I have a 08' prius with 185k mi, burns a little oil but nothing alarming, it runs great but notice that sometimes going up slight grades the engine seems to rev almost as if the trans is slipping (in a conventional car). Shifts fine but wondering if it's normal or just me? Is it just a matter of the engine working harder than the battery? Secondly, I did a oil change and noticed some varnish on the inside of the motor. Wondering if using a engine flush is safe on my next oil change and if so, what type/brand is best? Lastly, anyone seen positive results from using seafoam in either the fuel or OIL? Thanks in advance!
Yes the engine is working much harder then the battery. Over reving under light load usually means the hybrid battery is getting very tired. It is not providing sufficient power to assist the engine. It will tank to one purple bar real fast and takes a long time to put blue bars back in it and engine over revs a lot and mileage tanks.
I've used the seafoam, didn't change the darkness I see in the valve cover. But I have 243,000 on a 04 gen 2. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
YOu should NEVER put a solvent in with your oil......and that includes SeaFoam. Leave the deposits alone inside the engine. In the gas, it is a light duty cleaner and won't hurt anything in the recommended amounts........but it won't do much good either.
An estimate of 10-12 years of life expectancy for Gen 2 HV battery. Your going on 11 years... You will be able to further extend the HV battery with a Hv/grid charger but how much time cannot be guaranteed. Correct ICE is working harder. As other mention depletion of Hv battery struggles to maintain a charge and like to frequent the purple bar range.
Thanks to all for the comments. It has a new hybrid battery in it. I’ve always been a little bit of a lead foot with reg cars but have changed my driving technique with my Prius. It just seemed to rev a bit high when I’m going up an incline and needed to jump into traffic and get moving. Otherwise car runs and idles great.
