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I replaced the oil on my mom's Prius today, which is 3200 miles or so since I replaced it last. The car only takes 3 quarts of oil, but only drained a little over 2 quarts.

My jeep, on the other hand, takes 4.5quarts of oil, and drains 4.5quarts when I replace it.

I use the proper oil in the prius so I don't see why so much of it would burn off. Is this normal for this car, or should I be worried?

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  • How many miles does the Prius have? May 9, 2013 at 6:49
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    They save on gas mileage by burning your oil instead?
    – Mike Saull
    May 9, 2013 at 14:51
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    Depending on the model year, the Prius has 2 drain plugs. Also, the original US Prius takes 2.9 quarts, not 3. Overfilling that model is easy AND bad.
    – longneck
    May 10, 2013 at 18:00
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    You should use the marks on the dipstick, not the amount drained, to measure how much oil you're burning/losing. When you drain the oil, some remains in the engine, and some is in the oil filter. May 10, 2013 at 18:34

2 Answers 2

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1 quart every 3000 miles seems to be well within the spec for just about every Prius, so it seems almost certainly acceptable for yours ( though we still haven't heard what year yours is ).

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Try the owner's manual. If that doesn't say, contact your Toyota service department and have them check the maintenance manuals. Different cars have different acceptable burn off/losses. For example, my Toyota MR2 is within specification as long as it doesn't burn more than 1 quart every 1000 miles.

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