'09 Toyota Prius with 465,000 miles Retired

[Best F100]

I recently stumbled upon a 35 page conversation on the priuschat website. It was designated for Prius owners with over 299,999 miles. You can google it for all the details.

Some of you may have interest in a particular '09 Prius owner, from Florida who recently traded in his Prius for a new Prius V. His occupation, as a medical supply courier, allowed him to travel, on average, 3,100 miles/week. Here are some details about that particular car:

* At 465,000 miles> Used Mobil 1 0W30 for the first 100,000 miles. Used Mobil 1 5W30 High Mileage for at least 200,000 miles (not sure as to how long). Went to Royal Purple which he liked better because it slowed the excessive oil consumption. Used a Purolator 14477 filter. Oil Change intervals of 10,000 miles in all highway
driving.

* Car started burning oil at 390,000 miles (3/4 qt/1,000 miles in a 3.9 qt oil sump) at which point, Royal Purple was used. Car used to burn 1 qt/1900 miles.

*Car averaged 47 mpg over 70mph, 48-49mpg over 60 mph.

*Transaxle fluid was changed at 125K, 235K, 355K intervals. Had oil changes 2 times/month. Car went through 3 sets of spark plugs in that 465,000 miles. Still on original struts, original brakes, 12 volt battery was replaced at 175,000 miles (still on the original hybrid battery), original inverter fluid. Had to buy a new set of hatchback pistons.

*Owner replaced this car because of the excessive oil consumption, plus wanted more room in the new Prius V.
There was another owner at this forum with a Prius with over 500,000 miles, but had to replace the original tired engine at 400,000.

I found this all interesting because I have a 2010 Fusion Hybrid with just under 90,000 miles. I am averaging 45 mpg this summer (range of 41-52), depending on how fast I drive. I hope to keep it, until it has 400,000 miles. This gives me some indication as to how long hybrid vehicles can last. I am using Motorcraft 5W20 FULL Synthetic during summer and Toyota 0W20 during winter @ 5,000 mile intervals. Ford Escape Hybrid taxis in New York City were retired with over 400,000 miles with original components, engine and batteries.

Question: Do you think, this owner could have increased the engine longevity at less than 10,000 oil change intervals/or using something other than Mobil 1 0W30 and Mobil 1 5W30 High Mileage? I think it turned out pretty well.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Wonder if he was using Royal Purple Synerlec?

 

[jeepman3071]

I think he got his use out of that vehicle!

Good maintenance and mostly highway driving are what made it last so long. I wonder what the dealer said when he traded it in, haha.

 

[bepperb]

It's difficult to say if different OCI or a different oil would help without knowing why the consumption was occurring. It could be the valve stem seals or bad PCV and I doubt the oil would matter. It could just as easily be worn rings and then I'd agree.

I'm a little surprised they didn't start using a HDEO and try to make 500,000. I'd happily dump a quart in every 500 miles if it could get the car that far along.

 

[Donald]

But remember 1000 miles in a Prius is not the same number of engine hours as 1000 miles in my Jeep. I would think engine hours would be important. But number of starts is probably also important.

 

[Brian Barnhart]

At the rate he was driving, he had to add nearly 2.5 quarts a week. Had the burn rate been 1qt./500 miles, he would need over 6 quarts a week. Given the number of miles he drove per week, it's easy to see why he wanted to replace it.

A rule of thumb for gas engines is a life of 15K hours. I'm not sure this engine made that. Probably only about 10K hours on it (and that assumes it ran most of the time). It would seem something may be lacking in the engine design, maintenance interval, or oil used.

According to the OP, the oil change rate was either 10K miles or about 6.7K (2 changes per month).

 

[accent2012]

Well I'm sure your car will barely make it to that many miles on the original engine/transmission... it is a ford after all.

Give it a shot though.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: accent2012
Well I'm sure your car will barely make it to that many miles on the original engine/transmission... it is a ford after all.

Give it a shot though.


Crown Vic's and Town Cars had no problem doing it. Mind you, they weren't hybrids of course.

 

[TomYoung]

Originally Posted By: Best F100
I recently stumbled upon a 35 page conversation on the priuschat website. It was designated for Prius owners with over 299,999 miles. You can google it for all the details.

Some of you may have interest in a particular '09 Prius owner, from Florida who recently traded in his Prius for a new Prius V. His occupation, as a medical supply courier, allowed him to travel, on average, 3,100 miles/week. Here are some details about that particular car:

* At 465,000 miles> Used Mobil 1 0W30 for the first 100,000 miles. Used Mobil 1 5W30 High Mileage for at least 200,000 miles (not sure as to how long). Went to Royal Purple which he liked better because it slowed the excessive oil consumption. Used a Purolator 14477 filter. Oil Change intervals of 10,000 miles in all highway
driving.

* Car started burning oil at 390,000 miles (3/4 qt/1,000 miles in a 3.9 qt oil sump) at which point, Royal Purple was used. Car used to burn 1 qt/1900 miles.

*Car averaged 47 mpg over 70mph, 48-49mpg over 60 mph.

*Transaxle fluid was changed at 125K, 235K, 355K intervals. Had oil changes 2 times/month. Car went through 3 sets of spark plugs in that 465,000 miles. Still on original struts, original brakes, 12 volt battery was replaced at 175,000 miles (still on the original hybrid battery), original inverter fluid. Had to buy a new set of hatchback pistons.

*Owner replaced this car because of the excessive oil consumption, plus wanted more room in the new Prius V.
There was another owner at this forum with a Prius with over 500,000 miles, but had to replace the original tired engine at 400,000.

I found this all interesting because I have a 2010 Fusion Hybrid with just under 90,000 miles. I am averaging 45 mpg this summer (range of 41-52), depending on how fast I drive. I hope to keep it, until it has 400,000 miles. This gives me some indication as to how long hybrid vehicles can last. I am using Motorcraft 5W20 FULL Synthetic during summer and Toyota 0W20 during winter @ 5,000 mile intervals. Ford Escape Hybrid taxis in New York City were retired with over 400,000 miles with original components, engine and batteries.

Question: Do you think, this owner could have increased the engine longevity at less than 10,000 oil change intervals/or using something other than Mobil 1 0W30 and Mobil 1 5W30 High Mileage? I think it turned out pretty well.
With all respect, and I do wish you the best, the Prius vehicles are known for longevity. There is nothing about this Prius story that suggests that your Fusion Hybrid will attain 400,000 miles.

 

[accent2012]

Yeah, no doubt, those were well designed/simple engines. There was one article I read about a million mile econovan. Apparently there are multiple vans out there with that many miles, but what I remember with this one was that the owner stopped changing the oil and only topped off the oil when necessary. I'm not sure if he also changed the filter every once in a while, but overall, he didn't do regular oil changes.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Best F100,
Prius thread on BITOG?
you better put your flame suit on!

 

[TomYoung]

A rule of thumb for gas engines is a life of 15K hours. I'm not sure this engine made that. Probably only about 10K hours on it (and that assumes it ran most of the time). It would seem something may be lacking in the engine design, maintenance interval, or oil used.


[/quote]

There is no 15K hour rule of thumb for gas engine life. Try 6K.

 

[Best F100]

Originally Posted By: accent2012
Well I'm sure your car will barely make it to that many miles on the original engine/transmission... it is a ford after all.

Give it a shot though.






I guess you didn't read the part at the bottom, where I said NYC Ford Escape Hybrid taxis were retired with over 400,000 miles (city traffic) with original components, batteries and engine. Someone bought them too!

Thanks for the backhanded compliment.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I think it's more time than anything that wears out the hybrid batteries.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: TomYoung


A rule of thumb for gas engines is a life of 15K hours. I'm not sure this engine made that. Probably only about 10K hours on it (and that assumes it ran most of the time). It would seem something may be lacking in the engine design, maintenance interval, or oil used.



Quote:


There is no 15K hour rule of thumb for gas engine life. Try 6K.

When I was looking for used utility tractors, some had 8-9000hrs but many had been rebuilt before then. So even in an understressed diesel, 10k hours isn't guaranteed.

That said, the prius engine isn't overstressed either, but maybe all the starts and stops have an effect?
I wonder how many breakdowns he had? Its impressive that a complex car like that was still reliable at over 400k though.

 

[Brian Barnhart]

Originally Posted By: Tom Young

Originally Posted By: Brian Barnhart


A rule of thumb for gas engines is a life of 15K hours. I'm not sure this engine made that. Probably only about 10K hours on it (and that assumes it ran most of the time). It would seem something may be lacking in the engine design, maintenance interval, or oil used.




There is no 15K hour rule of thumb for gas engine life. Try 6K.


You're right. I remembered incorrectly. As you say it's probably closer to 6K on average, though a well designed engine with proper maintenance can beat that.

With a 6K hour life, a typical car that averages 35 mph over it's life will last 200K miles. I think a well designed engine with good maintenance can go 1.5X that (300K, 9K hours).

The Prius of the OP probably averaged over 55 mph (3100 miles a week at 55 mph is 56 hours per week of driving). If the wear rates were the same at both average speeds, the Prius should have been able to go about 495K miles. It went 465K miles. So about what it should of went with a good engine design and good maintenance. Of course, this assumes the engine ran all the time the car was moving (which it might have done when driving 60 - 70 mph).

 

[CATERHAM]

My question would be when you get into that sort of high oil consumption why change the oil at all as the TBN level will still be very high?
I'd also use the cheapest bulk oil available, likely 10W-30 dino. There are no cold starts to speak of so I think synthetic oil in this application is an unnecessary expense.
As has been mentioned you can rack up a million miles on a Ford LTD on a cheap bulk dino.

 

[OneEyeJack]

One thing for sure with the Prius is that the engine/transmission setup is simple. It's a planetary transmission with no friction parts, no shifting parts and no reverse gear. The magic is in the computers and the software. Reverse gear is nothing more than using the electric motor. I don't know what the local high mileage champ here has for total miles but he uses Red Line 0w-20 engine oil and boosts up the tire pressure. He delivers documents and what he describes as high value small packages whatever that means. It took him 12 months to hit the first 100K miles at 47 to 52mpg. That's a lot of driving. And he says that you have to learn how the system works and play what he calls an arcade game with the displays and pay attention to getting into something he calls "stealth mode". With his job he claims the entertainment supplied by the Prius system is worth the extra expense and the mileage and low maintenance are just another bonus. I have driven his car and I get the idea about learning new skills that make a big difference in the gas mileage.

 

[EricF]

at 500,000 miles, toyota allegedly will make a commercial with you & the car.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
he uses Red Line 0w-20 engine oil and boosts up the tire pressure.

If you want to maximize mileage why use RL 0W-20 which is effectively a 30wt oil over the high VI TGMO 0W-20 that Toyota spent god know how much on development to maximize fuel economy?