Consensus on the first oil change

I don't think you'll get a consensus on this. Every car forum I've been to debates this one.

I always get the first oil/filter change at ~2,000 miles, to flush out the break-in gunk. The dealer charged $45, including the up-charge for synthetic oil--a small price to pay to get the engine off to a good, clean start.

Check out the picture of the oil filter insert in the PDF in this post--look how dark it is after the first 1,000 miles--that's the break-in gunk I'm referring to:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii.../67747-oil-change-2010-prius-do-yourself.html

 

Consensus and internet message boards are oil and water. We could argue if they're synthetic or regular oil and water.

I'm at 2800+ miles and the oil looks like day 1. I'll change on schedule at the ~5000 mile mark.

 

On the other hand...

Some say that it's fine to change oil at the first factory recommended interval (5 K miles). I don't plan on trying to keep this car forever and I seriously doubt if, ten years from now, anyone will be able to certify that those extra couple of thousand miles that I drove before my first oil change made any tangible difference in the engine wear to that point. If it helps your peace of mind to change oil early, so be it; that may be the only difference...

 

My opinion is stay with what you have been doing, if you plan on keeping it until the wheels fall off. If your going to trade it in a couple of years, don't bother.
I always do a change early and get whatever is in there out, but I always inspect the filter to see what was there too. More than just the engine is lubricated, so I plan on doing the transaxle or PSD whatever it's called soon as well, but I typically keep a car for 10 or more years. The "clunker" I traded for the Prius was a 93 and in perfect mechanical condition. It pains me to know it will be destroyed, it would have made a fine automobile for someone that couldn't afford new.

 

IMO, Toyota made it so they generally know what works. If they say change it at 5k, doing it earlier probably doesn't do much good.

 

You might be correct but remember Toyota's responsibility ends with the warranty.

 

No it doesn't. I've had defects fixed after the warranty period. Have you never had a recall?

If waiting until the 5k mark (Toyota's schedule) causes damage the engine, then Toyota would be on the hook for repairs. If there were any possibility of damage, then Toyota would be wise to specify an earlier first oil change as part of the break-in. They haven't (even though they are overly cautious and specify changing synthetic every 5k miles) -- so I'm not planning on worrying about it.

 

I'm only doing it every 5,000 miles, no early changes. I have never had a engine wear out in my life or have seen it happen so why waste the money?

 

My Prius dealer made a point of keeping the original oil in for the full 5K miles. I will probably cut it a little shorter, maybe doing it at 4300. (Car is a week and a half old and has 450 miles on it)

 

I'm not going to worry about it either but cars are not recalled for damage caused by oil. Recalls are forced on a company by the government and are not relevant to individual owner problems. If Toyota is willing to play roulette with viscosity I don't see why they might not roll the dice with other things if it could improve the bottom line. After all companies exist to make money. That is their prime directive.

 

There will never be a consensus with real statistical background do to the time to failure.

There is a separate Edmunds finding that shows current oil really doesn't need to be changed as often (Top 10 Automotive Mechanical Myths and Misconceptions) - thanks to the poster...

Synthetics run even longer....

I'd stick with Toyota - and note it's also green to wait 5K. I changed my oil in my CFC (cash for clunker) every 10K with the lowest cost, and it ran 150K miles (though it did seize up in the end - but that's a separate story). IMHO we should trust TOY on this one - they did the research, tore apart engines, and should know what to do....

 

If anyone would make the first oil change on a GenIII early and have it analyzed, we could compare that to similar (interesting) tests on GenII oil.

 

Wow... this is the first one of these things where I agree with everything they same. Amazing.

 

The government can require safety recalls. Manufactures also make voluntary recalls for various reasons. They also issues Technical Service Bulletins to address known problems, which can provide free fixes outside warranty. Class action suits can also result in free fixes.

As for the claim that "cars are not recalled for damage caused by oil", here is one voluntary Toyoya recall for oil-related engine damage (it was the first Google hit): Attention Toyota Owners- Special Recall Policy On Oil Gelling. It seemed to have resulted from owner complaints.

The viscosity might be the reason for the shortened schedule. Don't know....

 

Yeah I remember the "gell" recall. According to Toyota it was not really oil related but a failure of owners to properly maintain their vehicle in accordance with Toyota's maintainance schedule. Toyota agreed to pay out of the goodness of their hearts which leads me to believe it was indeed oil related. Good PR department indeed.

As far as oil viscosity goes, does anyone really believe that the best weight oil for an engine is the same in Fairbanks, Alaska in January as it is in Phoenix, Arizona in July?

 

I am waiting for the Change Your Oil Early crowd to tell me at what mileage the terrible damage will be done to the engine, by all of the contaminates in the first oil, if it is not changed at say 1000mi?

 

I plan to change at 5000 mark as Toyota recommended. Then I will change to synthetic oil which has 1 year/25K miles warranty along with a high capacity oil filter. I have been doing 1-year oil change using full synthetic for the last 13 years on all of my vehicles. My 1996 supercharged 4Runner now has over 180K miles and still burns no oil and runs like new. My 1998 LS400 has over 120K miles with no trouble. They haven't caused me any engine problems so far. Now, Prius' ICE engine doesn't even run all the time. When the meter says 5000 miles, the engine probably only ran 4000 equivalent miles. So there is no point to worry about before 5000 miles.
You may ask me why I use 1-year oil. Simple reasons. First, I am lazy. I don't want to waste time keep changing oil. Secondly, I like oil comes with mileage warranty. 3rd, synthetic oil performs and protects engine better.

 

Sounds good. Where do you get this 'high capacity' oil filter? Is this a Toyota product? Do they make such a thing for our 2010 Prius?
Thanks.

 

The "Special Recall" was for the sludging issue. This is the reason, many people assume, behind Toyota's requirement that the 2010 Prius go through 5,000 mile oil changes, even though the recommended oil is 0W-20 oil -- a synthetic!