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Change oil in 6 months.

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by amilamad, Jun 13, 2015.

  1. amilamad

    amilamad Junior Member

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    My car dealer said that I must change oil in 5000km or 6 months. My car didn`t exceeded the 5000km yet. But last oil change was 8months ago . will it be a problem. Should I change oil after 5000km. Please help .
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    You do not list a location, but the Oil Change Interval in the US is 10,000 miles/1 year whichever comes first.
    In Canada the OCI is 8,000 km/6 months, whichever come first.
    Other locations around the world will have their own OCI.

    I would be suprised if it was not always "which ever happens first."
     
  3. amilamad

    amilamad Junior Member

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    Hi thanks for replying,

    I`m in srilanka. Its a country near india. And we have similar whether like in india. Is the OCI get affected by the whether.
     
  4. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Weather and oil change interval's are all over the map, haha. The US has 1 year or 10000 miles. Canada has 6 months or 8000 kilometers (roughly 5000 miles). And then, north of most of the Canadian population, there's Alaska, part of the US, lol. In Australia, with a wide gamut of climes, it's 10000 kilometers or 6 months.

    Yeah, if your oil change interval is a distance or time, it's "officially" whichever comes first. You don't have the Toyota Warranty and Maintenance Guide? It'll be outlined in there. 5000 km's or 6 months seems quite low, more so than our Canadian 8000 km.

    It's a little frustrating that you practically need a hacker to find Toyota's basic owners documents. :confused:
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Jun 13, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 17, 2015
  6. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    So your weather is hot and humid. Problem in this weather is that it gets water/moisture into oil. On a longer trip moisture will evaporate off. I would base my decision about oil change interval on how long trips you drive on average. If it couple of short trips every day, I would change it twice a year. If you mostly drive longer trips and car just sits in between, once a year is ok.
     
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  7. Oldwolf

    Oldwolf Prius Enthusiast

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    Does the engine have synthetic oil in it now?
    If YES, you can wait for 1 year or 10k miles or kilometers, which ever occurs first.
    If NO, you can wait for 6 months or 5k miles or kilometers, which ever occurs first.

    This is what I would do if it were my car.
     
  8. cyclopathic

    cyclopathic Senior Member

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    Agree with both comments 100%.
    You need minimum 30min-1hr drive to heat up oil enough to evaporate water. If your drives less than 30min replace

    If non-synthetics are used then replace at 5k km (3k mi) or 6 mo.
     
  9. carolD

    carolD Junior Member

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    What if you only put 7500 miles on the car at one year. Does it still require that oil change before 10,000 miles. Curious about this. I usually only put 6000 to 8000 a year on my cars.
     
  10. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    Whichever is first: 10,000 miles or 12 months. (so I change my oil every 2 months)
     
  11. Mr Incredible

    Mr Incredible Chance favors the prepared mind.

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    Oil changes aren't rocket surgery. They're whatever you want them to be, within reason.

    I've kept the same oil in the Camaro for 2.5 years, but only had 3k miles on it. There was a little bit more iron in it from the leaching, but all the other analysis readings were normal for 3k miles. Modern oils are awesome, and 10 miles isn't hard to do. Remember, even at 10k miles your engine would have been working only during about 7,500 miles.

    The problem with extended intervals is largely with the filter element. Not all elements are made from materials that hold up well for a year.
     
  12. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    I'm not 100% convinced that you can discount the wear and tear on the engine that much, because every time it stops the oil drains out of the galleries and so there's more wear on it when it starts up again.
     
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  13. Roqu3

    Roqu3 Member

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    Sorry for the necromancy, I'm from South America, got my C 2019 on january this year with 10k km (6.2k miles), the manual says that I should change oil every 6 months but I also have to do full manteinance on the dealer at 15000 km, the car atm just have 12.5k km and I'm thinking on skiping the 6 month oil change (July) and wait 4 months to reach the 15k km and do everything at once but I'm a little bit worried if that would ruin something in the car or it's going to be fine and I'm just exagerating.
     
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  14. Zeppo Shanski

    Zeppo Shanski Active Member

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    I just changed mine on Saturday (3-days ago). My 17-year old Gen-2 turned 173,000 laps. It took +/- 10-minutes. The cost was +/- $65. I generally go +/- 5000-miles give/take spring/summer and fall/winter (end of school/Thanksgiving). I’m kinda goofy on what I use. 1qt Lucas, 1qt regular Rislone, 1qt HyperLube (a Rislone product), 1qt oil. This time it was Pennzoil Platinum 0-20. The only 0-30 on the shelf was $3 more and for some odd reason my arm got twitchy when I reached for it. I used to love doing the regular maintenance on my cars. Unfortunately it’s just not that much fun any more. I don’t fit as easily underneath. It’s not as easy reaching for tools (all 2 that are needed). More oil seems to run down my arm. I always forget something. What the hey?!? ... Getting old sorta really sucks. The good/cool part is that psychologically I’m convinced it rides much smoother and efficiently. That’ll go on for at least another week.
     
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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome!

    i would follow the manual for whichever comes first, km or months.

    you don't have to be fanatical though, 15km will be fine, as long as it isn't hard usage with a lot of dirt roads and extreme temps.
    as for a full service at 15km, be careful. does you o/m state this, or the dealer?
    the o/m should detail exactly what it needs at 15km, like tire rotation, cabin filter, oil change and some inspections.
    all the best!(y)
     
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  16. Roqu3

    Roqu3 Member

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    Thank you!, yes I will check the o/m when doing the full service at the dealer, since the car is still on warranty (the hybrid thing) I have to do all maintenance there.
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Not technically true, but does provide peace of mind to some, especially if you’re on the fence, regarding finding a good independent shop, or DIY. You won’t see dealerships saying anything to the contrary.

    Doing my own basic maintenance, my dealership just said to keep a log, and all receipts for supplies. Virtually everything I bought for ours was through their parts department, receipts dated, and linked to our car, which we purchased there. Mostly oil and oil filters.
     
    #17 Mendel Leisk, Jun 9, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2022
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  18. Roqu3

    Roqu3 Member

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    Thanks, well my dealer was very explicit about it, in my country there are like only 3 official Toyota dealers, the "best" of them is Mitsui Co. which is where I bought the car and I really had a bad/good experience with them: the day I picked it up everything was fine, I drove like 10 km from there to my sister's house to show the car to my relatives, after the short visit I started to drive home when the screen shows a "Hybrid system error, check your manual" or something like that, I was furious and called the dealer, they apologized and ask me to return the car to check it, the car worked normally tbh it only had the message in the screen, then at the dealer they were very supportive, told me the car was on warranty and to leave there for a couple of days for inspection, the next day they called me saying that the cleared the code and that there is a sensor in the transmission that for some reason gives that error, in the end they changed the whole transmission and I decided to keep the car, they told me the hybrid system still has 5 years more of warranty in case something else happens and that the only condition is to service the car in one of the 3 official dealers. The car has been fantastic these months so I think I'll wait a bit until trying the DIY path.
     
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  19. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Roqu3 is in Peru. I don't know if Peru has a law simlilar to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act here in the U.S. Does Canada follow the U.S. law, or have something similar?
     
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I think Canada is similar, though it's pretty nebulous. Some info:

    Doing DIY repairs? Here's how to keep your warranty intact | Driving

    The Truth About Maintaining Your Vehicle Warranty - Be Car Care Aware

    https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/28145/in-canada-would-doing-my-own-oil-change-void-the-warranty

    Come to think of it, that was one of my first questions here:

    Doing your own maintenance | PriusChat

    @Roqu3 I didn't the country you're in, shouldn't make blanket statements. It could be that the rules are similar, ie you can DIY or use independent mechanics, but you'd need to research it. At the least a thorough knowledge of the required maintenance, even if someone else is doing it, is very good.

    Also, dealerships tend to love to do certain maintenance, but will neglect or have no clue about others. Also, dealerships can grossly overcharge for some very simple tasks, air filter changes for example. And/or replace such filters when they have plenty of life left.
     
    #20 Mendel Leisk, Jun 10, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2022
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