Just did my first oil change at 1,000 miles

Glad everything worked out for you, I also did mine early at 1073 miles.

What oil did you use, brand and viscosity? Was it individual quarts or a 5 qt. jug?

 

If you drive 8K per year a once a year oil change interval using 0W20 should be sufficient.

 

sounds like a plan, over 160k mi you'll do 41 oil changes instead of the recommended 16, you'll waste about $750, and generate over 30 gallons of waste oil(plus energy wasted producing, shipping, picking up and then recycling that oil).
How exactly do you decide on an oil change interval?

 

Just to be sure you get both sides of the oil change interval argument, I fully agree with your twice per year oil change strategy. I do this also for the main reason that it gives me a good reason to get under the car and inspect the under side of the engine for early signs of fluid leaks, inspect the CV joints for cracks, etc.

Some may classify this as a waste of oil but I call it a very cheap insurance policy. 4 quarts of oil is wasting oil. Give me a break. I take mine to Advance Auto who recycle it and I would think your trash collector would also.

As you will find there are many varying opinions on this topic Do what gives you the best peace of mind and ignore the others.

 

its your car do what you want. But i agree with schorert in that it seems wasteful, esp since with toyota recommended intervals being 10k. I could see doing it a bit early at 8k, but not even half the recommended interval seems too soon to me. You cal always take 20 mins jack the car up and do a quick inspection every few months. That wouldn't cost a thing and techincally is a better insurance policy than actually doing the oil change because the payoff is better, zero cost and 20 minutes every 3 months for a quick system overview.
But like you said do what makes you comfortable. Since you drive only 8k a year you'r probably thinking every 4k or 6 months which i can see making sense.

 

But see, just like swapping tires out at 10kmi, it's just wasteful in terms of dollars and the environment. Recycling the oil doesn't negate the carbon expense of manufacturing, packaging(in bottles and boxes) trasnporting, and in your case reversing this process back to a recycler...to recycle oil that was well within it's service life. Your 5 quarts of oil is then added to the 5 quarts of oil of 100 users convinced to change their oil early based on what they read here.

You can own the prius and be "green" or "thrifty" or both! It is then absolute folly on both counts to do superfluous oil changes! An insurance policy limits your risk in the event of a loss. There's no evidence at all that a 5kmi oil change lowers your risk of engine failure in any way.(in 106k threads, and 1.5million posts, I can't find an engine seizing following the recomm. maint. schedule....I did find one seized after being driven after the filter/cap fell off.)

I'll ask the same question I do on all of these posts..."What is the documented benefit of changing the oil prior to 10kmi?" and my favorite followup...Since the oil change is completely arbitrary and unecessary, how do you determine the appropriate interval? how is 1kmi better than 500mi? How is 4kmi better than 3k? I'm guessing the rationale is "if 10k is good, 5k is better". There's really no reason NOT to change oil every thousand miles when you think about it. (I've found the term for this practice is Recreational Oil Changing)

I don't really care either way, but I think new users come here and base a decision to change oil on what's written here and would assume that 10kmi is too long, with the only supporting data being the "feeling" of a small sample size of owners.

stop changing your oil: Stop Changing Your Oil - Edmunds.com

 

A good quote from that article is:

"Chris Risdon, a product education specialist for Toyota agreed, adding that oil technology advances that permit fewer changes are a tool to protect the environment. "If you're doing it half as much, that's 5 quarts of oil times 1.7 million vehicles a year — that's a tremendous amount of waste oil that's not being circulated into the environment."

 

My answer to your question was given in my original post, I prefer to inspect the under side of my car more often than once per year. By the time I take off the engine under cover I might as well take the 30 minutes to change my oil. It really has nothing to do with oil longevity.

I really do not care what others do with their personal vehicles either but just want someone like this poster, that has already announced his intentions of his change interval, to get some support for his decision rather than others just telling him he is totally wrong.

 

Glad to see another local on here. The $26 jug is probably Mobil 1 0w20.

 

Was that the change interval with your previous vehicles? Did they also use synthetic oil with a factory recommended change period of 10K mi under normal driving conditions?

If your other vehicle(s) used conventional oil with a recommended change interval of 5K mi, then changing it 1K mi early isn't the worst thing you could do. However, Toyota (and other manufactures) have a proven track record of excellent results with 10K mi changes with synthetic oil. Many here also claim that due to the nature of the Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive system- it's internal combustion engine is very easy on it's lubricating oil.
Even my 2003 Honda CR-V has a 10k mi oil change interval when using synthetic oil- and that engine is nowhere as easy on it's oil as the Prius.

We all share the limited/finite resources here on the planet Earth- we need to conserve whatever we can and wherever we can. The day will come when the spigot runs dry...

 

Pete- I wouldn't really consider your described driving patterns as 'severe conditions'... think NYC Taxi fleet as 'severe conditions'

At any rate- take a look at your oil when you drain it next time (after 4K mi)... if it looks good (not thin and black) it may be time to reconsider your changing intervals for the Prius.

My Five has 3400 mi on it now- still original original factory oil- I checked it yesterday- it was still almost as clear as new oil. When I used to use conventional oil in my 2003 CR-V it was very dirty (but not thin) at 3K miles. These new cars when used with synthetic oil are a whole new ballgame where oil's concerned... just saying- keep an open mind....

 

Or you can send in a sample for used oil analysis, it costs about as much as an oil change. Most users here myself included use Blackstone Laboratories but there are others. Blackstone Labs

 

Here's to many happy miles in your new car

 

The extended change intervals is the result of improved engines, fuel and oil -- it is not some conspiracy on the manufacturers part to lower maintenance requirements ..... especially since many with even longer schedules have better warranties that Toyota. It is always a good idea to inspect the oil using the dipstick on a regular basis ..... owners will find the oil so clean that the thought of changing it will go away..... mine now at 6k is so clean I had to dip it twice to be sure. Also -- the fuel in the gas was a carb/ early fuel injection situation that no longer is a problem with short trips. As a car collector I and many others have countless cars that travel short distances using synthetic oil on a two year change interval without issues ..........for over 20 years in my case.