0W-40 oil, is it time?

Nope, Just make sure you are using Tier 1 gas. One guy on here ran 4 tanks of gas with Techron fuel system cleaner added and he decreased his oil consumption. You see, it is carbon that causes the oil rings to stop doing their job.

 

40 is too thick. If you’re concerned switch to High Mileage formulation.

My $0.02.

 

5W20 or 5W30? Still, I'd be inclined to stick with 0W20 as long as the miraculous zero consumption continues. I'd reserve "high mileage" oil for last ditch with an engine seriously consuming oil: it's efficacy is by swelling seals, there's no reason to do that with an engine with no consumption, and once you start using that stuff it's advisable to stay with it.

 

I have used 0w30 mobile 1 since the car had 2000 miles now at close to 155k no oil consumption. My car is a 2013 Prius Persona .MPG has always been around 50mpg.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Just switched to 0w-40 on our 2010 with 192 k miles on the last oil change. So far, so good and I’ll stay on it.

I started with Castro edge and the next 2 rounds are Pennzoil Pure Platinum thanks to a great deal at Walmart on Black Friday and a $10 online rebate .

Some call the PP the nectar of the oil gods.

 

With over 213K miles:

- Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0W-20 and Extended Performance Oil Filter
- Oil/filter change every 7500 miles along with tire rotation
- No detectable oil use
- OCC installed
- 99% highway miles

Lots of options to consider before changing to 0W-40.

 

Opinions are like noses, everyone has one. I too, have one. I would stick with what you've been using as it is the recommended weight and it has worked for you.

 

Unicorn tears...

 

Raytheeagle, there is one even HIGHER than Platinum, called Ultra! (Specified oil of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. Must be god blood).

 

Don't use any oil thicker than specified. Oil cools and lubricate the timing chain and may close tolerance passages in the engine. A thicker oil slows circulation and results in heat retention in these close tolerance passages. Heat destroys seals.

The thicker oil may slow blow by with the pistons' oil rings, but it may also cause other damage.

 

There's two types of undetectable oil use by prevalence:

1. Engine does not use any detectable oil because the owner isn't checking.
2. Engine is not using enough oil to be noticeable by the owner who IS checking.

If you're checking the dipstick quasi-regularly and the oil level stays pretty much between the dimples....Congratulations!
You win.

Even when your car starts drinking and smoking (all teenagers do, eventually!) it will be a while from now when you're closer to lunar mileage. I do not think that you'll notice a detectable difference by clubbing up or down between 0w20 and 0w40 in either real-world fuel efficiency OR oil burn rate.
As mentioned above, you might benefit from a high-mileage blend, if they offer such a thing in 0w.
If I owned this car I would use a 5k OCI but since you use designer oil and pay it done AND check your oil level more regularly than the rest of the herd I'd just keep doing what you're doing.

You're making your own luck.....and as a result your car will probably die from that rarest of automotive maladies.......old age.

 

Wow. What in interesting theory.
Alas, it is totally WRONG.
It is WEAR that causes piston rings to let the oil pass.......usually.
Sometimes they stick too but that's not common in an engine that is used regularly.

 

Absolutely right .......in a new engine.

The rest of what you said is likely absolutely wrong in one with 100K miles or more though.

I agree to not change anything unless and until you NEED TO.
Anything that would cause a sudden and large loss of engine oil would NOT be prevented by having a higher viscosity oil in there.

 

Well not wrong. But a well taken care of engine should not have worn piston rings. It IS a fact that these engines DO carbon up. Tier 1 gas and good oil are very important with these engines. Read and learn.
Excessive Oil Consumption Explained

 

I read.
And I learned NOTHING that I didn't already know.

First, this whole article is about DIESEL engines. Do you have a diesel in your Prius ??

Second, toward the end there is an extensive list of the reasons for excessive oil consumption and carbon buildup is not anywhere on that list.

There is one little sentence up near the beginning that mentions carbon buildup......which is much more common in diesels.......and then it is n't mentioned again in the whole article.

YOU need to learn to pick out the important parts of what you read.
In this case, you failed.

 

Maybe you failed.... Have a grownup read this to you before you start call people wrong. SMH....
"Clogged Piston Rings: Toyota gave 2010-2015 Toyota Prii thinner piston rings and an updated piston design, both of which turned out to be not so effective. As a result, the Prii in this generation are prone to clogged piston rings, which leads to excessive oil consumption. Many Prius owners have found success by replacing the piston and piston rings"

Toyota Prius Problems and Common Complaints | Toyota Parts Center Blog

 

I agree with others that there's no reason to deviate from Toyota's recommendation for the car unless you're using oil (besides the normal ~1/2 quart that gets burned between changes that most people don't even notice).

I would not use European Formula oils. These usually have higher amounts of ZDDP, which when burnt in the engine increases the wear on your catalytic converter. If you go up in oil thickness, stick with the same ratings. On the gen 3 I believe these are GF-5, API SN.