Just hit 5k, first oil change due, anything special to know for doing it myself?

I've changed the oil on all my cars, so this should be no big deal. My only thought is should I switch to synthetic now or stay on dino until the end of the warranty?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mooney @ Jun 22 2007, 08:51 AM) [snapback]466287[/snapback]</div>

No reason not to switch to synthetic now. In Europe, they're on synthetic from Day 1, I believe. Lots of people say that the oil change in the Prius is even easier than it is in other cars. If it weren't for the fact that I had no place to do the change, I would have started doing it myself long ago.

Check out John's page for some great step-by-step directions: http://john1701a.com/

The only thing to be watchful for is to make sure you don't lose the washer on the bolt, or to buy some spares. Other than that it is a very easy oil change.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Jun 22 2007, 10:11 AM) [snapback]466293[/snapback]</div>

PERFECT! Thanks!

Synthetic will not affect your warranty. Everyone says to keep the receipts for the oil you buy (and the filter), but I'm not sure that's necessary. If Toyota wanted to deny warranty coverage they would have to prove any problem was caused by the oil.

As for doing it yourself, I've done oil changes in parking lots. It's not a problem. All you need is a drain pan, funnel, and possibly ramps. I don't think you can get far enough under the Prius to reach the filter without ramps. I use my own "home made" ramps. Two 2X10 by 3' boards and two 4X4 by 10" boards for the "up" end of the ramp (call them props). You can get fancy and make a lock-in system for the board to the prop, maybe a peg or something, but that's about it. You might want to also make two wheel chocks, just to be real safe. I put small strips on the end of my boards so I know when I'm there (don't drive off the end), and I also put them on the props to "cant" them so they don't tip up the ramp board when the vehicle wheel is at the top. I'm pretty sure these ramps are stronger and more secure than the metal ones you can buy. I put the used oil back into the original bottles once the change is finished, and take them to the recycling center. Ditto for the filter. All clean and neat. Just have a few large rags laying under the car in case you get careless/sloppy.

Of course if you are in a complex and they have rules against this sort of thing then you're out of luck, unless you can find somewhere else to do the change.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Jun 22 2007, 08:06 AM) [snapback]466321[/snapback]</div>

KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS!

i had a warranty claim on major engine work on a toyota, and the dealer's first action was to blame lack of oil changes since THEY had no record. i had receipts, but i was buying cases of oil at costco and filters in bulk when they were on sale...the service manager wanted to see receipts for oil purchased for the individual changes. seriously, i had them check on what i thought was a valve issue, and when i went to pick up the car, the service manager had a piece of paper for me to sign voiding my warranty b/c of lack of maintenance...they never asked first if i had maintained, elsewhere, etc. i had to really push, escalate, threaten lemon law, etc to keep my warranty. i ended up getting some work done on my own to fix the problem for a few hundred bucks and avoid the dealer claiming i needed a new engine. funny thing is that when the vehicle went in for next sched maintenance, it got a clean bill of health.

net net, i recommend you keep a log book, attach receipts in the book for each maintenance, and be prepared to escalate if they push back on warranty work. as much as i can easily change my own oil, i've taken our other new vechicles to local garage or oil change joint so i can produce documentation other than me if needed.

toyota's are awesome vehicles, but my experience has been that at least one of their dealers/service shops is less than honest.

as always ymmv, but watch out for the shop trying to get out of expensive work,

Haven't hit my first oil change yet. While reading the owner's manual there were some statements that gave me the impression that the manufacturer's warranty would be voided by doing your own maintenance. Do I have this correct?

No, that is not correct. You will void your warranty by not doing any maintenance, but if you do it yourself, the only thing that happens is you save money and you put in the right amount of oil instead of over-filling. As stated in this thread, keep your receipts and everything is cool.

my .02:
1. go to synthetic now, if that's where you want to end up anyway. I used mobil 1 in my 2004 and 2005, but gave it up for my 2006, because the dealer gave me the first 2 changes free, I didn't see any MPG increase from syn, and I realized I don't keep cars very long any more! If you live in a cold climate, it's probably worth it for those winter startups though.
2. you will probably find the oil filter to be on very tight coming from the factory. it is located toward the front of the car, about in the center, down low. you do not need ramps of any kind to change oil in the prius.
I do recommend that you buy a cap-end oil filter wrench first.
3. the drain plug is accessed from the passenger side. not real easy to get to, but doable. I recommend you replace your drain plug with a fram suredrain (not sure if they make those any more) or a fumoto valve when you change it; it'll make subsequent changes a breeze.

oh, and

4. cut off the bottom few inches from a 1L plastic soda bottle and use that to unscrew the oil filter the last bit, so it drops into the bottle.

Do any of the chain parts places (AutoZone, Checker, NAPA, etc.) carry the plug crush washer?

I've never changed the washer in a year and a half and 36,000 miles. Some say its a good idea. Its not that I never change them, just that I don't feel that its a big deal. The filter change is done by braille unless you jack the car. I've been doing without raising the car, but replacing the filter is done blind, and I worry about getting foreign matter (dirt) by just reaching up there without seeing the fitting location. It can be done though. I've used Mobil 1 5-30 since the first change (5,000). Have fun.

The worst thing that will happen if you don't change the washer is that you will get a few drops of oil on the pavement. I try to change them every time, but sometimes I just forget. It is a prophylactic measure at best.

Tom Stangl also has a great pictorial step-by-step on his website:

http://www.vfaq.net/mods/OilChange.html

I have a FumotoValve for mine. Won't need a washer ever after I install this. I use one on all my cars. Makes changes a SNAP! I have the ones with the nipple. I just put a piece of hose on it and open the valve.

BTW, those black nylon ramps are perfect for the Prius. I was afraid they may be too high and the bumper would hit, but they are perfect.




Fumotovalve Website.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mooney @ Jun 22 2007, 09:51 AM) [snapback]466287[/snapback]</div>

If I changed my oil every 5k miles I would be in the shop every other week and I don't have time for that.

I have changed my oil every 15,000 miles since day one, and I change my filters every 7,500 miles.

I drive between 7,500 and 11,500 miles per month so that means a filter once a month and a change every other month.

I use Castrol Syntec 5W-20 (full synthetic) and if you look at the Used Oil Analysis postings you can see my stats are good (search UOA for more info). I did try an oil additive once, but did not notice any improvement, mostly because I believe the ICE isn't worked as hard with a hybrid, so improvements aren't as noticable.

M1-209 filter (Mobil 1) and Mobil 1 synthetic oil. Obtain filters from www.partsamerica.com. No shipping charge when you order a certain quantity. At least $1.00 cheaper than local retail (unless you order online in advance). M1-209 filters have a larger capacity and are significantly better than most off-the-shelf filters.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(faith2walk @ Jun 23 2007, 02:02 PM) [snapback]466901[/snapback]</div>

The Prius in the EU has a normal 12 month or 10,000 mile oil change interval running ACEA spec motor oil. It's a pet peeve of mine how folks in North America have been conditioned to believe anything more than 3,000-5,000 miles is terrible.

Mobil 1 0W-20 and the dealer oil filter changed at 16,000 km was good for a lot more

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Jun 24 2007, 07:39 PM) [snapback]467389[/snapback]</div>

Two problems with the above statements: Toyota requires oil changes at 5,000 mile intervals. Do it, or risk warranty coverage. Be able to prove you've changed the oil & filter.

And use the viscosity grade that Toyota recommends. Hint: it's not 0W-20!

Yeah, I know, it will work. But again, anytime you do things counter to what Toyota requires, you risk your warranty coverage.

When the warranty is up, by all means do whatever you want.

Harry

My 1999 Camry has been through oil hell. It turns out that the 99 Camry engine has had sludging problems (including a class action lawsuit). See http://www.corolland.com/sludge.html. Note that the sludging causes to oil to "disappear" fast once the problem starts happening. Now the dealer wanted to claim "no record=no warranty". However, having written down in the little maintenance manual (supplied with the car) I had changed the oil, and put my initials in the "verification" block made a huge difference. With this, the burden is on the dealer to show that the records are falsified. Not a popular course of action to accuse your customers. Since I change my oil, I had just one record of changing for my own tracking....but an very accurate one. The Camry engine was cleaned and taken care on under warranty since I DID have records, not necessarily receipts. Now the sludging solution is to use synthetic oil to prevent the problem.

Now the Prius is a completely different engine. Especially important is that there is no "balancing shaft" in the oil sump beating the living daylights out of the oil. But the lessons learned are:

1) Use synthetic oil. It does not go bad in case you forget to change oil, or you want to dump less oil into the system by extending the change interval.

2) Write down in either the owners manual or the maintenance book, the oil used, the filter change, and sign and date that you changed the oil along with the mileage value. Keep this in your car. When the service shop calls and claims no record of oil change, you are able to correct them. Do not depend on the Prius 5K mileage oil indicator to be your only reference.

3) Signing and dating is simple but allows all of us that change our own oil to be "verifiers". Sticking the receipts in the same place would advisable, but not as a replacement for your date and signature.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Jun 24 2007, 07:53 PM) [snapback]467396[/snapback]</div>

You raise good points. The average person raised in North America is conditioned to believe all motor oils are the same, and to also believe a motor will explode if the oil change interval is pushed much past 5,000 miles.

However, explain to me why the same Prius in the EU has a 12 month or 10,000 mile interval, but ours has one half the interval? A lot of it has to do with the crap dealer oil. If you search this forum you will discover I had my dealer oil tested, and it was GARBAGE. Not only poor quality, but contaminated at that.

As far as viscosity, I believe in matching viscosity to operating conditions. It can dip to -40 in winter here, and a 5W-30 only has to be "good" to -30 C. A synthetic 0W-30 or a synthetic 0W-20 provide reliable winter lubrication. My used oil analysis of Mobil 1 0W-20 after 16,000 km of service was very good.

Oddly enough, Toyota has commented on viscosity in the Prius. They seem to think a 0W-30 will cause engine smoking and oil consumption, but their wonderful dealer 5W-30 is just perfect for the motor. Despite the fact that at normal operating temperature, a 0W-30 and 5W-30 have the SAME BLOODY VISCOSITY!

In case you think the wonderful API/ILSAC oils are just the perfect answer to your motor, consider the API allows the motor oil to thicken 275% in service and still earn a "pass." The same oil can cause cold stuck rings, and cold sludge, and earn a "pass." I've covered this in detail, with appropriate API documentation.

If you want to know why I really have a thing about dealer oil, and you don't care to search my many posts regarding this issue, then consider this: bulk lubricant dispensing system.

A dealership has enormous cost savings by purchasing oil in bulk, usually a large tote bin delivered filled, or a bulk tanker filling it up. No standard contamination control exists, for example the dealership refuses to use a desiccant filter/breather, but an open inverted pipe on the tote bin. The tote bin is automatically contaminated with dust and moisture as a result