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Wow oil still look new at 13000 mile.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by cuongdyna, Feb 6, 2016.

  1. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    So my maintenance display came on. So I check my dipstick and "WOW" oil still looks new after 13000 miles from the oil change.
     
  2. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    You have not changed your oil in 13k miles?
     
  3. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    No, the maintenance display came on 1500 miles ago. I have not had a chance to do a oil change.
     
  4. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    so you reset your reminder at around 7k miles?

    BION
    StarCaller
     
  5. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    Some wear around 5K to 6K if I recall.

    I can't believe how clear the oil is with this many mile from the last oil change from the dealer.
     
  6. sillylilwabbit

    sillylilwabbit Active Member

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    Maybe you should send of a vial of that oil to blackstone (or whatever it is called) for an oil analysis?

    It would quite interesting to know the results on a visually looking clean engine oil at 13k would be. (Looks clean and still good or looks clean and viscosity broke down)

    Do you drive mostly highway? City? 80/20 split?

    If yours is a PIP, do you mainly drive EV mode?

    I had my car for just under 1k and my oils looks new. Mainly city and EV driving so far.


    iPhone ?
     
  7. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    We drive mostly on the highway. The oil in the Prius at 13000k looks like 1000 mile in my 2012 Jeep.
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    these engines are amazing, my oil looks as clear as water after one year interval, and 39,000 on the odo. of course, only 13,000 hv miles, and i've changed it 3 times.
     
  9. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    I am very impressed with Toyota's ingenuity. I just noticed the other day while going down a slight hill with my windows down that the speakers on the front make a louder noise due to regenerative braking and no engine noise. Then when I am on a flat surface, it goes back to that softer spaceship whine. Too funny. The motor for my car has the electric water pump and no belt. It also has the electric AC, which in itself is quite remarkable. I feel like the Prius line is like when tankless water heaters started becoming the norm. When they first came out, people could see how such a small thing could give them hot water. Now, its a no-brainer if one can afford them.
     
  10. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    Talk to a mechanic at the dealer. He said you can probably change oil 20K or more intervals and be ok. But they recommend 10000 due to the warranty.

    I use to have a Z06 Corvette. I use to be on the Corvette Forum and those guys over there are crazy. They would have their oil analyzed after 12000 miles. And it's barely 30% breakdown in the oil.
     
    #10 cuongdyna, Feb 6, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2016
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what do they do with used motor oil?
     
  12. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    That I don't know.
     
  13. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    if that's the case, the engine warranty is gone.
     
  14. rifis

    rifis Junior Member

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    I'd like to poll PC members:

    What (if anything) is wrong w/this conversation? What (roughly) is the OP's current odometer reading?
     
  15. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    Currently my odometer reads 35K. The conversation there is no right or no wrong. I come from an era where people use to change the motor oil at 3k miles. Those days are long gone. Synthetic motor oils nowadays is 10k plus. I'm not concerned that I went over 1500 miles when display showed maintenance required. BMW for instance is 15K to 20 K oil change intervals.
     
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  16. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    yep, & people like my brother (bmw) or my father (mercedes) they really go the whole 20k miles until the first oil change (until the car tells them now it's time)/
    now I had my first oil change at 1500 miles....
    (now at 38k miles I had nine oil changes....)
    I just see it as a cheap insurance; why milk it to the last drop if oil changes are cheap & engines are expensive/
     
  17. cuongdyna

    cuongdyna Junior Member

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    This is from Edmunds site.

    After interviews with oil experts, mechanics and automakers, one thing is clear: The 3,000-mile oil change is a myth that should be laid to rest. Failing to heed the service interval in your owner's manual wastes oil and money, while compounding the environmental impact of illicit waste-oil dumping.

    You can read the rest. Great info!

    Stop Changing Your Oil! | Edmunds.com
     
    #17 cuongdyna, Feb 7, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2016
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  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    You can always change it a bit more frequently and recycle responsibly.
     
  19. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    If the previous oil change was done 13,000 miles ago and the OP noticed the current reminder came on 1,500 miles ago, then he clearly let the previous maintenance interval lapse by 1,500 miles also before resetting it (6,500 + 6,500 = 13,000). One thing I've noticed in the Gen 3 is that it is quite easy to overlook the maintenance reminder. It pops up after the "Prius" welcome screen and then goes away. If you're not expecting it, you're likely to miss it altogether. In the Gen 2, it was an amber warning light that stayed illuminated, which is probably better. So far in my Gen 3, I have been expecting it by monitoring total miles at each shutdown screen and have never let it go beyond "Maintenance Required Soon". When it is overdue, does it stay on?
     
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    One thing about the US in-dash reminder: it doesn't consider time. Maybe not a factor if distance always governs, but the (US) spec for oil change is 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first.

    By comparison, the Canadian spec is 8,000 kilometres (~5,000 miles) or 6 months. We're slow to put on the km's, so months is governing. So, the first weekend in April, and October, it's oil change time for me.