DIY oil changes on the Prius v

Given how new the Prius V's are, I doubt that many/any forum members have driven enough miles for the first oil change. I've read many posts concerning the "oil change access panel" and the problems Gen III owners have had with the panel cracking or breaking at the 'hinge,' but I don't know if the Prius V has the same panel underneath. Has anyone who owns both a Prius V and a regular Gen III Prius taken a close enough look to tell?
My other 'unknown' concerns ramps. I haven't taken a look underneath my Prius V because I don't own ramps which will work with this vehicle; mine do not have extenders. Again, due to how new the V is, I doubt that many forum members have tried their V's on ramps to look at the undersides, but the clearance of the V's should be virtually the same as a regular Gen III Prius. What brand of ramps have worked for the Gen III regular Prius and where were they sold? (I live in Southern California)
Related to the ramp issue, can the oil/filter change in a Prius be accomplished while only the front end is elevated on ramps? Every other Toyota I've owned (many!) needed to be reasonably level for an oil change, but driving the front end up ramps precludes being level - unless the vehicle's back end is raised to the same height with a floor jack utilizing the single jack point. Need some input from members who have changed their oil using ramps!!

Lowercase v it is Prius v, as to not be confused with the 2010 Third Generation Trim level V.

Hmm...lowercase v or as in the uppercase V in your profile?

The Prius v, yes lower case and confusing, is the same basic car as the Gen III with more storage capacity in the rear.

The oil drain plug is at the rear of the oil pan so no problem draining oil while car is on ramp. Just be sure to have the car on level ground when you make final oil level check with dip stick.

As for the engine under cover Toyota came out with a new, improved version and you should have this on the v.

As for ramps I bought a set of Rhino ramps at Advanced Auto that work just fine.

Mine is a 2011 third generation Prius V, for model year 2010 Toyota used Roman numerals I, II, III, IV, V for the trim levels in the U.S. For model year 2011 they switched from the Roman numerals to spelled out Arabic numbers Two, Three, Four, and Five, some say to avoid confusion with the MY 2012 Prius v, v standing for versatile. My car is a 2011 Prius V if I had bought it on the mainland instead of Hawaii it would have been a Prius Five. Toyota Hawaii sold it as a 2011 Prius V, they do what they want, and so my window sticker and documentation all refer to the car as a Prius V. I could say 2011 Prius V/Five.

So far for MY 2012 there are the Gen. III Priuses Two thru Five and the Prius v Two, Three, and Five. Soon to more confused by the addition of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Prius Plug-in Hybrid Advanced and the Prius c.

Sorry for being a dick, I was just trying to avoid confusion. Welcome to PC, glad you got yourself a new v.

Going back to your original question one would think the oil change procedure for the Prius v would be very similar to the Gen. III regular old Prius. It sounds like you have researched the Gen. III threads and should have handle on it when it comes time to do an oil change on your v.

Don't forget your scheduled maint. is free nationwide for 2yr. / 25000mi along with roadside assistance, covered under Toyota Care. Your dealer should have explained it to you & set your 1st appointment.

So you basically get 5 free services (every 5,000 Miles)?

It would depend on the service interval for your particular vehicle, meaning that if your oil change interval is 10,000 miles you would get two oil changes. If your tire rotation interval is 5,000 miles you would get 5 tire rotations. Put those together and you would get 3 services with just a tire rotation 5K, 15K, 25K and then two with oil change and tire rotation 10K, 20K.

http://www.toyota.com/toyota-care/

Where I am Toyota Hawaii has their own Program Toyota Hawaii Care and it is only 2 years or 20,000 miles. I am only getting two rotation only services at 5K, 15K and two oil change and rotations at 10K, 20K because my oil change interval is 10,000 miles.

http://www.toyotahawaii.com/Distributor/Toyota/ToyotaHawaiiCare_info_sheet.pdf

My apologies to the OP once again for side tracking his thread. I do have a question though that will bring it my post back to point. What is the oil change interval for the Prius v?

http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-12PriusV/pdf/2012_Toyota_Prius-V_WMG.pdf

Starts on page 36

5,000 for non synthetic, 10,000 for 0w-20 synthetic

The oil come with my new v, is that synthetic or not?

That's kinda what I was wondering when I asked about the oil change interval earlier. Then Jimbo's thread made me wonder even more with the mention of two differnt intervals for regular oil or synthetic oil. I wonder if the factory fill for the Prius v is? Mostly all of the 2011 third Gens. came with 0W-20 full synthetic oil. The v has the same running gear so you would think it came with a full synthetic oil.

Try popping your hood and take a look at your oil filler cap see what is written on there. Mine says SAE 0W-20 so that means my engine can run the synthetic oil.

I've never encountered a vehicle (all Hondas up to now) where having the front angled up impairs engine oil drain. With our Prius it's not a problem. As long as the drain bolt is at the rear bottom edge of the oil pan I can't see this being a problem.

Yes it comes with full synthetic and you always want synthetic, but Toyota understands if there is one time you can't get it and makes allowances.

(and face it, you do not want to change the oil as often as I do, I see my mechanic every 2 months, 30,000 miles a year)

And here comes where dealers and owners can get confused. I have a friend that just got the Prius v-3, and the dealer sticker says oil change at 5k. My guess, the dealership doesn't really pay attention, or they put it at 5k to play it safe for the first change by not knowing what type of drive the driver has. Then again, who knows if the dealers will even use the 0w20 synthetic oil when they do the changes, either.

Does the v have the same 5k if severe usage 10k if normal usage that the Gen 3 regular Prius has?

Yes, it does. It is in the link I posted above. Page 36. You can tell it comes with synthetic, as it does not offer to change the oil at 5,000 as they KNOW it left the factory with synthetic.

Dustoff003 stated that I appeared to have researched the GenIII+ posts and should have a good handle on DIY oil changes for my Prius v when the time comes. However, all of the (other) threads and posts dealing with DIY oil changes cover GENIII+ 2010 Prius models, not the Prius v.
Here are two additional questions I have for which I could find no mention in the Prius v Owners Manual or Maintenance Manual:
1) Is the oil filter element kit [04152-YZZA6] the same for the Prius v as it is for the GenIII 2010 Prius? Want to confirm before I order a case of filter elements!
2) Does the Prius v oil filter element housing require a 64mm wrench like the 2010 Prius does?
3) The GENIII+ Prius has some very long threads dealing with the oil access door and a design defect in the door 'hinge.' No recall, but a 'new and improved' access door has been incorporated after a specific VIN number, depending on which assembly line and which factory the GENIII+ Prius was built. Logic would dictate incorporation of that improved version of the oil access door in the Prius v, but logic doesn't always prevail: does the Prius v have the new and improved version of the oil access door?

Toyota is not going to want to change the oil more often. They would likely assuming your doing normal driving unless you stressed it's been through severe driving and needs oil changed at 5k miles. They'll put in the proper oil when they do a change, don't worry. Check the level though.

Is anyone besides me concerned about going 10,000 miles before the first oil change? The breakin period of say 1500 miles produces significant metal particles in the oil.

I am considering doing an oil and filter change at 1500 miles, probably myself. Is the access to the drain plug difficult? I have been changing oil and filter in my BMW by jacking up the front.

Thanks
Wallyf

The Prius v and the latest Prius both use 2ZR-FXE engines. Both use the same oil filter.
You need a 64 mm 14 flat adapter to remove the filter housing. A good adapter to remove the oil filter housing is the Assenmacher TOY 640 for $17 on Amazon.

To get to the filter, you must first remove the large aerodynamic plastic engine under cover which is a few feet wide and long and is attached by 19 fasteners. Once you get it off, the filter and drain plug (located right next to and below the filter is easy to access.

Besides the standard inexpensive Toyota filter element, premium (expensive) filters are available such as Mobil 1 filter M1C-154 ($16.99) and the Toyota TRD PTR43-52090 for about $14.

I will do the first oil change myself around 1000 miles. It just makes sense to me and I've been changing my own oil for 25 years so no big deal.

Andy