Performed my first oil change today...Blackstone Analysis Pending

Did my first oil change on the Prius today and sent off the oil to Blackstone for an analysis. I'll post up the results if anyone's interested.

I got the "oil maintenance required" message at 5252 miles so I changed the oil. It was 4.5 months since the last change by the dealer I bought the car from. My Vette will go 9,000+ miles before I get the oil change message, so I was a little surprised how fast the Prius said I needed one.

I get the TBN analysis from Blackstone so they tell me how my additives are doing...my last Vette oil change they told me @ 9,000 miles I had plenty of additive left, go for 10,000 next time! I like that; I disagree with that whole 3,000 mile oil change business, I think it's just wasteful. Hopefully the Prius oil will check out and I can go longer than 5,252 miles next time.

Another note, I didn't have the "socket type" oil filter wrench, figured I could get it done with one of my typical oil filter wrenches (I have a few), but I couldn't get it to budge, it was tight! I picked up the proper "Toyota Filter Wrench" (65mm 14 flats it said) at my local Advanced Auto and it made short work of the task. At $5.99 it's highly recommended for those who do their own oil changes.

Oh and I noticed my close out panel under the car was missing...must have not made it back on after one of the dealership oil changes it's had up until I bought it. I don't think I'll bother buying one, I'm getting 59+ mpg when I try so it's not going to do that much for me.

I have to admit this Prius really has me thinking green these days. I like the fact only the paper filter gets pitched, and the housing is reused (like a 55 Chevy) - reuse vs. pitch and buy new...I like it!

Here is the analysis...looks great. Mailed out Monday, report on Wednesday. Can't complain about that.

They recommend 8500 miles, I think I'm going to go 10,000 next time as per the posts in this thread.

 

Well, that is good to know. I did read the manual but don't recall seeing that. I am used to my Chevy and Honda which have algorithm based oil change lights. In any case it will be good to get an oil analysis so I can get an idea of the shape of the engine and how much additive is left so I can set a routine I'm comfortable with.

 

Thanks for that link! I had no idea. I recall some cars had problems with sludge (VW's iirc) and so thought perhaps Toyota was afraid of this and recommending frequent changes as well.

Great info and thanks for sharing. At least my premature change will give us some data to feel comfortable on the 10k change (or not, time will tell).

 

That jogs my memory and yes, now I recall it was indeed Toyota on the sludge as well as VW.

I agree with you - if my Vette can get 10k as hard as I drive it and with the big cam it has (which causes a lot of incomplete combustion byproducts in the oil, I have a catch can on it and it catches nasty stuff), I have no doubt my Prius should have some spectacular results from Blackstone. The oil looked nearly new as I drained it.

Sample off to Blackstone today. Will post up some hard data for the Priuschat team.

 

I actually did rotate the tires as well. Glad to see that, similar to the full frame Vette, you can lift the Prius from the sub-frame behind the front wheel and get both wheels on one side off the ground. Makes quick work of the tire rotation.

 

Analysis posted in the first thread. Came back great, so that's good news.

 

Unit/Location Averages are the averages for each of our individual cars - when we each have a bunch of samples in we each will then have an average and we can compare the sample at hand to our averages. Since I have only one sample notice my average is the same as my test at hand.

The universal averages are very similar between our sheets (and I guess they change a little over time as more samples are loaded into their database), the "values should be" properties for viscosity/etc. are exactly the same.

 

I have found them to be very responsive with quick turnaround...might as well! I think you can do it on their website if you create a user.

 

Yes, according to what I learned in this thread, the light comes on at 5000 miles.

I plan to just reset it at 5000 going forward and change oil and rotate tires at 10,000 miles. No need to throw away good oil!

That said if its your first oil change I would change that oil at 5k or sooner, there are certainly things in that first oil change that don't repeat as the car is broken in. I always like to get that junk out of the oil and filter.