Should I stop getting oil changes?

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slickoil

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I have a 2010 Toyota Prius that burns about 1qt/1000 miles, so I need to top her off with a full quart frequently (about once per month).

Since she only hold 4.6qts of oil, am I effectively doing an oil change every 4,600 miles? Or does it not work that way?

Should I stop bringing her in for oil changes, and just change the oil filter every 10K miles?

I need the Prius to last, so I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize her health and longevity.
 
When our 86 Dodge Caravan was going through this amount (and more later in life) we just changed the filter about every 10 tanks of fuel and just kept topping off the oil every 2nd tank of fuel. We drove it like that for years. 0 issues. The valve seals were the cause of consumption in our Mitsu oil burner.
 
No. Buy ST HM Synthetic, perhaps in the next heavier weight.
Or any lower cost oil as it will be fine.

How many miles on that thing?
Miles don't matter on Toyotas, ya know.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
No. Buy ST HM Synthetic, perhaps in the next heavier weight.
Or any lower cost oil as it will be fine.

How many miles on that thing?
Miles don't matter on Toyotas, ya know.


"No" as in continue to get oil changes? Why?

About 145K on her... which of course is nothing for a Prius.

BTW, according to Toyota, you have to burn 1QT/800 miles for it to be considered an issue.
 
Originally Posted by slickoil
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
No. Buy ST HM Synthetic, perhaps in the next heavier weight.
Or any lower cost oil as it will be fine.

How many miles on that thing?
Miles don't matter on Toyotas, ya know.


"No" as in continue to get oil changes? Why?

About 145K on her... which of course is nothing for a Prius.

BTW, according to Toyota, you have to burn 1QT/800 miles for it to be considered an issue.



LOL subject to change without notice.
My Corolla burns about a cup in a 5K OCI.
 
If it were my car I would just do the filter changes. We have seen from many UOA's on this site that frequent top offs keeps the oil and engine happy. As you stated you are changing out the entire sump within 4600 miles
 
Originally Posted by slickoil
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
No. Buy ST HM Synthetic, perhaps in the next heavier weight.
Or any lower cost oil as it will be fine.

How many miles on that thing?
Miles don't matter on Toyotas, ya know.


"No" as in continue to get oil changes? Why?

About 145K on her... which of course is nothing for a Prius.

BTW, according to Toyota, you have to burn 1QT/800 miles for it to be considered an issue.


I would continue to get oil changes.
I guess I was thinking you could do the oil changes.
And I an real curious about the amount of oil you are going through.

Good luck.
 
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As I said in your other thread, I'd keep up on the oil changes and take it to a shop and see what's wrong and look into getting it repaired.
 
I am in a similar situation.

My truck uses 1 qt every 1500 miles.
I decided last year to go to an annual oil change (had been doing ~4500 miles, so 2 top offs then change), but in the past 11 month, have only driven 4,000 miles. Oil still looks fine, about 1/2 qt low on the stick. I think I am just going to go to a 2 year oil and filter change. Probably could get by with just a filter change and top off for another 2 years (so long as the oil does not get milky again).
 
Yeah probably pointless to do oil changes, but with that kind of oil burn, you best be saving for a new cat and new oxygen sensors. And the inevitable engine rebuild or complete replacement if that excessive burn rate can't be arrested/rectified.
 
Originally Posted by Tman220
If it were my car I would just do the filter changes. We have seen from many UOA's on this site that frequent top offs keeps the oil and engine happy. As you stated you are changing out the entire sump within 4600 miles



Correct..... I'd filter swap every 10,000 miles and just always keep it topped off.
 
Originally Posted by Linctex
Originally Posted by Tman220
If it were my car I would just do the filter changes. We have seen from many UOA's on this site that frequent top offs keeps the oil and engine happy. As you stated you are changing out the entire sump within 4600 miles



Correct..... I'd filter swap every 10,000 miles and just always keep it topped off.



Even 10K filter changes are a bit overkill here but it is a easy number to remember try a heavier grade to see if this helps.
 
Originally Posted by slickoil

Should I stop bringing her in for oil changes, and just change the oil filter every 10K miles?

I need the Prius to last, so I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize her health and longevity.


If I were in your situation, yes I would do precisely that (filter only every 10k).

You have another post about brand of top up oil, it is a moot point with that level of oil consumption and you should also be using the lowest cost approved oil available.

I know manufacturers like to tout the 1qt./1000miles as a benchmark for warranty work but that is not a healthy engine at that level of consumption regardless I certainly understand and respect your desire to keep it going. Just don't spend wasteful money on expensive oil / oil changes etc.
 
"with that kind of oil burn, you best be saving for a new cat and new oxygen sensors"


i drove a 99 corolla from 140k mi to 240k burning 1qt per 1000-1200mi and never had an issue with the cat or O2 sensors.

still changed the oil and filter every 10k. it ran exactly the same from the day i bought it till the day i sold it. no pinging, no carbon buildup and no visible smoke. only reason i sold it was because of evap issues.

try a thicker oil, 5w30 maybe. my car was specd for 5w30. it helped using 5w40.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Has it always burned that much oil? My old Sienna is nowhere near that amount.


I don't think so, but I'm not positive. I have owned the Prius for about 4-5 years. It had about 105K on it when I bought it (it now has about 145K). I paid to have it inspected by Toyota before buying it from a private party, and Toyota didn't find anything wrong except the cabin air filter being dirty. I have had mechanics perform regular oil changes based on mileage or time, whichever came first.

I didn't start checking and logging the oil level every few weeks until about a year and a half ago when the engine light suddenly turned on. I had gotten the oil changed about 3-4K miles earlier (I would have to look at my records for the exact amount), so I was surprised that the engine oil was a couple quarts low. Since then, I have monitored it like a hawk, and the burn is fairly consistent at about 1qt/1000mi. Nothing seems to have changed. The vehicle drives flawlessly.

I do only get about 46.5mpg, which is maybe 1-3mpg low for a 2010 Prius. On the other hand, I have the rare sunroof model, which is a touch less aerodynamic because it doesn't have the designed-by-Porsche roof (it has solar panels instead, which is super cool).
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
When our 86 Dodge Caravan was going through this amount (and more later in life) we just changed the filter about every 10 tanks of fuel and just kept topping off the oil every 2nd tank of fuel. We drove it like that for years. 0 issues. The valve seals were the cause of consumption in our Mitsu oil burner.


When you change the filter without draining the oil first, does oil flow everywhere?
 
Originally Posted by Greggy_D
The burnoff seems rather excessive. What is going on with that engine?


Great question. I dunno. According to some threads on the PriusChat forums, it is somewhat common for Prius of that generation to have this issue. From what I've read, either they burn a lot or they don't burn much at all. And Toyota considers it a non-issue unless the vehicle burns more than 1qt/800mi. When I learned that, it seemed crazy, because you'll never make it to even 5K between oil changes... but that's Toyota's stance and they're sticking by it.
 
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