2010 Prius IV, Purchased July '13 with 133k. Now 175k. Other than drivers rear hub & brake recall, never an issue...until now. It the past 3 weeks, it has "went through" 3.5 quarts of oil. NO SIGNS of a leak (no puddles on floor and the "padding" on the pan side of the access door is dry). Doesn't smoke at all. The oil dipstick isn't rusted out. Any ideas?
looking at your mileage, you are only averaging 20k miles a year. In 3 weeks time, you should have gone around 1500 miles or less. So if that's correct, 3.5 quarts is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy out of whack
Is there a full moon tonight ?? (Some weird replies.......) I think you are going to need the services of a competent shop for this one. That is a LOT of oil to be using with no sign of leakage or burning it. If you want to do a little bit more, maybe you could run it (the gas engine) for a bit while standing still to see if something leaks out while running........but not while OFF.
if that's the case, oil level should have been checked at least 3-4 times in those last 1500 miles (every fueling).
The theory behind the rusted dipstick was that while attempting to "run it down the tube and into the pan" that it wouldn't get into the pan due to the fact that it had rusted out, thus showing low/no oil. (happened to a buddy before on a different vehicle) The funny thing is that, once I started thinking about this last night. the last 3 or 4 times I've changed the oil in the vehicle, only about 2 to 2.5 quarts drain out of the pan. I've ALWAYS ran Mobil 0W-20. I'm curious as to why some of the answers were to change oil weights? Doesn't the owners manual call for 0W-20?
heavier oil will burn less. can you give us some idea how far down the dipstick it goes when you check it each day?
Yes in general but that only helps when you catch the excess consumption early and it hasn't gotten too bad yet. "High mileage" oil of a thicker grade would be even better but the same limitations apply. SUDDEN big increases in oil consumption that aren't because of a leak often are caused by a stuck ring. If that's the case, a shot of thinner oil would actually be better. You need to find the CAUSE before you prescribe a fix.
Here's what I would do: 1. Reset the "A" or "B" trip odometer to 0000.0 2. Ensure that the oil is topped off. 3. Drive the car until there's a measurable amount of oil that's been lost. When you have a more accurate burn rate....get back with us and we'll be able to more intelligently advise your next course of action. For the G3, the "acceptable" burn rate in the manual is REALLY high. Something like 1qt/600 miles or some crazy value like that. If you know why, then you know why. Get back with us, or don't. Your call. Good Luck!
For the G3, the "acceptable" burn rate in the manual is REALLY high. Something like 1qt/600 miles or some crazy value like that. Did you mean 1qt/6000 miles? 1qt/600 miles seems crazy *L-O-W* to me. I'll take your reset mileage advice & start checking it on a daily basis. Stay tuned...
We are talking about the oil loss rate. It really IS 600 miles. You have to lose a quart in less than 600 miles for them to consider the LOSS RATE to be too high.
One quart per 600 mile is the rate Toyota tosses out in the owners manual. And it's pathetic butt covering. They really should put that in page one of their glossy brochures, see how that goes.
42,000 miles / 20 months = 2100 miles per month x .75 = 1575 miles. it's possible you went 1800 miles in those 3 weeks, so, you're good to go.
O.k., finally got around to changing the oil in the Mrs' car tonight. It has exactly 175,900 miles on it, so I'll keep you abreast of what I discover. The 1 qt. in 600 miles thing is mindboggling!!
