Home oil changes and warranty compliance

[ForTheGlory]

I'm coming up on 5000 miles, so it'll soon be time for my first oil change on the Prius. I plan to do it myself, but I have a question: how do I prove to the dealer that I've done it at the proper interval, in the event of a warranty claim?

I'll obviously keep the receipt for the oil, but that does nothing to show how many miles I've driven between changes. Is it simply a matter of "there are 16000 miles on the odometer, and I've got 3 oil receipts" to prove that I changed it every 5000 miles?

I've never owned a car that had a warranty before, so this has never come up for me in the past.

[sorka]

You need to keep your receipts for oil and filter and write down the mileage you changed your oil. Under Federal law, that is considered PROOF that the service was performed.

However, if you mess it up, it will void your warranty. What do I mean by mess it up? Grossly under filling or possibly overfilling. A common mistake is not tightening the oil drain plug enough. Some overtighten though and strip out the oil pan. Neither is too easy to do. Changing your oil is one of the easiest things to do. I've done it for 500K miles on a dozen cars and have never had a problem.

Make sure that if any of your receipts are thermal printed that you make photocopy backups otherwise you'll be shocked when you look at them in a few years and they're completely black. If a dealer requires proof of service and your receipts are toast, then your warranty is toast too.

[WWJD08]

Originally Posted by ForTheGlory

I'm coming up on 5000 miles, so it'll soon be time for my first oil change on the Prius. I plan to do it myself, but I have a question: how do I prove to the dealer that I've done it at the proper interval, in the event of a warranty claim?

I'll obviously keep the receipt for the oil, but that does nothing to show how many miles I've driven between changes. Is it simply a matter of "there are 16000 miles on the odometer, and I've got 3 oil receipts" to prove that I changed it every 5000 miles?

I've never owned a car that had a warranty before, so this has never come up for me in the past.

The dealership where I bought my car sent me a notice at 1000 miles for my first oil change. As long as you buy the toyota brand oil filter very reasonible and also you can by 5 gts in one container mobil 1 synthetic oil
for $25 at Walmart keep the receipts right the mileage on both receipts
You'll be OK for warranty. the dealer said change it every 5,000 miles. The pan and oil filter hold less than 4 quarts 3.9 do not overfill.

[richard schumacher]

3 quarts even is plenty. Try it and see. (A half-quart of old oil sticks inside the engine and is not accounted for in the service manual.)

[sorka]

Using the Toyota brand filter is not necessary. And unless your doing extended oil changes, like say 10K, you're wasting your money on Mobil 1. Note: Mobil 1 is my favorite oil. I've always used it my corvettes and 300zx Twin Turbos. But it just isn't necessary unless the service schedule in your manual requires it.

Also, wal-mart sells their own brand of Synthetic in 5 qts for about $12. It meets the highest service standards and can only do so by being formally tested and qualified. I've been using it in my SC400 which now has 272K miles on it and I only change my oil in that car every 15K miles.