Using Oil? Help

[m4rkw]

130k a year! That's an average of over 350 miles a day. No wonder he can go for crazy long intervals, that's perfect operating conditions for an engine.

[Chef1969]

Hi Everyone

 

I ma glad to see my original post is still creating such interest and comments! As I have mentioned I'm on 149K now and the car is running really well, great economy & of course has been very reliable. I will be keeping a close eye on the oil. It has just been changed so I will have a look at 1000mile intervals and see if its using. I do wonder if  the drop in the level before the service was due to a lot of motorway use last month with 2 trips to Scotland and  more beside as I use for work., did about 1600K that month.

I will be watching it closely ! Cheers.

[m4rkw]

9 hours ago, Chef1969 said:

I do wonder if  the drop in the level before the service was due to a lot of motorway use last month

Shouldn't happen. Motorway miles are the easiest miles for an engine. The oil has to be going somewhere, if it's not leaking somewhere then it's getting past the piston rings or somewhere else and getting burned. Many manufacturers these days list silly tolerance levels for oil burning, like up to 1L in 600 miles or something silly, which is considered "acceptable" (for them, obviously not for the poor soul who bought the car).

[Wass]

My suspicion is that long term use of the "alternative" but cheaper wrong grade of oil installed by Lexus appointed dealers leads to the engine wearing out more easily than when using the preferred grade of oil.  So , I wouldn't "worry", I would be quite angry that the engine has worn in some way so as to be burning oil and that Lexus even mention in their literature about using less suitable types of oil. ( since they mention it, the practice of less scrupulous dealers is therefore "use the cheaper stuff because we can't be taken to task" )The damage is done. Running on the right grade of oil isn't going to undo the damage; it will help to slow its rate of progress. Next car you own, I would recommend buying your own correct grade of oil and getting a local mechanic to install it immediately after the dealer scheduled service.That way, you can be reasonably certain they wont swap it at the dealership for something cheaper ( which they may be accustomed to use)

[Mikey B]

I sold my CT at 150K, but it had been needing a top up between services since I bought it at 100K.  When it dropped to the min mark I would add 1 ltr and that was enough to get through to the next service, so I guess it was using 2 ltrs every 10K.  It was pretty consistent and never got any worse in the 50K I drove it

[ColinBarber]

2015 on models have redesigned pistons and rings to avoid excessive oil consumption, but many don't actually suffer from this issue. For Toyota/Lexus to recognise this as an issue in the US the vehicle has to use more than 1 litre in 1,100 miles.

 

[Chef1969]

Hi to Colin and Mikey B

 

Thanks for the responses. Very interesting Mikey that you were in the same position as me then.. using oil as we get to 150K upwards as I am now.. But I can live with it if I just to top up  bit in between services because everything is great about the car.. out today and getting 60+ to a gallon.. I will be keeping it for a lot longer yet with a close watch on the level !

Also very interesting that Lexus did a mod on the piston and rings in 2015.. haven't read or heard about that before,  which says to me they are aware in some cases that  some cars start to use oil after 100k by the look of it. I took bought mine with 115K on.  All knowledge is good!  cheers guys

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, Chef1969 said:

Also very interesting that Lexus did a mod on the piston and rings in 2015.. haven't read or heard about that before,  which says to me they are aware in some cases that  some cars start to use oil after 100k by the look of it. I took bought mine with 115K on.  All knowledge is good!  cheers guys

There is a TSB for warranty repairs on the Prius in the US. The warranty is up to 60k miles so clearly it was happening before then on some vehicles, however Prius forums in the US indicate this is more common once vehicles get to 100k miles.