Rav4 Hybrid oil really smells like gas...

[BAJA_05]

Presently have about 2300 miles on new Rav4 Hybrid in signature. Changed factory filter & oil at 900 miles. Went with Mobil One Hybrid 0W20 paired with a Fram Tough Gard. Adding windshield washing fluid Friday after work and checked oil. Its full but really smells like fuel. My drive back and forth to work is 12.9 miles one way. Usually take a good half hour ride through the State Park near my house every Sunday with my dog. Usually I run it in normal mode and occasionally with the Eco mode.

 

[atikovi]

If it runs in EV mode some of the time, it may never warm up enough during those 12.9 miles to burn off the gas fumes. But then, if it's just an odor, it's probably harmless.

 

[JavierH19]

Short tripping does that. Do you still have the old oil. I really wonder how the viscosity looks like with a uoa. The extra spent on tbn not needed. If the oil is in the 5cst range i'd bump up.

 

[edyvw]

Presently have about 2300 miles on new Rav4 Hybrid in signature. Changed factory filter & oil at 900 miles. Went with Mobil One Hybrid 0W20 paired with a Fram Tough Gard. Adding windshield washing fluid Friday after work and checked oil. Its full but really smells like fuel. My drive back and forth to work is 12.9 miles one way. Usually take a good half hour ride through the State Park near my house every Sunday with my dog. Usually I run it in normal mode and occasionally with the Eco mode.

Your oil temperature probably never gets to the operational point or if it does, it does not stay there very long. Heavier foot!

 

[Triple_Se7en]

With your driving ritual, scrap Eco Mode.

 

[IveBeenRued]

There have been a few UOA posts about the A25A-FXS engines suffering from fuel dilution. Sounds like yours may have the same thing going on. You may want to run a UOA on your vehicle so you can better gauge what OCI is good for your particular driving habits.

Many owners on BITOG (myself included) have been moving up their oil changes to the 5K mark because of the fuel dilution concerns.

 

[JavierH19]

I guess you could have it in power mode so the engine never shuts off but that still won't really help or be worth it mpg wise imo. Having the heater going in the cold will also continue to rob more heat.

 

[ATex7239]

The Sienna gets fuel dilution in cold weather or with a lot of idling/stop and go… I’ve been keeping the OCI at 5K and using Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 (kv100 8.6) when it is colder. Probably going to move to it permanently once I’m out of the 0w16 I have on hand. Haven’t noticed any ill effects from the dilution so far .

Change it often. Drive it for longer periods. And don’t be afraid to go up in viscosity if necessary.

 

[We're Metals]

Its got 2,300 miles and is barely broken in, keep going. For me, the engine loosened up considerably at about 10,000 miles which resulted in better MPG.

Ive got nearly 68,000 miles on my 2020 (0w-20 oil exclusively) and never had a fuel smell but maybe something has changed between 2020 and 2023?

 

[incognito_2u]

Along the lines of what issue the OP may be having with regards to fuel dilution, is there something that could be done to “trick” the engine into cycling more often just to increase the possibility of fuel burn-off?

 

[ATex7239]

Along the lines of what issue the OP may be having with regards to fuel dilution, is there something that could be done to “trick” the engine into cycling more often just to increase the possibility of fuel burn-off?

Push the gas pedal harder lol.

 

[We're Metals]

Running the heater (or turning the temperature selector above ambient) will trigger the gas engine to run. Toyota touts that their HVAC uses less fuel than driving with the windows open.

 

[PimTac]

I no wouldn’t worry about it. 12 miles or so is not a long trip. Get it out on the highway. Increase your OCI.

 

[DirectRejection]

I have had absolutely no discernable problems with the M20A-FXS, M20A-FKS engine (2.0L version of your RAV4 Hybrid and the non-Hybrid.

This is on 0W16 and 0W8, albeit with daily (~355 days per year) 100+ freeway miles.

It is no breaking news that driving conditions are surely your issue.

My solution would involve a fluid extractor and very frequent cycling in of some fresh oil, for sake of sustaining adequate viscosity and avoidance of chemically induced sludge precursors.

 

[BAJA_05]

During the Fall & Winter seasons, going to eliminate running in Eco mode totally. Try and take it out for a nice longer weekend run once a week. Not planning on running past 5k OCIs. Next oil up at 5k is Mobil One 0W16 paired with a ST MP4967.