Long Chat with Toyota Mechanic Today

[Matt Herring]

In anticipation of my first oil change at 5k miles (I'm at 3k right now) I wanted to pick the brain of my dealership head mechanic to see if this guy is the one I want maintaining my vehicle down the road. He was very patient answering all of my questions and even more patient when I pressed him for his thoughts on the following two topics. Let me know what you think...

#1 Oil Change - I told him I wanted to know what oil they use on a standard Prius oil change and that I would be interested in using Mobil 1 Syn 0w20. The dealership uses Valvoline 5w30 as their standard choice of oil for the Prius.

He said "because of impact loading especially at starts and stops that the 0w20 is not recommended for the Prius." He even went as far to say that if there was ever any engine problems with my car that a lookup of past maintenance noting the use of 0w20 that my warranty could be affected (this was one area I pressed him hard about because it lit a fire under my tail...these guys will do anything to void a warranty...ridiculous). He said that using any oil not recommended by Toyota could affect the warranty.

#2 Engine Block Heater - My main purpose of this question was to see what they would charge to install one as I really don't want to get into doing it myself. He stated "We've never installed one on a Prius and unless you're in 0 degree weather you really don't need one." He went on to say that "the EBH would only keep the engine at about 25 degrees in 0 degree weather" and that "the engine coolant dump system in the Prius is sufficient and an EBH is not necessary."

He didn't even know what to quote me as a price because he said he would have to drain the entire coolant system when installing the EBH (he was patient with me but this one also got me fired up). He said it could be up to a 2 hour procedure and without ever doing it before it could be pricey. I told him I could give him step by step instructions from this site to do it and he still could not quote me a price. Maybe a trip down there with instructions in hand would get him closer to quoting me a price.

My EBH is on order and should arrive in the next week or two so before my 5k service is due I'd like to have a good oil change and EBH plan in place.

[Rokeby]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

...#2 Engine Block Heater...
He didn't even know what to quote me as a price because he said
he would have to drain the entire coolant system when installing
the EBH (he was patient with me but this one also got me fired
up). He said it could be up to a 2 hour procedure and without ever
doing it before it could be pricey.

Matt,

This statement alone would have me looking for another dealer.
I wonder where he came up with that foolishness.
While I haven't done the block heater install yet, it doesn't look all that
dificult:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-mo...-may-help.html

Maybe another PriusChat member in your area will volunteer to
give you a hand with the install.

[Matt Herring]

I got in touch with an independent mechanic that recommended a friend of his who is a mechanic at another Toyota dealership near me but I won't be able to call him until tomorrow...maybe he will be able to do a better job at tackling the job...or at least have some experience with the install.

If any local Priuschat members near Danvers, MA have experience with the EBH and want to take a crack at installing the EBH for me I'd be happy to compensate them with fair payment and/or lunch and a beer at a local establishment.

I was told by the independent mechanic to check with Toyota first to make sure the EBH has no effect on my factory warranty...anyone have any info. on this?

[efusco]

credibility ranking...ZERO.
Guy has no clue what so ever.
Ask him why the only oil recommended for the 2010 is 0W20.
and the EBH will keep the ICE at about 120-125F in zero degree temps and I use it year around and it has a tremendous measurable benefit.

[Matt Herring]

Originally Posted by efusco

credibility ranking...ZERO.
Guy has no clue what so ever.
Ask him why the only oil recommended for the 2010 is 0W20.
and the EBH will keep the ICE at about 120-125F in zero degree temps and I use it year around and it has a tremendous measurable benefit.

Exactly what I was thinking too as we got deeper into the conversation. Is 5w30 the recommended oil for the 2009? I'm guessing his next answer to why 0w20 is recommended for the 2010 would be because it's a "different" model.

How long to you run your EBH in the summer vs. winter? Have you ever heard of a warrantly being affected by an EBH install?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

He even went as far to say that if there was ever any engine problems with my car that a lookup of past maintenance noting the use of 0w20 that my warranty could be affected (this was one area I pressed him hard about because it lit a fire under my tail...these guys will do anything to void a warranty...ridiculous). He said that using any oil not recommended by Toyota could affect the warranty.

Why would this surprise you? If you don't use the type of oil recommended by Toyota why would you expect them honor the warranty for oil related failures. Warranties are a two-way street. Toyota stands behind their product as long as you do the required maintenance, at the required time, using the required materials.

After the problems Toyota had with engine sludging I would expect them to be very sensitive to the type of oil you use and the interval you change it.

[efusco]

There are no warranty issues.
When I'm able I use 3 hours before driving. I admit that at work it's easier to just leave it plugged in the whole time at work though.

[JimboK]

As for potential warranty issues with the EBH, it's a Toyota (Canada) part and Toyota built the block to take it.

I use mine year round. I don't have quite the temp increase that Evan reports. Mine gets it to about 60-70 above ambient temp, regardless of what the ambient is. That still shortens considerably the warmup time, even in the middle of summer. I also run it for about 3 hours ahead of time.

I don't know MA geography well enough to know exactly where you are, but Hobbit's in the Boston area. He might be able to help with the install.

[FireEngineer]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

If any local Priuschat members near Danvers, MA have experience with the EBH and want to take a crack at installing the EBH for me I'd be happy to compensate them with fair payment and/or lunch and a beer at a local establishment.

I was told by the independent mechanic to check with Toyota first to make sure the EBH has no effect on my factory warranty...anyone have any info. on this?

As others have said it's a Toyota part. It's listed in the dealers third party parts book, most never look there. As Jimbo said the engine block has a hole cast just for receiving the EBH. And as Evan said the engine temp at 0F outside with an EBH run overnight (my recommendation in those temps) would be about 50F if your outside without grill blocking. The thermos actually decreases the engine block temp the EBH heated up. And the thermos won't work below 0F.

How long do you want to wait for an EBH install, I smell a trip coming?

Wayne

[Matt Herring]

Originally Posted by FireEngineer

As others have said it's a Toyota part. It's listed in the dealers third party parts book, most never look there. As Jimbo said the engine block has a hole cast just for receiving the EBH. And as Evan said the engine temp at 0F outside with an EBH run overnight (my recommendation in those temps) would be about 50F if your outside without grill blocking. The thermos actually decreases the engine block temp the EBH heated up. And the thermos won't work below 0F.

How long do you want to wait for an EBH install, I smell a trip coming?

Wayne

Wow Wayne...if you were the one installing my EBH...I'd wait as long as you want until you got up this way! Of course, I'd love for the EBH to be in asap to take advantage of it right away but if it was installed by the Fall/winter...fine with me.

If you smell a trip coming...I smell a Prius meetup in New England too!