In your opinion what are the best longevity things to do

If the paint on the hood and mirrors is still good. Get the 3m Clear wrap paint protectant. Well worth it. IMHO Winters in Colorado are rough on the exterior. Id also have the whole car clay bar cleaned and have it waxed 4 times a year.

 

I was told that I could only go that long between oil changes if I only used synthetic.

Here in Maine, we experience a lot of 'Frost Heaves', often they are like a speed bump. With so much flexing of the frame and body, the plastic bodywork cracks easily. Once a crack appears the vibration will make the cracks grow. Every week I need to inspect for recent cracks.

 

Was that from the owner of a lube shop?

 

LOL

That advice came from my Toyota dealership's Service Manager.

 

7500km is 4660 miles. Toyota says 5000 miles is fine with non-synthetic oil. Do they put 3000 mile/3 month stickers on your windshield after an oil change?

 

When each of my Priuses were under warranty, I had the dealership do all the work. They wanted to change the oil every 3,000 miles. At the end of the warranty, I asked and the Service Manager said that if I shifted to synthetic I could stretch the servicing to 5,000 miles. After that, I also switched to a local vehicle repair shop that I trust more than the dealership.

 

manual says 10k, so i suppose it depends on who you listen to.

 

The Toyota USA Warranty and Maintenance Booklet never mentions synthetic vs conventional motor oil.

It typically recommends a particular weight, specs a miles-or-months interval for changing, and then mentions a slightly heavier oil, and says it’s ok, but only for half the interval, and the next oil should be the recommended.

it seems a “boiler plate” piece of text, identical from one gen to the next, the sole revisions being the oil weights and change intervals. There is no mention of the oil being synthetic or not.

 

I live in the GTA, had 3 prius cars, now a Prime and love it. The only things I do under warranty is follow the inspection and maintenance schedule provided by the dealer....never had a problem. I have had to replace the 12v battery after 5 years but then again I didn't use it much during covid and as soon as we could we started travelling again....by air. I installed a Battery Monitor BM2 when I replaced it just for peace of mind. It was easy to do and the app works perfectly. Otherwise just enjoy the vehicle, follow this site as there are many great ideas, discussions and suggestions.

 

Fly, if you don't have the owner's manual, buy one. Either the parts counter at the dealership can get it for you, or order it on line. Follow that maintenance schedule, not the lying dealership guys who are paid on commission. If the service writers at the dealer don't sell services, they don't get paid and they get fired. They will tell you to buy services that best serve the dealership owner's Florida condo payments. Or Quebec ski cabin.

U.S. and Canadian models might have different maintenance schedules. In the U.S. the oil drain interval is 10,000 miles (16,000 km). Of course, we realize that the engine doesn't run for all those miles, and we have no way to know how many miles the engine actually does run. The 0W-20 oil is only synthetic. Now, if you drive with the engine a lot, HV mode, and you make a lot of short cool drives, I'd change the oil more often. Otherwise, stick with the schedule in the manual. The ATF, automatic transmission fluid, is a very good product that does not have the same working conditions as it would in most transmissions. There are no clutches in the Prime transmission, so there are no clutch particles to accumulate to dirty up the fluid. With 60k km on the fluid (37k miles) there is no need to drain and refill it. Maybe at 80k km (50k miles) but maybe not even then. Follow the schedule for replacement for both coolant systems.

So...use only top quality motor oil, use top quality oil filters (Toyota filters are always tops as are a few other brands such as WIX), and follow the schedules.

Why not get the underside sprayed with a rust proofer? I've never lived in a place that needed it, so I don't know...does the stuff work if applied correctly? Are there problems that could arise that are particular to the Prime? Are there any reputable shops that would give you an honest answer to any questions you might have? Or is it just a waste of money due to the construction of the Prime.

 

Commencing with gen 4, Toyota Canada does not include a maintenance schedule in the books that come with the car. It used to be in the “supplement” booklet, but no more. Perhaps taking a cue from Toyota GB?

fwiw, if you’re missing any books you can download gratis pdf format; just Google Toyota Canada manuals pdf or something similar, simpler than trying to find directly on the Toyota Canada website.

the schedule can be found, via very cumbersome process, by entering your car stats plus kms/months, on Toyota Canada website. You could go through, event-by-event, and eventually have a reverse-engineered schedule.

fwiw, it’s likely near-identical to model year 2014, when they briefly switch to an easy to read table format. I've attached the relevant pages from that year.

The one exception to compatibility I can think of: For 3rd gen (2010~2015) schedule: Toyota Canada set the oil change interval at 8000 kms or 6 months. With the advent of 4th gen (2016~2022), they switched to 16000 kms or 12 months. Feel free to stick with 3rd gen schedule for that one, lol.

 

You can also ask the service department for a copy of their service recommendations. I get one for the next servicing every time I go plus the estimated cost. If you get to know one or two of the service people you’ll be surprised how much you can learn, it’s not hard to do and doesn’t take long.
As for rust proofing it’s really personal. I haven’t done it on any of my Prius’s and never had any issues so far, but some friends who have other Toyotas have done it and never had problems either.

 

The new Rav4s come with the Warranty and Maintenance Manual and they are easily available when you register on the Toyota Owners site. Which is recommended to ensure Toyota has your contact info for recalls and customer support programs, particularly if you move or were not the original buyer.

 

@Canby ’s in “GTA”, which translates to Greater Toronto Area, so under the umbrella of Toyota Canada.

I concur, the US Warranty and Maintenance Booklet at least has a schedule. Only quibble: it’s event-by-event, so if you want to cobble an easy-to-read table format schedule, you’re forced to go through it page by page. Doing this with a few gens I’ve noticed gaps in the pattern, likely just due to the event-by-event format being nigh impossible to check.

 

Change the oil and oil filter every 5,000 mi no matter what anybody else says anywhere. I like high mileage oils because they have more detergents and keep the rings from getting stuck. That's my advice if you want it to last

 

My advice is to change the oil every 5,000 miles (about 8,000km) OR every 6 months, whichever comes first.

Unless you want frozen rings that later gall and gouge the cylinder liners like on my 2006 Prius at 200,000 miles so that it'll start chugging oil and fouling the catalytic converter.

I also recommend using synthetic oil. Toyota oil is good, so is Mobile1.

I personally don't recomment high mileage oils because they have agents in them to help swell the seals on the engine. If you aren't leaking oil this is only going to help those seals wear out faster instead of swelling old worn out seals to help stop leaks.

 

My owners manual says ILSAC GF-5 engine oil, 0W-20. It used to be that a 0W oil was not available in a non-synthetic. Has that changed?