Need oil. Dealer put in 10W40.

my father put mobil 1 synthetic in his chrysler, and the start up cold ticking went away. 10-40 seems like the wrong weight. what does your o/m say? i'm thinking 5w-20. toyota also has a synthetic. i think it sticks to the metal better, so quicker lubrication.

 

If your oil level is under the minimum now, just put in the 10w-40 that you have. If that's what the dealer put in, it can't be all that bad. Here in the USA, the cars take a 5w-30 grade oil. Keep an eye on the oil levels and keep a few quarts of oil handy, you WILL need to top off this engine in between oil changes.

 

I looked up the current high/low temperatures in Amsterdam, and it appears to be 44 high / 38 low degrees F for today. That is pretty cold weather.

10W-40 is the wrong viscosity to be using in the winter (too thick) and that is one reason why your engine is making unusual noises. Try 5W-30 during this season and see if that helps. Or if you want to live dangerously, use 0W-30 if that is available in your area.

And of course, it does not help to allow the engine oil level to drop below the lower dipstick dimple.

Full synthetic motor oil is supposed to have a longer useful service life (10K miles) than mineral motor oil (5K miles).

 

Why is putting 0w-30 oil in a gen2 Prius living dangerously? In the UK we have similar temperatures as Amsterdam being on the same latitude, and the recommended oil here for the gen2 is 0w-20 with 10k miles oil changes.
My Prius is now at 112,000 miles and needs no oil top up between changes, and when changed still looks clean. Cleaner than in any other car I have owned even at much lower millages and more frequent oil changes.

John (Britprius)

 

The correct oil for a gen 2 Prius is 5w30 and the gen3 is 0w20. Toyota UK have said that it's ok to use 0w20 oil in the gen2 if preferred, though my personal thought on that is that as a gen2 is now at least 5 years old, it might be prudent to stick with 5w30. Changing from thick oil to thinner oil in an old or high mileage engine is asking for trouble. If your gen2 has low miles, then by all means use 0w20 - you will notice a small improvement in mpg's.

But 10w40 is mad to use in a Prius of any age and should be removed and filled with 5w30 again.

 

According to the hand book and the oil filler cap on my gen2 0w-20 is the correct oil, and the oil that has been used.
This "may" be because the last of the line of gen2's "late 2008 early 2009" possibly use the same engine as the Prius C and this also stipulates 0w-20 oil. Looking at the engine specifications apart from some extra polishing to the crankshaft journal bearings "not a cause of oil use", those, and the piston clearances are exactly the same even for the early gen2 Prius.
I do agree thicker oil will usually help stop oil use particularly if it is being lost down the valve guides. If the piston oil ring return holes are gummed up a thinner oil can actually help, but will not help with heavy ring ware or bore problems particularly if the engine has been run until the oil warning light appears.

John (Britprius)

 

If oil return holes are gummed up you can clean them even without disassembling the engine. If valve oils seals are worn you can replace them. I would do those rather than change oil type.

Do you know if oil clearances or oil system other vice was changed when oil changed to 0w-20?

 

Clearances remain the same. I do not understand the second part of your question "vice was changed".

John (Britprius)

 

Unfortunately dealers not doing what is asked by the customer is not uncommon.
Whenever I have my car serviced at the dealers I make a point of listing my requirements. After the work has been carried out I check the bill for the work and materials used. On two occasions the wrong grade of oil was used.
The service writer explaining both times the grade used was acceptable by Toyota. I pointed to the instructions in the manual, and on the oil filler cap. Asking if they were prepared to pay for any extra fuel used with the wrong grade and for the early change of oil required with the wrong oil being used according to the manual. They quickly changed the oil in my presents to the correct grade.

John (Britprius)

 

Trying to be funny, obviously did not succeed.

 

i got it patrick.

 

What I meant was that did they change any other part of oil system but your answer already pretty much covered it.

 

0W-30 is all I have used in my GenII.

 

I'd question continued use of your dealer if that was their response. Plain wrong and if they're happy to peddle such nonsense to your face, what goes on out of sight?

 

I used 0w-20 in my Prius the last 2 winters and didnt see any appreciable effect, I wont be using it again this winter. It didnt damage anything or make any condition worse however.

With that being said, I cannot see how 10w40 would be too detrimental to use in the engine for 1 oil change interval, as doesnt the Prius have a broad range of oil recommendations in the multitude of places it is sold? (for example 5w-30 is the recommendation in US but 15w40 is the recommendation in Russia- not that thats the case but Im just using it as an example).

 

It's your car, so you can put any oil you like in it. If you have any engine warranty issues however, Toyota might have something to say about your choice of oil, but I doubt they'd win in court if they denied you warranty on that basis.

Synthetics are always a good idea in my opinion. They minimize engine wear, which is unavoidable when you have pistons rubbing on cylinder walls billions of times. Blended-synthetics are nearly as good in my opinion, but I think it depends entirely on the grades used by the manufacturer. Avoid the cheap no-name brands, because despite claims that they "exceed all requirements" they can be just garbage in reality.