Synthetic oil

costco 5w30 synthetic oil is cheapest. a prius does not use 5w40 grade

 

$20 per 5 quarts, if you buy in bulk. It use to be $66 for 20 quarts, but that was a month ago, before the inflation increase

 

If you buy oil in a 5quart jug, the price will range from $20 to around $28 at most online retailers (walmart, amazon). All the synthetic oils will be very similar and will work with a Prius (not a performance vehicle). So just choose the cheapest one with the correct grade you want and go with it.

The 3rd generation Prius uses 0w-20 oil, some have increased it to 5w-30 like the 2nd generation. But very few Prius cars will be able to use a 5w-40 grade without damaging the engine (too thick of oil)

 

I think the local parts stores run a special price for oil and filter together for about $37. I'm not sure you should be using a mechanic that would recommend a 5w40 oil for a car designed to use 0w-20

 

I'm curious which shop you go to in Los Angeles?

 

Mobil 1 or Pennzoil platinum euro 0w-40 is what I would get. Ranges from 25-30 for 5 qt at Walmart.

 

Right. These cars in the rest of the world blow up left and right because that grade oil is too thick for them.

 

They won't blow up. You'll probably see more engine wear, but with the turd gen cars, it probably wouldn't matter as the head gasket failure will take out the engine right about the same time.

 

Funny. I have better oil analysis results with 0W-30 then I do with 0W-20. Somehow I doubt a 40 weight is gonna magically cross the line to premature wear.

 

The oil debate will go on and on and on. There is no right answer, the right answer is the oil you choose to use in your own car.

 

No such thing as 'premature wear' in a 10-year-old car....

 

This might be a quicker way to get the answer to the original question than asking us and opening up yet another oil debate.

Just try this magical new way to get answers.

Interestingly, the first answer I got is in Rupees.

 

I would suggest HybridPit in Anaheim if you need any serious work done (just got a rebuilt engine from them), or Olive Auto in Burbank for regular maintenance. I would also suggest trying BG EPR to clean up your rings and engine gunk. It lowered my oil burning rate from a quart every 3000 miles to a quart every 5000 miles for a while. How many miles are on your car?

Another member here used BG EPR to clean up his engine and upped his oil to 5W40 to lessen the oil burning on his Prius and it kept his car running smooth until he traded it in. Though his engine was in otherwise decent shape already.

 

If I didn't care at about maximizing mpg, lived in Los Angeles, and wanted the smoothest/quietest running engine, I'd be running Euro 0w40.

Mobil 1:
Pour point: -51 0w40 vs -42 for 0w20
40°C viscosity: 69 0w40 vs 43 0w20
100°C viscosity: 12.9 0w40 vs 8.1 0w20
Flash point °C: 232 0w40 vs 225 0w20