Will Dealer Honor Oil Changes Done by Myself?

You may do your own oil changes with no effect on your warranty, but you should save the receipts for your oil and filters. you may have an independent shop do these changes as well. Save all receipts. Any dealer that tells you this must be done in his service department is lying.

Use the oil specified in the manual.

 

Aaron, for the US Prius is specified 5W30 engine oil. In other markets, other grades are also approved, inlcuding the thinner oils you mentioned. Your local climate should influence your decision.

Other Prius are being driven with synthetic oil for 15k miles or longer. Used engine oil analysis (UOA) typically shows the total base number to be quite depleted after 10 or 12k, but all of its other characteristics remain good. I suggest that anyone running extended oil intervals consider UOA. If unwilling to pay the $20-30, then limit yourself to 10k. OK?

 

Yes, you will have voided the warranty if an engine failure can be blamed on lubrication. Stick with 5,000 mile changes (I still use synthetic oil) for at least the first 60,000 miles (or 5 years), then you can do whatever you want.

I'm at 110,000 in my 2004 Prius and it deserves good oil. I still change it every 5,000 miles myself.

JeffD

 

write the VIN, date and mileage on your receipt for the oil and filter.

if you should have an oil-related failure, the 15k mile oil changes will exclude you from warranty coverage for that instance. toyota requires 5k oil changes across the board to cover you under warranty.

knowing that, it's always your choice how you treat your car.

 

I'll probably do the same thing after 60K (still got 21K to go), with the UOA that Tochatihu suggests. FYI, here's a good discussion on the subject.

 

Or you could use Mobil 1 0W-40, which is approved for even longer service

Mobil 1 0W-40

That said, Mobil does have a legal "out" should you happen to take them up on the offer of running the oil every 15,000 miles

Mobil 1 Extended Performance FAQs

Remember that Toyota got burned by having a 7,500 mile interval, combined with crap North American oil. The same motors that were prone to sludge here in North America didn't appear to have any issues in the EU, running ACEA oils

The API/ILSAC wonderful motor oil specs will specifically exclude protection from the following: ring land fill, crown land fill, cold stuck rings, cold sludge, and cold gellation

I started the UOA program on my Prius after reports of sludge on other vehicles. Had some unusual readings, so contacted Toyota Canada. They BLAMED ME for using Mobil 1, started a "file" on my Prius as a result

So after chasing a lot of dead ends, finally sampled the bulk dealership oil. Guess what? It was pure crap! I might as well have pooped in the tank, it wouldn't have made the oil that much worse

Once I sent THOSE results back to Toyota Canada, suddenly they closed the file, and said nothing more. Hmmmm, wonder why??

 

Read the book. The only things required are filter changes. Do them yourself with Toyota filters bought on-line and save yourself a pile of money.