How much fuel do you keep in your Prime's tank?

gregeusa said:

where is it said you have to run the ICE every 3 or 4 days?

actual link please..

Click to expand...

sorry
I forgot to mention
That is my own opinion and logic
As I said before, I used to be mechanic
So I might be bias to old way of thinking

Also logic
Just think this way
If Some owners are planing or want to drive the prime as EV
So you want the engine never start or run for days or weeks right?
Ok then think this
You still have an engine right?
How is the cylinder being protected from metal to metal wear?
I believe still by engine oil right?
what happens to the oil on the cylinder wall or compression rings or valve lifters when you haven’t run the engine for 2-3 weeks

Most of it drain back to the oil pan
So the next time you start the engine
It is very thin layer of oil left or possible metal to metal contact
Again my opinion
Get my logic?
if you run at least once every 3-4 days
The engine oil layer might be thicker on the cylinder wall or valve lifters than if you let it drain all to the bottom of the oil pan for longer time

my dad’s rav4 v6 is stored in the garage
So few weeks I go there to run the engine to charge up the battery and let the oil circulate in the engine
Sometimes I forget and 3 weeks passed
Then I start the engine, I can hear the lifters knocking or tick tick tick sound
It means lack of oil at the beginning for few sec
Once the oil reaches full pressure, then engine would sound normal again

that is why in my opinion, it is better to at least have the engine run, even just for 5-10 min so the engine oil will circulate and lubricate most of the engine

If you think my logic is wrong
of course
It Is your car, you don’t need to listen to me
Specially if you don’t keep it long term

just remember even Toyota does not tell you to run the engine at least once every few days
After 5-10 years if your engine start burning oil
Will Toyota replace your engine for free?
so it is your choice on how you want to take care your car

Also I don’t think Toyota make the prime to be an EV car
Specially I hear after 2020
The story that one owner engine stopped working after 1 year
To make the story short
The owner used the prime as EV car
Inside the gas tank is the original gas from the purchased date
1 year old gasoline
The fuel system failed due of bad gasoline
Damaged the injectors and other sensors

Since that time
All Toyota will tell you not to leave the gas for more than 3 months inside the tank
It must to be used

so your logic is based on the fact that the oil drains back, so you need to start the car more often?

your logic is that waiting more than 3-4 days has more drain back, enough more to damage the engine.

unless the oil has suddenly become sentient... it will drain away in a few hours, it does not stay good for 3 days and then drain off to a much greater degree.

to prove this to yourself, tear apart a motor that has been sitting for a year, there's still oil in the bearings.

your other logic is based on the drain back of hydraulic tappets. again this is normally caused by old age, not the fact the car was not run for a few days. again, the pressure drain down in tappets happens in minutes, not days..

10-4 on 3 months on the gas, but you did not state that in your original post, everything was about having to run the motor every 3 to 4 days.

and you told your wife to run the ICE EVERY TIME..

so, this is why I asked for a reference that you stated pretty much as fact, not an opinion...

you can wait more than 3-4 days to run the ICE
you do NOT have to run the ICE EVERY TIME
Any tappet drain down won't be better or worse between a couple of hours and 3-4 days

FKHeath said:

From Toyota -- not some "expert" that is not a Toyota engineer.

Click to expand...

Did you mean to post a link to the Toyota source?

gregeusa said:

so your logic is based on the fact that the oil drains back, so you need to start the car more often?

your logic is that waiting more than 3-4 days has more drain back, enough more to damage the engine.

unless the oil has suddenly become sentient... it will drain away in a few hours, it does not stay good for 3 days and then drain off to a much greater degree.

to prove this to yourself, tear apart a motor that has been sitting for a year, there's still oil in the bearings.

your other logic is based on the drain back of hydraulic tappets. again this is normally caused by old age, not the fact the car was not run for a few days. again, the pressure drain down in tappets happens in minutes, not days..

10-4 on 3 months on the gas, but you did not state that in your original post, everything was about having to run the motor every 3 to 4 days.

and you told your wife to run the ICE EVERY TIME..

so, this is why I asked for a reference that you stated pretty much as fact, not an opinion...

you can wait more than 3-4 days to run the ICE
you do NOT have to run the ICE EVERY TIME
Any tappet drain down won't be better or worse between a couple of hours and 3-4 days

Click to expand...

These days "oils" are formulated with tackifiers, which forces the lubricant molecules to stick to the surfaces instead of slowly draining into the sump. I would venture to say that a layer of lubricant would take months - if not longer - to completely disappear from the surface.

However, there are other risks that are associated with long-term stagnation, which means that mechanical systems do need to be exercised "periodically" - or to be laid-up/mothballed.

As to what "periodically" means, most people in the industry would probably say "weekly", probably because it's easier to plan for and supervise in the context of PM planning .

well again it is only my opinion base on my experience as old mechanic

i might sound like i am over the place
but here if you must know ( also this is funny that it sound like a conversation with my teeneger daugther)

toyota manual or if you google it, they both says not to leave the gas for more than 6 months (not me saying it) or it says it must be refilled
but then if you keep reading from google
it also says that gasoline can become stale after 3 months
and when we purchased my wife prime the salesman told as not to leave the gasoline for more than 3 months (again not me saying)
also remember, gasoline manufacture changes gas mix during spring and winter season (again not me saying but google it)

i tell my wife to drive in HV mode during highway, that because during high speed EV mode uses more electricity than in city driving (most EV owners know this)
but in HV mode uses less gas in highway than in city driving right?
this way she can save the electrical charge to drive in the city.
this is has nothing to do with run the engine so the engine oil will lubricate all the parts.
remember prime is a hybrid with larger battery so you can save more in gas, it is still not a full EV car
most people forget about this

as for engine oil drain back to the pan
when i start my dad rav4 engine once every 2 weeks, then engine sound good without any issue when starting
but sometimes i forget and leave it longer and start it after 3 weeks
then you hear the tick or knocking sound during few sec after starting
that is when most of the oil drain has drain down back into the pan

i said that it is better to run the engine for at least operating temperature every few days because it relubricates most of the parts in the engine. also it burns any potential moisture or gasoline in the engine oil
remember during winter it is cold, you might still have some moisture inside the engine.

i understand that most what i do or tell my wife do might be overkill
but i again we want to keep the car for long long long time
i am sure there will be owners that can say, i didnt do that and my car still runs great
good for you. like in life it is all about taking chances or do things that help or prevent issues
i am sure if i said that i exercise and try to eat healthy; no smoking or drinking alcohol
agan this is me taking chances or choose what i can do so i can live longer without health problems in the future
of course i have seen old people smoke like chimney or drink once a day and still live a long life
but are you 100% sure that that will happen to you?
i am sure all the things i try, it might not be 100% that will work out for me
but for me
it is better than not to try right?