A few questions about my prius

I don't think this is a Prius problem, nor is it a tire problem. This is more like a road surface or pot hole problem.

The bubble in your tire means that the belts in the sidewall have been compromised. Usually because the impact caused the rim to squish the tire to a point where some of the belts were damaged or the ply's separated. This is usually a bigger problem for high performance tires with low profile tires, or tires with little sidewall.

With all the rain that So. California has gotten in the last few months, pot holes have become a major problem. You are lucky you didn't end up with a bent rim or messed up alignment.

Here is a picture of a pot hole caused blown sidewall of a $250 Michelin Pilot Sport 2.

 

Not sure about your maintenance plan, but any mechanic you trust can do routine oil changes and topping of of fluids, checking tire pressures, and etc.

With respect to oil, you can use, regular oil, synthetic, or blended synthetic. People say that synthetic is better, gets you better gas mileage and lasts longer. But it costs a lot more. As long as you change your oil every 3000 miles I think you are fine using any brand name oil, just make sure the viscosity is right for your climate.

That said, you live in Chicago where winters are cold. Synthetic oil has better cold flow properties than conventional oil. So, its up to you what you use. The bottom line, change your oil often and you are fine.

The use of synthetic oil is a classic debate and some people are passionate about it.

 

Hi Elcorazon,

I have been driving in the Chicagoland area since 1973. This is by far the worse pot-hole season of any of those years. They are deep and wide, and one needs to avoid them in any car. I think it was the multipe cycles from 50 F to -10 F , with rain and snow inbetween that has done it.

As far as Valvoline goes, the only time I ever used it was in a Ford Tempo. Shortly there after during a 0 Degree F start the oil pump shaft broke. And as luck would have it, I came down with the worse flue I had had in 10 years, that day. I just called the repair shop and had them tow it and take care of it. About the time I was getting back on my feet, the car was repaired. And ever since I have gotten a flu shot every year.

Valvoline is advertized as a semi-racing oil, and consequently it does not seem to be appropriate for cold weather. Because it does so well in hot engines its operating range appears to be shifted up in temperature. Synthetic oils have a much wider temp range, originally developed for aircraft turbines. Which run hot, and also need to be cold started at -50 F worse case (winter temps at 60 K feet).

 

Yes, blended at a minimum would be what I would use. Its the short trips, so the oil never gets very warm. You want oil that stays liquid at cold temps. And only synthetic oils do that.

I use Mobil 1 myself, which is even more expensive. Just bought the big bottle (5 quarts ?) for $25. I get to do my 25 K mile oil change this weekend.

 

In my opinion, if you have the money to burn and it makes you feel better, go full synthetic.

But once you go full synthetic, keep using it. I don't remember the reason, but the oil gurus say that once you start using full sythetic, it is bad to go back to conventional. They also say that switching to synthetic is best done at the first oil change, after that it doesn't really matter, but again, I don't remember the logic.

 

Hi Steamboat...,

Have you ever lived in cold temps? And cranked a car over at -15 F ? Standard oils really do not cut it.

 

Totally off topic of our Prius, but I used to drive a 1977 Volkswagen Westfalia. I wanted to switch to Synthetic because of advertising, etc. Well apparently synthetic is not good for the VW because it was air cooled and part of the engine cooling was done by the oil through an oil cooler. I guess conventional oil transfers heat better than synthetic oil.

 

Uhh, yes. I lived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for 7 years. We got an average of 350 inches of snow a year. I drove a 1992 Honda Civic with conventional oil and never had a problem. It is not the type of oil you use, but the viscosity that makes the difference. You can't use 20w-50 and expect it to perform in cold weather.

Like I said before, synthetic has better cold flow properties. But if it is really an issue, then get a block heater.

Btw, -15 degrees is a whole new ball game. You start to have issues with battery performance, and flat spotting on your tires. I lived in Alaska for 2 years and they used to take their batteries inside the house with them at night. Even block heaters wouldn't suffice.

 

They didn't know about battery heaters there?

 

This was a while ago. At least 10 years ago. I suspect it had to do with some of these places had little to no electricity available where they parked their cars like barns and such. Some of these little towns were so desolate that you could only access it during certain times of the year and some towns only by plane. Also keep in mind, even Fairbanks could easily see -20 temperatures during the winter.

They would tell me stories of people going home from Chilkoot Charlie's and freezing to death waiting for the bus. Alaska is a crazy place and they do things a little different than the rest of the world. Lol.

 

That would be every 5000 miles.
Your Prius should have a Maintenance Passport (it's blue) in the glovebox.
It has a detailed breakdown of all the maintenance you need, and when.
If not, the same information is buried in the Owner's Manual.

Personally, I think pre-paid maintenance is a rip-off, unless you always go to the dealer anyway for oil changes, and if you like being upsold every time you walk in.

I use Mobil 1, and Bosch filters (I'd use the OEM, but Bosch is easier for me to find here), every 5k miles. We change it ourselves.

 

People that change oil every 3000 miles are just wasting resources. 7000 miles is still a conservative oil change interval for the Prius. Toyota used to advocate 7500 mile oil changes until they some sludge problems with their V6 engines. They were not properly designed.

Synthetic will provide easier cranking in cold weather and keep your engine a bit cleaner. I would spend the money on synthetic long before I would go to 3k mile oil changes.

Thinking about it a bit more, you propensity for short trips, where the oil does not get up to full temp, is hard on the oil. Go full synthetic and 5k oil changes. Buy your own oil at walmart and give it to the dealer to do the changes for you. Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum, etc any full synthetic is a great oil.

 

You CAN switch back and forth from synthetic to dino without problems.

 

Please pull the manual out of the glove box as it does no one any good if you don't read it. Inside the manual there is a whole section on oil recommended to use in the Prius. If you decide on Synthetic oil you can use it to around 7.5k miles as long as you have some long distance driving. I would not stretch regular oil anything longer than 5k miles between changes. The critical thing is the amount the Prius holds 3.8 quarts not 4. Don't let them overfill the oil pan as this could cause major problems.

 

Hi Steamboat,

Then maybe your just not familiar with the upper midwest U.S. ? Because -15 has happened here this year within the area considered Chicagoland, and in Minneapolis its an every year occurence. Check out these Lo Min's from the U of Mn. February Climate Calendar for Minneapolis/St. Paul