First oil change in view of the new 10K interval.

Because we LOVE symmetry.

 

For those who do their oil change, what brand of oil do you use? Where do you buy it? How much per qt.?

Thanks in advance

 

Thanks. It would seem that some dealerships didn't get the word because the dealerships I spoke with still say 5K miles.

But I guess the good news for those wanting to wait to 10K, if there ever were any issues...they now have documentation saying that Toyota now recommends 10K miles beteen oil changes (under normal wear and tear/use).

 

Recommended Oil Change Intervals for Mobil Motor Oils

Question: Recommended Oil Change Intervals for Mobil Motor OilsYou state that your oils are for 5,000, 7,500, 15,000 miles, but what are the months before a change is due?-- Billie Baskett, Robinson, TX

Answer: We recommend a maximum of six months between oil changes for Mobil Clean 5000, Mobil Clean High Mileage and Mobil Clean 7500. On Mobil 1 Extended Performance, we recommend a maximum of one year between oil changes.

Oil change intervals with synthetic oil
Synthetic oils withstand higher temperatures before breaking down, and have more base stock and less viscosity modifiers. Synthetics wear out, become acidic, and eventually become saturated with suspended soot particles, just like regular oil. Again, an oil analysis is a good investment to determine the optimum oil change interval. Never exceed the manufacturer requirements for normal service.


As I mentioned before, the issue is suspended particles in the oil, and not "breakdown" of viscosity. In this regard, I don';t think snythetic is any better than regular oil. What synthetic buys you is better resistance to temperature breakdown. Mobile 1 first became well known for it's use in the racing circles, where heat build-up is an issue...and especially in turbo cars. Doubt it's any concern in the Prius, however.

I think what I will do is take it in for oil change between 5K-10K...or when it's most convenient for me. If I over-shoot 5K by a little bit, I wouldn't be concerned.

 

Same here, I would like to get the first oil changes done early then consider the 10K intervals. I plan on keeping the car for along as possible (I traded a 1999 Ram 1500 4X4 for the Prius) so a little extra money for some oil changes isn’t going to bother me.

 

I'm sorry, but your Honda oil change reminder does NOT "physically check the condition of your oil" by any stretch of the imagination. It combines mileage, temperature, driving conditions (short trips, long steady trips etc) and extrapolates that into making a suggestion as to the time you should change your oil. I am not aware of any on board reminders that takes a sample the oil and analyzes it.

That is not to say that these more sophisticated reminders are not more helpful than a simple mileage checker, but it is certainly not an analysis or any type of check on the condition of the oil.

 

In the first case why do the oil change at 60 instead of 65? There's nothing special there. I see 7 visits for oil changes. Do you do your tire rotations yourself? Air filters?

I'd do it as you stated in the first case doing the 5K but then switching to 10K intervals after that.

The rest of the service ( tires and air filters ) would be the same for me because I do 10K tire rotations anyway. Air filters are easy.

 

In the other thread on this subject herein at Prius Chat the Prius Team confirmed what had been told to several large stores/service departments verbally in December.

It is going to 10K or 12 months.

The official written notices are being prepared for all the stores large and small and they will be going out later this month or early Feb. As the biggest in our region we were told about it in mid-Dec but we're not implementing anything until the official word goes out to the public. That's just smart business.

 

Hmm, I think I would like to have a third-party recommendation as opposed to an oil company... that is why I wanted this other's poster's opinion on why he/she didn't like the 10K OCI. Regardless, we are talking about a different situation with an engine that runs much less and under less load (RPMs) than in a conventional vehicle. From other's UOAs I see no reason not to run 1 year/10K OCIs. However I would have the first one @ 5K or less. We don't even know for sure if Toyota is filling them with synthetic @ the factory.

 

Good point.

But the issue is sludge build up, which is related to both engine stress (temperature and RPMs) as well as contaminants and oxidation of the oil. Oil will oxidize, just liuke everything, even if not flowing.

Second Opinion: Oil Sludge: an expensive but preventable disaster


I have three other cars (besides the Prius) - a BMW, Jag and Porche 911. I've had all for years. In recent years, all the service departments for these 3 different brands have reduced their oil service intervals....even though they all use synthetic. Might be to make more money, but it might also be due to the fact that more and more cars are having engines re-built do to sludge issues. Issues with sludge build-up have recently come to light over the past 5 years.

My way of thinking is - if I double the frequency of oil changes by going in every 5K (instead of every 10K)...I save what, maybe $700-$800 over the lifetime of the car? So what? If saving $700 is important, then what I would do, instead, is use regular oil (instead of synthetic) and go in every 5K. Synthetic oil is about 3X more expensive (per quart) than regular oil. As I said in a prior post - the real value/benefit of using synthetic oil comes in engines that generate high RPMs and a lot of heat - like turbo cars.

To be honest, I don't see the need for synthetic oil in the Prius. It might (??) buy you fractionally better efficiency, but suspect it's in the noise, and would be virtually unmeasurable.

 

Good points too. The thing is, and why this is such an issue, is that the required oil for the new Prius is 0W-20 which in not available in non-synthetic. So you got the extra expense and disposal issues.
Believe me, 5K was a step up for me as I was brainwashed in believing I had to replace oil @ 3K and have been on all my previous vehicles.
I will try the 10K OCI and see what the UOA says and if I need to adjust down, I will.

 

Ah, the thing is Toyota didn't specify synthetic, just 0W-20 which at this point is only available in synthetic / partial synthetic. It was reasoned here before that they recommended 0W-20 to meet overall fleet FE.
Anyway, all speculation. Wish we had access to Toyota engineer.

 

GTX has non-synthetic oil with 5-20 weight, and my service manager mentioned that was an option I could chose if I didn't want synthetic. I would be surprised that he would mention that option if it wasn't authorized by Toyota?

I mean the engine in the Prius is a low compression 4-banger....I honestly would NOT worry one bit if I had to use 5-20 or even 0-30. It will make no difference to that engine. I am 100% certain of that.

But no matter what the oil, I just wouldn't feel comfortable going 10K miles between oil changes...and that's especially true if that 10K miles took me through extreme cold, or hot temperatures. If I lived along the coast in Cal, temperature variations would be a non-issue. But if I'm in Minny, where temperatures can reach -30, or in 'Zona, where temperatures can be 115...I think I'd opt out for the 5K changes. Just my opinion.

 

Nope been there and past..
30 - 60 - 90 - 120 - 150 only add the air filters ( cabin/engine ) otherwise they're the same as the regular services. You can do more if you wish but that's voluntary.

At 100K the inverter coolant is scheduled to be replaced but that's nothing.
At 120K the plugs are scheduled to be replaced but I haven't done it yet and don't see much difference in performance. I'll probably do them at the 150K mark.
My buddy who went to 246,000 miles on his 04 said that at 150K he had the serpentine belt replaced because it was cracking. His original brakes lasted until 225,000 miles.

It's amazing how little service is needed on these. Then to top it off our store offers every new and used buyer oil and oil filters Free for Life ( I'm killing him on this ). I haven't spent a dime for oil/filters in 4+ yrs and 28 oil changes.

The total service charge for synthetic oil/filter on the Gen 3s is $18.00! It's ridiculous..but it sure does get people's attention.

 

and this was at a toyota dealership?

 

My 2010 is my first Prius. In my other cars I paid nearly as much attention to the time interval as the mileage. When we got the car, the dealer put a sticker with the 5K recommendation but also a date. We got to the date well before the 5K and I just had the service done. It figures that I see this thread after the fact.

I get the impression from this thread that the mileage is primary factor to determine when to go in for the service, am I correct in that?

Also, when I read what is considered severe use, we don't qualify. The Car is driven 5 days a week on paved surface roads to work and some freeway driving. I've had this kind of driving considered severe use for other cars.

Are the dealers supposed to be telling us 10K now? They sure didn't tell me this morining? I have the Customer Care package that came with the purchase allowing for 2 free 5K services with synthetic oil. When I checked in this morining they said they use a combo natural/synthetic but since the CC package said synthetic, I asked for that which is what they said they use.

I asked for a copy of the service and they said that would be mailed to me.

 

My thinking is dealers tend to overcharge for the 30k intervals, so do the 15k, 25k, 35k, etc. and add air filters as separate.