15,000 mile oil change interval

[Latin Hybrid]

Well, I know I will get some heat for this, but I decided to go with a 15,000 mile oil change interval, but the way I am going to go with this is the same way I went with my old Cadillac eldorado. I will keep an eye on the status of the oil and quality with the good old fashioned senses. None of them fancy shmansy oil analysis, times are tough, so I will have to go by color, feel and smell of the oil to see if the progress of the oil change interval is a good idea or not.

But I will do what I did with the cadi, I will use full synthetic oil and a really good oil filter, which will be changed at the same interval of the oil itself.

Also, the same goes for the air filter, but that is a 15,000 mile interval already, I do not see any changes there.

I will do this at the 85000 mile oil change interval. which will be with in 2 weeks. I will inform you all when this is done and keep every one updated of the progress.

Later....

[jayman]

Well, I would strongly recommend the oil analysis

That said, based on oil analysis, running Mobil 1 0W-20 and the dealership oil filter up to 16,000 km was ok for me

[efusco]

While I think 15k miles is probably OK if you don't run the car too hard (extreme temps, frequent high speed driving, etc.), the touch/smell method of determining if your silicone levels, TNB, aluminum levels, etc. is going to be too little too late if/when there is a problem.

I've been doing every 10k mile changes for the past 2 changes, and will do another in about 4000 miles (my 90k mile change). I did do UOAs on both of those and it showed very good life left in the oil, they recommended another at 12k miles, but I'd already changed.

My suggestion to you would be to do your 15k change, but send a UOA anyway just to confirm that all is well. If it is, then continue with your plan. But if not then you can back off to every 10k miles and feel more comfortable knowing you're not risking your engine.

[richard schumacher]

True, a 2005 Prius is very much like an old Cadillac Eldorado, so that could work out OK, but: what do you consider to be a "really good" oil filter? Not a Fram, I hope...

[Frayadjacent]

I'd agree with efusco. Get a UOA. Don't gamble your engine's health on your ability to 'feel/smell/taste' all the stuff that is critical in the oil.

I'd be the UOA and more frequent (10 or 12k) intervals will ultimately be much cheaper than having to replace an engine.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by richard schumacher

True, a 2005 Prius is very much like an old Cadillac Eldorado, so that could work out OK, but: what do you consider to be a "really good" oil filter? Not a Fram, I hope...

My dad used to have a '68 Chevy Pickup that burned a fair amount of oil. So, he started using reclaimed, non detergent oil from a 55 gal drum (he originally bought it to use as chain lube for his chain saws). I told him this probably wasn't a good idea, but he said that it worked fine, and he just added additional oil periodically instead of changing it. It worked for his Chevy, so I don't see why I couldn't do this for my Prius.

[richard schumacher]

Maybe he was just yankin' our chains? Here, hand me some of your father's chain lube.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by richard schumacher

Maybe he was just yankin' our chains? Here, hand me some of your father's chain lube.

I think he burned it all in the Chevy pickup. The barrel was gone when we sold his house last spring. I still have the spigot because my GF thought it was an antique so she threw it in with some of the other old tools that I saved.

[tochatihu]

Welcome 1st poster. UOA would be helpful (and not only to you) so if you simply cannot budget that, perhaps another PC member would take an interest in your experiment?

A synthetic (or hydrocracked 'almost synthetic') would be a better choice than conventional as well. Those start at about $4/qt, but sometimes are sold on sale. Watch the ads.

[SW03ES]

Hope you never need warranty coverage for something engine or oil related...

Very foolish IMHO.

Edit: I see you're out of warranty so no issue there, I'll amend that to read hope you never sell it to someone who wants service records...