2010 Prius Oil Burning Issue

[storyrd]

I have a 2010 Prius with 147,000 on it. These are all highway miles to and from work...I avg about 150 miles on my commute. Recently my oil indicator pops on when I go around a curve or hit a small bump going about 60 mile per hour.It says "low engine oil pressure" I had an oil change 2,000 miles ago...today when i took it in I was told there was no oil in my engine. They say they cannot find a leak and said that they only way to find out is to tear apart the engine. Anyone hear of this issue? This car has been bad luck since i purchased it...too long to post here. I don't think it's worth putting the cash in to get this engine fixed. They say at least 10 hours of labor. Any thoughts? Should I just trade in this car and start new? Thanks.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Who changed the oil and how often have you checked it since it was changed? Could they have messed up the oil change?

 

[KitaCam]

Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Who changed the oil and how often have you checked it since it was changed? Could they have messed up the oil change?


....and did you check the oil level immediately AFTER the OC?

 

[jrustles]

Scary.
+1 on who did it and if you checked. Do you know what type of oil was used?

 

[storyrd]

The oil was changed at the Toyota dealership. 5W20 Castrol Synthetic Blend

 

[Eddie]

If the engine makes no unusual noises then forget the tearing apart. Could be nothing more than the dealer did not put the correct amount of oil in the engine. You are responsible for checking the oil level on a regular bases.

 

[storyrd]

no noises...just a "engine low oil pressure" light. I am going to take it back after 1,200 miles for another check. My maintenance schedule has been on target and on time. The oil has only been changed at the dealership since i purchased it.

 

[Danno]

OK - one other question.

Why buy a Prius for highway commuting ?????

Corolla, Civic, Fit would give you same highway MPG and the first year of gas would be free compared to Prius price.

 

[supton]

It's not that many miles; I bet the rest of the car is in pretty good shape. The dealer might not be the best place to do it at, but if there is engine damage it might be worth swapping motors.

That said, fill it with oil and run it. Check every day for a week, and if all is good then check it once a week. If you drove less then checking once/month would be ok, but I'd go once/week, especially after this incident. Cheap and easy to do.

 

[storyrd]

I got the car during the "car for clunker" deal a few years back. I get 52 MPG...it's good on that front and very comfortable to drive...terrible in the snow. Drove the Corolla..didn't like it. The Civic might have been a better choice.

 

[storyrd]

Thanks...the car is in good shape...I will check it...hopefully I wont have to deal with the tearing apart...I appreciate it.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Danno
OK - one other question.

Why buy a Prius for highway commuting ?????

Corolla, Civic, Fit would give you same highway MPG and the first year of gas would be free compared to Prius price.


Hmm...

Yaris: 37mpg, starting at $14k
Corolla: 34mpg, starting at $16k
Prius: 48mpg, starting at $24k

If he's put 147k on in 3 year's time, then I bet highway mpg was utmost consideration. 50k/year at $3.50/gallon is

37mpg: $4730
34mpg: $5147
48mpg: $3646

Compared to just the Yaris it's $1,100 saved per year; payback in 10 years time--but last I knew a Prius was a bit more upscale/quieter/etc than a Yaris. Less of a penalty box? Would take 10 years to start saving money--but that is only if gas stays at $3.50/gallon. Which as we all know is very fluid in its pricing.

I think you get into a weird situation here. At 50k/year some people want something that won't make them want to gouge their eyes out at the end of the day. Some are fine with the cheapest possible, while others are willing to pay just a bit extra. Personal choice. I know some here dislike upscale economy cars, but some people prefer them; when I bought my Jetta I could only have but one vehicle, so it had to do it all (be comfortable, nice and high mpg).

Prius suffers less for city mpg too. If the OP is doing lots of city that could have been a consideration too.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: storyrd
Thanks...the car is in good shape...I will check it...hopefully I wont have to deal with the tearing apart...I appreciate it.


Yeah, I would just fill it and run it. Worst case: find an independant who will do a motor swap for you. I don't know what years use the same motor, but it's more than one year, and surely there are some low milage wrecks in the junkyard by now.

Having the low oil light come on likely means some amount of wear occurred. The good news though is that with all highway miles I suspect the engine was low wear in the first place.

 

[storyrd]

Thanks for the information. I will see what happens...I appreciate everyone's advice/suggestions et al!! This is a cool forum!

 

[synthetic_crazy]

Originally Posted By: supton
It's not that many miles; I bet the rest of the car is in pretty good shape. The dealer might not be the best place to do it at, but if there is engine damage it might be worth swapping motors.

That said, fill it with oil and run it. Check every day for a week, and if all is good then check it once a week. If you drove less then checking once/month would be ok, but I'd go once/week, especially after this incident. Cheap and easy to do.


This is great advice.

By the way,

to BITOG

 

[ctrcbob]

Originally Posted By: supton
It's not that many miles; I bet the rest of the car is in pretty good shape. The dealer might not be the best place to do it at, but if there is engine damage it might be worth swapping motors.

That said, fill it with oil and run it. Check every day for a week, and if all is good then check it once a week. If you drove less then checking once/month would be ok, but I'd go once/week, especially after this incident. Cheap and easy to do.


Ditto.

Just check it every week and add as needed.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: Danno
OK - one other question.

Why buy a Prius for highway commuting ?????

Corolla, Civic, Fit would give you same highway MPG


No they won't. Not even close.

 

[JOD]

What's oil consumption history of the car? I doubt it's going to go from "no consumption" to >2qts in 2,000 miles. And was it checked during the OCI? I think you probably need to post some more info in order to get more useful responses.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The best time to check the oil level and have a quick look at everything under the hood is when you fill up the gas tank. The few minutes waiting for the tank filling up you can finish checking the oil level.

 

[storyrd]

I would get the oil changed at the dealership every 4,000 or 5,000 miles or so...religiously. I was never told of any issues with the consumption...they just changed it and I was on my way. Never had any notes about this issue of burning oil.