Engine oil replacement?

[jsuh84]

What do I need to know about engine oil replacement other than what the manual tells me?

Any recommendations on engine oils?

Or is this better off to leave at Toyota service?

[Sufferin' Prius Envy]

Rule #1: Never overfill the oil. And never let the people who change your oil tell you, "a little over the line is OK."
If it were OK, the line would be that much higher.

Otherwise, change the oil like the book says.

[seasalsa]

Originally Posted by jsuh84

What do I need to know about engine oil replacement other than what the manual tells me?

Any recommendations on engine oils?

Or is this better off to leave at Toyota service?

Many of us changed to a synthetic oil after 3-5000 miles.

I use Mobile1 and change my own oil to make sure it is not over-filled.

Check out John's site for detailed oil change and a lot of other great Prius info.

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

[9G-man]

The most important thing is once it's done, check the dip-stick to verify the oil level before you drive away.

Other than that, don't ask for a "service", tell them you want an oil change. That's it. Be leary of any Quicky oil change place.

[morpheusx]

Originally Posted by seasalsa

Many of us changed to a synthetic oil after 3-5000 miles.

I use Mobile1 and change my own oil to make sure it is not over-filled.

Check out John's site for detailed oil change and a lot of other great Prius info.

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

+1
Keep it synthetic I like both Mobil-1 and Castrol Syntec (black bottle) the best. (you can buy a 5 qt jug cheap at wal-mart for approx $20)
Also remember to use the proper viscosity of oil (5W30 here in the US spec) but feel free to try a 0W30 from Mobil-1 for a marginal fuel economy boost. Some Priuschatters are now using a thinner 5w20 and 0w20 weights as well with great results.

I also really like the Purolator "Pure One" line of filters.

[richard schumacher]

Take the Scheduled Maintenance Guide with you; show the appropriate page to the service writer and tell them "do this". Anything more (other than fixing stuff that actually happens to be broken) is a waste of money for you and a boat payment for the dealer.

Absolutely check the oil level yourself before driving away! Always do that no matter who changes the oil.

As it turns out 3.5 quarts will completely fill the system at an oil change, and 3.0 quarts is more than sufficient. Try it and see. It's trivial to add more oil and a relative pain in the @ss to remove any excess.

[Old Bald Guy]

Originally Posted by richard schumacher

As it turns out 3.5 quarts will completely fill the system at an oil change, and 3.0 quarts is more than sufficient. Try it and see. It's trivial to add more oil and a relative pain in the @ss to remove any excess.

I don't buy this bad advice for a minute.

The owners manual for the 2008 says 3.9 quarts oil for oil and filter change. 3.5 would not really hurt much but underfilling by almost 25% (3 quarts instead of 3.9) is just not a good idea.

Back in the 60's, drag racers would underfill engines to get a little extra power on the dragstrip ... but they were only under power for a few seconds ... and the engines were rebuilt PREQUENTLY.

I doubt that your intention is to rebuild your engine every month.

Here's the bottom line. Use good oil ... like Mobil 1 ... use the right amount ... and change it by the book ... which is 6 months or 5,000 miles ... whichever is first.

Old Bald Guy
2008 Prius
package 2
52.5 mpg on the clock this morning
lifetime average 49.62 mpg after 6000 miles/4 months

[kohnen]

Originally Posted by morpheusx

I also really like the Purolator "Pure One" line of filters.

If you want to use an oversized Purolator Pure One filter, the PL20195 fits.

Costs no more than the stock size, but has about twice the filtering material, so you're that much less likely to clog the filter and require it to go into bypass mode.

Plus, you put about 8-12 oz. more oil into the system (because the filter is bigger) - more oil doing the same thing --> the additives in the oil will last a bit longer.

[Bob64]

Originally Posted by Old Bald Guy

I don't buy this bad advice for a minute.

The owners manual for the 2008 says 3.9 quarts oil for oil and filter change. 3.5 would not really hurt much but underfilling by almost 25% (3 quarts instead of 3.9) is just not a good idea.

Back in the 60's, drag racers would underfill engines to get a little extra power on the dragstrip ... but they were only under power for a few seconds ... and the engines were rebuilt PREQUENTLY.

I doubt that your intention is to rebuild your engine every month.

Here's the bottom line. Use good oil ... like Mobil 1 ... use the right amount ... and change it by the book ... which is 6 months or 5,000 miles ... whichever is first.

Old Bald Guy
2008 Prius
package 2
52.5 mpg on the clock this morning
lifetime average 49.62 mpg after 6000 miles/4 months

3.9 is if you drained EVERY LAST DROP of oil out of the engine and oilpan, which is impossible.

3.5 hits close to the top line, 3.0 hits a bit less then the center of the dipstick.


Usually, 3.9 is overfilling.

[richard schumacher]

The owners manual for the 2008 says 3.9 quarts oil for oil and filter change. 3.5 would not really hurt much but underfilling by almost 25% (3 quarts instead of 3.9) is just not a good idea.

Yes, underfilling would be a bad idea. Using 3.0 quarts leaves the level halfway between the ADD and FULL lines on the dipstick, which is perfectly fine. 3.5 quarts fills it to the top. 3.9 quarts takes it over the FULL line because about 1/2 quart stays inside the engine, in the sump and coating internal surfaces. You can choose to trust either the shop and owner's manuals or the dipstick, but at least one of them is wrong. The info in the manuals passed from the design engineers through at least one technical writer and at least one translator, so I prefer to believe the dipstick.

I suspect a cultural difference here: the Japanese designers know that there is an acceptable operating range of oil level, whereas some American owners believe in their guts that "more is better". It Ain't Necessarily So.