Synthetic Oil vs Pre-paid Maintenance

[Three60guy]

First, I have committed to using the pre-paid Toyota Maintenance package. I did not have the luxury of reading this thread first. Now I am wondering what my consequences will be.

I doubt I will be able to use synthetic oil with my pre-paid service. Is that a correct assumption? And even if I were able to use it I am confused just what specific advantage there is to engine life. I have always read that synthetic will increase engine life but that is such a broad statement I have no way to honestly evaluate it.

Second, if I were to wait until the pre-paid service package is over with I am led to believe that moving to synthetic oil would no longer be of any benefit because I waited too long.

What is a guy to do? Yes, I "plan" on keeping my Prius a long time (at least 10 years). But how do I now take advantage of this newly found intelligence on synthetic oils given my circumstances with the pre-paid Toyota service plan? Is the point to be concluded that if I stay with what Toyota recommends I will not attain as useful a life of service with my Prius without using synthetic oils?

I would appreciate some thoughtful insights.

Thanks.

[mcbrunnhilde]

You'll do just fine with "dino juice"--but some of us are overly obsessive about babying our cars! Anyway, your prepaid maintenance only goes through 55,000 miles, right??? You can always switch then, or you could even pick up synthetic at Costco/Sam's/BJ's/etc. and take it to your dealer and ask them to use it instead of what they normally would anytime before that. Your prepaid also includes tire rotation and "inspection" if I'm not mistaken, so the cost of the dealer's oil is only part of what you have paid for.

If you haven't used any of your coupons, I would think you could cancel if you're having second thoughts about going prepaid. In any case, what's much more important than dino vs. synthetic is that fact that you get regular maintenance. My '91 Camry used dino for 235,000 miles, and it's still going strong for my brother-in-law.

[tumbleweed]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mcbrunnhilde @ Jun 18 2006, 09:03 PM) [snapback]273299[/snapback]</div>

--but some of us are overly obsessive about babying our cars! [/b]

That's it exactly, I know of no advantage for me but I use synthetic anyway. I started using Mobil 1 at the first oil change to see it it would help the mileage, I couldn't tell the difference. I will most likely not keep the car past 3 years or 100K miles; but I will most likely keep using synthetic anyway. I do wish the oil change interval was longer than 5000 miles though, 7500 might be OK.

I'm sure someone somewhere has had a problem with a Prius engine, but I've not heard of it. I suspect the ICE will last as long as the rest of the car no matter what type or brand of oil is used, as long as it's the correct specification and weight, and gets changed along with the filter every 5K to 10K miles or so.

[WFO]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumbleweed @ Jun 19 2006, 10:12 AM) [snapback]273402[/snapback]</div>

That's it exactly, I know of no advantage for me but I use synthetic anyway. I started using Mobil 1 at the first oil change to see it it would help the mileage, I couldn't tell the difference. I will most likely not keep the car past 3 years or 100K miles; but I will most likely keep using synthetic anyway. I do wish the oil change interval was longer than 5000 miles though, 7500 might be OK.

I'm sure someone somewhere has had a problem with a Prius engine, but I've not heard of it. I suspect the ICE will last as long as the rest of the car no matter what type or brand of oil is used, as long as it's the correct specification and weight, and gets changed along with the filter every 5K to 10K miles or so.
[/b]

A good synthetic will get you WELL over 5K service life. An oil analysis will tell you definitively. I have run an analysis on my large V-8 engined truck and so far found I can go to 12,000 miles on Amsoil and still be within service life. Meaning I could go farther, but i choose to change it at 12k. (that's a full calendar year)

My Prius is new, once I switch to Amsoil after breakin I will do an analysis on it as well. I"m thinking the smaller engine, and the fact that it actually doesnt run for the same number of hours per mile as a normal engine that the service life on quality synth oil should be VERY high.

I'll keep you posted when I do the analysis.

Contact me direct for an analysis kit of your own if you're interested. (yes, I'm an Amsoil dealer.)

Rick

[Three60guy]

Unless someone adds something after this post I am concluding that mcbrunnhilde's comments will work best for me. I was getting caught up in the synthetic bandwagon. Mind you, I believe synthetic is fine. My last car, a Saab 9-5, came with a recommendation from Saab to use synthetic. And factory intervals were 10,000 miles between changes. Ya gotta love those dealers though......they still tried to get me to change the oil at 5,000 miles.

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

[dipper]

Just remember, the Toyota filter is only good for 5k miles. Don't skip your oil filter change even if your oil is good beyond 5k miles. Otherwise, might as well buy a new engine.

I still remember when Synthetic oil first came out claiming 20k between oil change. Warranty claims started coming in for blown engines. Found out that it was the oil filters being clogged caused the engine to blow, not the oil.

[Jack Straw]

zzz

[Three60guy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dipper @ Jun 19 2006, 12:50 PM) [snapback]273499[/snapback]</div>

Just remember, the Toyota filter is only good for 5k miles. Don't skip your oil filter change even if your oil is good beyond 5k miles. Otherwise, might as well buy a new engine.

I still remember when Synthetic oil first came out claiming 20k between oil change. Warranty claims started coming in for blown engines. Found out that it was the oil filters being clogged caused the engine to blow, not the oil.
[/b]

This is excellent information. If you are not "in the biz" one would not automatically think of this. Thanks for the insight.

What comes to mind now is what kind of filter does Saab use if the factory recommends 10,000 miles between oil changes.

hmmmm

[catsbox]

I use synthetic oil with pre-paid maintenance. I just pay out of pocket the difference in the extra cost of the synthetic over regular oil.

[mextaco1]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Three60guy @ Jun 18 2006, 08:09 PM) [snapback]273278[/snapback]</div>

First, I have committed to using the pre-paid Toyota Maintenance package. I did not have the luxury of reading this thread first. Now I am wondering what my consequences will be.

I doubt I will be able to use synthetic oil with my pre-paid service. Is that a correct assumption? And even if I were able to use it I am confused just what specific advantage there is to engine life. I have always read that synthetic will increase engine life but that is such a broad statement I have no way to honestly evaluate it.

Second, if I were to wait until the pre-paid service package is over with I am led to believe that moving to synthetic oil would no longer be of any benefit because I waited too long.

What is a guy to do? Yes, I "plan" on keeping my Prius a long time (at least 10 years). But how do I now take advantage of this newly found intelligence on synthetic oils given my circumstances with the pre-paid Toyota service plan? Is the point to be concluded that if I stay with what Toyota recommends I will not attain as useful a life of service with my Prius without using synthetic oils?

I would appreciate some thoughtful insights.

Thanks.
[/b]

if I calculate correctly, 11 oil changes using synthetic will cost you an extra $220 over 55k miles, use regular oil and reduce your cost of pre-paid plan. (675-220= only $455 for prepaid plan...GREAT DEAL!