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I have a 2012 Prius that has gone from burning about 1.5 quarts of oil in 10,000 miles to burning 3 quarts in 10,000 miles (noticed the change in last 10,000 miles, no external leaks). According to Toyota the acceptable oil consumption is 1 quart in 1100 miles (which I think is a lot…..). So per the Toyota TSB the engine is still in “okay”. Back story, I bought it used at 58,000 miles, I’ve followed the maintenance minder oil change interval at 10,000 miles as it is a Toyota(apparently a bad idea per some research). Always used a full synthetic 0w-20. I’ve changed the lifetime CVT fluid at 60k. Well maintained, and in good shape other than this “little” developement.
With the sudden increase in oil consumption (aka burning) should I be worried about excessive wear, or an increase in wear going forward?
What to do with it:
Sell it?
Switch to 0w-40?
Fix it (well within my capabilities)? per TSB but parts are $$$$.
….?The 2 related TSBs are T-SB-0168-16 and T-SB-0169-16. Linked below.
http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=197077
http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=197076I appreciate any thoughts.
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I’ve seen people running 5w-30 long term in Prius’s before without any problems. A thicker oil should definitely help cut down on oil consumption as 0w-20 is super thin. The only negative is that a higher viscosity oil will cause a tiny decrease in fuel economy.
How many miles are on the car now?
Personally, I would stick to Toyota’s oil viscosity recommendation of 0W-20.
According to the 2012 Prius Warranty & Maintenance Guide, the oil and filter should be changed every 10K miles, except every 5K miles under the following conditions:
Driving on dirt roads or dusty roads:
Replace engine oil and oil filterRepeated trips of less than five miles in temperatures below 32°F / 0°C:
Replace engine oil and oil filterExtensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distances:
Replace engine oil and oil filterDo any of those conditions routinely apply to you?
Your increased oil consumption is probably due to a degrading mechanical condition inside the engine, like cylinder bore wear or poor valve stem seals. Farting around with oil viscosities is no substitute for needed mechanical repairs.
Another thing you could look closely for is oil leaks you may not have noticed yet.
Switching to a heavier oil might actually lead to more oil consumption. I’ve been told Toyota and Honda have been experimenting with low tension piston rings to reduce internal friction. My understanding of it is with that low tension, the rings aren’t expanding well enough and they’re actually hydroplaning on the oil hitting the cylinder walls. As a result, more oil is getting past the rings and getting burned in the cylinders. A thicker oil would allow more hydroplaning.
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