Question about oil change and service

Read owners manual. The 3000 mile oil change is a dinosaur. It hasn't been necessary for years. It is being kept alive by oil change shops. Save your money and the planet and change as recommended by Toyota. Toyota is not going to recommend something that will damage their engines. There reputation is all they have and will not recommend something that will marr that hard earned reputation.

 

I still did my own first oil change at about 3k miles. Thereafter, I will do yearly oil changes, because I no longer drive 10k or more miles a year.

 

Based on the used oil analyses posted here over the years I believe the 10000 mile interval is conservative. The ICE doesn't run all the time so you'll have 10000 miles on the odo but not on the engine.

My 2000 Intrigue was scheduled for 7500 miles but it burned a quart every 3000 (every 1000 was "normal") so I changed it then instead of just rotating the oil. My 2006 had a 5000 mile interval & the ICE wasn't running all the time. Since I'm paying for them the interval went to 7500+. I'm not pushing the 2010 much past 10000.

It's your car & your money. If you are really concerned about the interval then invest in some research and get the oil tested. Then you can determine what is best for you.

 

Stop Changing Your Oil - Edmunds.com

 

My 2010 has 118,000 mi. on it with lots of highway trips. Always had 10k mi. oil changes and doesn't use a drop of oil.

 

I Canada the interval is still 8000 km or 6 months, whichever comes first.

 

It's 10,000 mile because of synthetic oil.

 

It's 10,000 miles in the states because Toyota says it is. We have the same synth 0W20 available north of the 49th parallel. Toyota Canada says 8000km (~5000 miles).

FWIW, our west coast of British Columbia winters are much milder than US mid-west.

 

I was a little surprised the first oil change is 10K, too. I guess I have to reprogram to the new fake oil.
I used to change my old ride (Gen II) with real oil every 5K; I even think I changed it early once on the first oil change, right after the break-in period.

 

Has anyone here with a Gen III Prius and the free 2-year maintenance plan gone ahead and performed the first oil change before the scheduled 10,000 miles? I've always been under the impression that it's important to do an early oil change on a new engine because of the potential for metal to be in the oil as the engine is broken in and the parts mate to each other. On my 2006 Gen II Prius, I did the first oil change at 3,000 miles and then every 5,000 miles thereafter (always with 5W-30 conventional oil). I have a new 2012 Prius Plug-in and feel uneasy about waiting until 10,000 miles for the first oil change.

 

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We always follow the owner's manual.
We did the 1st oil change on my 2006 Corolla at 5000.
10000 miles on the 2006 Honda Civic, Honda puts in special fluids for breaking in and specifically recommends against changing out the oil early.
7500 miles on the 2009 Hyundai Sonata
All three cars running fine. The Corolla and Civic are well past 140k miles.
Full disclosure, our 2003 Subaru WRX blew a gasket and cracked the engine block at 144k miles, we did the first oil change at 7500 miles per owner's manual.

AFAIK, Toyota doesn't recommend against early oil changes so do it if you feel nervous. The dealer I went to wouldn't do an oil change at 5000 miles for free so you might have to pay for it. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind. I have no problem running 0w20 synthetic for 10k miles on my PiP. I mean I ran conventional 5w20 on my Civic for the same number of miles.