oil change and tire rotation

Car Service, Repairs, Maintenance | Metro, NY

This should be the nearest Toyota Dealership. (mine does Oil change and Rotation for $43 on my 2009, using their oil)

Car Talk. Car tips, advice, and troubleshooting. | Mechanics Files

Is a database of Mechanics liked by their customers.

As an example Car Talk

 

You have two sources of information to consider:

1. Oil level as measured with the engine oil dipstick
2. The Toyota repair manual that says to add 3.9 US quarts when doing an oil change with a new oil filter

If you think the engine dipstick should govern, then you will add ~3.7 US quarts to reach the full mark.

If you think the repair manual should govern, then you will add 3.9 US quarts and not worry that the oil level is above the top dimple on the dipstick

If you think the engine will realize better mpg with a slightly lower oil level, then you will use 3.5 US quarts.

You decide which is best for your car and your situation. Good luck.

 

Since you said you want to use Mobil 1, one strategy suggested by one of the members here is to bring in 3 quarts to be added by the dealer and tell them that you will fill in the rest yourself. Good luck!

 

My 07 Prius was over full by the dip stick with about 3.7 qts, I also noticed a drop in fuel economy afterward. I changed the oil myself and was shooting for 3.7 qt. I sold the car butif i still had it i would go for 3.5 qts.

 

I take the give-them-3-quarts approach. That way I also know what kind of oil is going in. In five years adding 3 exactly has always left the level halfway up on the dipstick, which should be perfect.

Dealer service may be less of a crapshoot than the QuickyLoob places. At least a dealer has no valid excuses about not knowing how to drive the car, and should be more likely to notice otehr problems. But everyone can make a mistake, so no matter who does it, always check the oil level yourself before you drive away from an oil change.

Finally, you don't actually have to rotate the tires, so paying someone to do it is a waste of money. Rotate, and buy four tires at a time less often; don't rotate, and buy two at a time more often.

 

In the immortal words of Douglas Adams, Don't Panic. Simple things first:

Check the oil level. You should always do this before driving away from every oil change.

Check the tire pressures. Do this with the tires "cold", that is, the car has not been driven more than one mile in the previous hour. The factory setting of 32 PSI is a compromise for comfort. You can get noticeably better MPGs with 42/40 front/rear. Techs love to re-set tires to the factory values, and during winter if the car sat for hours in a warm shop they can take too much out.

If these are normal then the car may have been sitting ON and burning gas for some time while in the shop. See what it does on the next tank.

 

joeuser,

I wouldn't be so worried right now. I think what Richard just said about being ON in the shop has no bearing (because you said you fueled up AFTER the shop visit & that's when you got your one pip drop in only 28 miles), but his tips about the oil level & the tire pressures are great. Your earlier fuel economy (55 MPG---undoubtedly in the summer) & more recently (47-49 MPG) are exactly what should be expected in your climate area with the original Goodyear Integrity tires [close to what I used to get here in CT (48-52 summer/42-45 winter in mixed driving & 54-56 on long trips) until I replaced my original tires with another brand & took about a 4-5 MPG hit].

You've got to consider that you're in your first winter with your car & your '09 still has the rubber bladder inside the fuel tank (present in all '04 thru '09's, but now gone from the 2010 models). In the cold temperatures that we're presently experiencing your car's bladder gets very stiff & will not fully expand inside the tank walls preventing you from filling your gas tank as much in the winter as you fit into it in the summer. Therefore, it's normal to have the first pip disappear in far fewer miles in the winter. In the summer I often get from 150-180 miles before the 1st pip goes out, but in the winter maybe only 50-60 miles [& I'm only getting about 33 MPG average now with short trips & this cold snap we're in (by Thurs & Fri with temps finally getting into the 40's, I expect that to improve some)]. Don't worry.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Hi folks,it's been a while since i've posted,[last June to be precise]hope those of you who got your 2010 Prius are motoring well.
Just went through 270,000km in my 06 Prius Taxi......and no...no probs!
Something came to my attention this afternoon in relation to oil changes.
I started servicing my car this time last year and used 5w/30 oil as recommended in the manual and here on PC but as i was getting prices from my local Toyota dealer [who serviced my car from August 2006 until December 2008]he asked if i wanted a price for oil...5 litres of 10w/40!!....and my reply was "you mean 5w/30,the recommended oil"
So it appears that for the 2.5 years that they were servicing my car they were using 10w/40....and my question is...could this have caused any damage yet to come to the fore?

 

It reduced fuel economy, and maybe caused some extra engine wear when starting much below 0'C.

Buy four litres of 5W-30 and give *three* of them to the servicer to use. Tell them you will check the oil level yourself before driving away, and then do it. Anywhere between the top and bottom dots on the dipstick is fine; in no case should the level be above the top dot. In 68 months and 41000 miles three US quarts has always been enough for mine.

 

Hey Joeuser-

Where did you end up taking your car? I am also in need of getting the tires done and the oil changed. I have a local place that I don't mind using, but just wondering if you found a place you liked. I'm in the Bronx where sometimes people are a little... :spy:

:thumb:

 

Summarizing twelve thousand posts on the subject: the amount of fuel you put in at the last fillup does not necessarily equal the amount of fuel you burned since the previous fillup, therefore the MPGs calculated over a single tankfull are not reliable. The MFD value is always close to the actual MPGs because it is calculated in real time by counting the well-calibrated actuations of the fuel injectors.

 

There's a reason it's called a "Guess Gauge". The difference between MFD & calculated ranges from 0% to 20%. Situation normal. If you alternate between high & low tanks, in reality you have 2 average tanks. Don't get too bummed on a low tank, nor too ecstatic on a high one.