Chevrolet Prizm oil consumption problems

Filed Nov 13, 2015 · Engine · 65,000 miles · MI

My 2001 chevrolet prizm has been burning oil since around 60-70k miles and has only gotten worse. Chevrolet didn't build the engine right and the rings/heads I think need replaced (what I read on). And chevrolet has not fixed this problem and its costly as it burns around a quart every 200 miles.

Filed Jul 27, 2012 · Engine · 90,000 miles · IL

The piston skirts on the 2000 model were too short (they were replaced with appropriate skirts in a later year model). The very short skirt allows the piston to tilt in the cylinder much sooner than would happen in normal engines. This causes the rings to fail to seat properly much earlier than would happen in an engine with normal skirt lengths. This causes excessive oil consumption where the amount of oil consumed rises exponentially with the number of miles driven. At some point, the engine could malfunction while the driver is driving.

Filed Jun 15, 2012 · Engine · 86,000 miles · MI

Got the car in 2004. In 2009 the check engine light came on, went to three mechanics to try and find the problem. None of them had a clear idea of what was wrong but they tried various things. It still never went off for more than 5 miles directly after servicing. For a while it was driving fine even though the light was on (over a year) but then it started deteriorating. It was very sluggish, did not drive well (shaking) when going over 35 MPH, and the check engine light started blinking for 5-15 seconds when I accelerated. Mpg tanked, went from 35+ to 23-25. Needless to say, I took it to another mechanic. They replaced the spark plugs and fuel injectors and the catalytic converter ($1300 fix on my then 10 year old car). Car started running better, mpg slowly got higher, but after about three days out of the shop the check engine light came on again. Mechanic was stumped, had no idea what was wrong, but he ok'd it for me to continue driving, so I have been doing so. It's still driving well, more or less, but the check engine light is still always on. Around the same time as the 2009 engine light, I noticed the engine was drinking more and more motor oil. Now (2012) I have to put in a quart every full tank of gas, just about.

Filed May 29, 2012 · Engine · 53,336 miles · NE

Engine is eating oil!! -- I purchased an 18-month old chevy prizm lsi with a 1zz-fe 1.8l engine back in november 2002 with about 27k miles. This car is still in mint condition. It's garaged and I do all the routine maintenance and use pure synthetic engine oil since I purchased it. Unfortunately at about 50k miles, my engine started eating up oil at about 1 quart per 200 miles. After researching the 1zz fe 1.8l engine block series, it appears this engine has piston and ring problems leading it to consume oil at a rapid pace. I keep a case of oil in the trunk for long trips and put in at least one quart each time I refill the tank. This engine can be found in at least 10 toyota and one chevy model (prizm). This is an excellent car, however I can't believe gmc hasn't issued a technical service bulletin (tsb) regarding excessive engine oil consumption problems. These cars can run for at least 250k miles if you make sure the engine has enough oil. Buyer beware -- 1998-2002 chevy prizms and their siamese twin, toyota corollas with the izz fe 18.l engine with more than 50k miles will consume much more oil and it is therefore imperative to ensure you have enough oil in the engine block to prevent engine seizure. Gmc should issue a tsb for this problem. I realize this car is more than 10 years old, but there are millions of 1998-2002 prizms and corollas on the road. If you buy one, make sure the previous owner is honest with you regarding oil consumption, otherwise you may be buying a car with lots of engine problems. Your engine may seize up on you and leave you stranded in timbuktu...

Filed Jan 15, 2011 · Engine · 94,000 miles · GA

Chevrolet prizm...corolla in disguise. Car drinks oil bad. Have owned a 2000 model bought in 2008 with 44,000 miles car looked and drove like new so I thought car is made by toyota no need to check under the hood. Wrong!!! Got home with the car and my dad wanted to drive it,he's a mechanic.gets back home mad. He heard a ticking noise,( I didn't notice cause last car was wore out and noisy...this was quite for me) checked oil and there was less than a quart in the oil pan it only holds a little over 3qts. He put oil in it and it was super quite motor. Drove the car til bout 94000. At first the car needed only 1 qt every 600-800 miles. That was ok I was used to that. Then it got worse and worse. 1 qt every 50 to 100 miles. My dad tore it apart looked every where for a leak. None nothing!!! It was burning oil he found out but could not tell where it was coming from. This is very bad because the catalytic converter can only hold so much before it clogged and burnt slap out!!! Almost 7000$ I paid for that car supposedly of toyota quality, not counting all of the oil now in our o-zone. Besides the oil problem that almost every one faces when owning these vehicles including corollas same motor, best car I have ever owned. I just bought another one hoping it would be clear of engine issues. Wrong... My dad has looked it all over can't find out still what the problem is. Please research this really good and help us prism owners have restitution to see that recall envelope in the mail. Look at every car review site and yall will see that 9 out of 10 complaints are oil usage. Maybe that's the reason you don't see them much anymore. But most importantly us prism owners( that are left lol) need our cars fixed where the earth does not have suffer any more nether the less our wallets. Oil, diagnostics. Catalytic converters..etc.you have to check oil constant. Oil light never works for anyone that's why their all gone. You will see on all review sites.

Filed Jun 13, 2010 · Engine, Fuel system · 200,000 miles · WI

I own a 2001 chevy prism lsi. It has always experienced a number of annoying issues that I've had mechanics inspect/diagnose that never seems to get correctly diagnosed. It uses about a quart of oil a month (but never smokes out of the exhaust pipe), has always had a hesitation problem, and has a weird problem with noisy 'exhaust' sounds that sound like they are coming from the front of the car and are worse (very loud) in wet conditions. Upon cold start, the engine hesitates pretty badly when pressing the accelerator pedal. The hesitation gets much better once the engine has warmed up, but still has minor hesitation upon initially pressing the accelerator pedal. Mechanics have said they think the fuel pump may be starting to go out (I was told that 5 years ago and it has never gone out) and they said there was a 'lean mixture code' when my check engine light was on at one point but were unable to determine what the official cause of that code was and implied it was probably the fuel pump slowly going bad. They ran a carbon clean which shut off the service engine light but the hesitation and oil consumption has always remained. Numerous times, the hesitation has been an issue in traffic when I press the accelerator pedal and the engine does nothing until I pump the pedal a few times to get it going...leading to a possibly safety hazard in certain traffic conditions. Nobody has been able to figure out why it hesitates and fix the hesitation problem and I've read this is a very common problem along with the oil consumption problem for chevy prisms/toyota corollas (especially the 2001 model). Mechanics have also inspected my exhaust system to try to find the issue with the noisy exhaust but have found no leaks. I'm hoping a recall can be issued to help fix some of these issues since mechanics can't seem to figure out these common problems. It seems that toyota and gm are both aware of most of these issues and have done nothing to resolve them.

Filed Jan 28, 2010 · Engine · 72,000 miles · PA

Purchased car july '09 with 64,000 on engine. Vehicle purchased with 90 day warranty. 2700 miles after purchase, engine emitted blue smoke after highway driving. Vehicle taken to repair shop, pistons hold no compression, one valve shot, repair shop and warranty company state vehicle not drivable, needs replacement engine, potential valve damage., engine could cease if driven. Warranty did not cover sludge damage due to negligence of previous owner. Car burns oil variably ranging from 1qt per 500 miles to 3qt per 200 miles. Owners manual states car burns 1 liter per 800 miles from new. Not worth paying 3k to 6k for new engine when vehicle valued at 5k. Oil burning worse after changing oil, sludge clogged oil pump after 5k of driving. Tw*

Filed Sep 18, 2008 · Engine, Transmission · 65,000 miles · MD

Leak from transaxle valve differential - plastic plug feel out. Ruined transmission and engine. Engine burning oil like mad. Leaks oil all over the place. Started at about 65,000.

Filed Dec 20, 2007 · Engine · 70,000 miles · IL

2001 chevrolet prizm with toyota engine began burning excessive amounts of oil at 70,000 miles. Now burning 1 quart of oil every 300-400 miles. Toyota has admitted a problem with the engine, but gm refuses to do anything.

Filed Dec 19, 2007 · Engine · 63,500 miles · AR

Excessive oil consumption (one quart low every 300-400 miles), worsening, appears to be known defect for toyota supplied engines in 2001 chevrolet prizm and possibly other years of this motor type (possible factory ring, valve early failure issues), no leaks or heavy smoke apparent, air filter normal with no apparent blow-by from rings at that point. Regular oil and filter changes, car driven daily for local use, no other known defects or recurring problems, car operates normally other than high oil amounts used.