm not sure of the cost of one from Toyota, but I'd bet it's not much more.
    And you won't have to pay for shipping.
    OEM parts are generaly better, the part was made for the car.
    If you're a veteran, they would probably give you a 10% discount.

     
    #14 ASRDogman, Oct 25, 2022
  15. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    Thank you again @ASRDogman just took it to my trusted mechanic with a new oil pressure sensor and he replaced it for only $25. Gave me back my old sensor and said it was definitely what caused my oil leak.
     
    #15 Noahdoge, Oct 25, 2022
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  16. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    You are welcome!
     
    #16 ASRDogman, Oct 25, 2022
  17. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    An oil pressure switch was possibly the only aftermarket part for my '81 Mazda that significantly outlasted the original.
     
    #17 CR94, Oct 25, 2022
  18. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    They rarely fail. They just leak, a lot! It's a simple design.
     
    #18 ASRDogman, Oct 26, 2022
  19. Noahdoge

    Noahdoge Active Member

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    I went with a duralast one, it was in stock and only $15. OEM didn’t seem critical with this replacement like a water pump would.
     
    #19 Noahdoge, Oct 26, 2022
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That's debatable. A good example of a "simple" part, but likely not one to substitute, is the PCV valve. From reading here, I gather valves other than OEM can be problematic, flow-rate differences.
     
    #20 Mendel Leisk, Oct 26, 2022
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