New Buyer.. Oil Question?

'Regular' oil does fine in Prius on 5k intervals. Synthetic oil can be run for twice as long but that would be your decision. Some will do their first oil change early, with perhaps good reason. Read up on what we have posted here before and see what you think.

Toggle your caps off for the next post, please.

 

Lots of previous threads/discussions about oil choices. No real "right" answer, just lots of opinions on the subject, some of them quite passionate. Seems to me it might be good to hop into the 100,000 mile thread and ask some of the folks with mega-miles on their Prii what kind of oil they used. But again, I suspect the answers would be all over the map. There's one guy who drove a '02 Prius until it died (actually, it didn't "die", it was killed, so one has to wonder how long it might have lasted if someone hadn't smacked into it!) just shy of 350K. Maybe I ought to use the same oil he did!!!

My car is new, just 1 1/2 month old, but I took a trip and now have 4000 on the odo. I took it into my local Toyota dealership at 3000 miles and had a basic oil and filter change using Toyota oil. I'm personally geared to change oil in my vehicles every 3000 miles, it's kind of ingrained into my psyche. I hear that once every 5K (as the owner's manual specifies) is sufficient, but somehow it starts bugging me when I get past the 3K mark. Maybe I'm wasting money, but I can't help myself!

 

Check out BobIsTheOilGuy.com. More than you want to know about motor oil.

Now here's an idea: I use synthetic. Should be good for 15K miles. Since I change oil every 5 to be within warranty requirements, could I save this oil, put it in my older car and get at least another 5 K for free?

Or is this a REALLY BAD idea, since the chemistries of the two engines are different?

 

I think people tend to overthink this stuff sometimes. In the old days, we used to do stuff like this all the time. The Chevy Monza is dead, lets drain the old oil out of it and use it in the Vega...Of course in those days, most cars were considered worn out at 80K.

But, seriously, I don't see how it would hurt. What would be the difference if say you were down a quart of Pennzoil, but ended up adding a quart of Castrol. They both have different chemistries, even being new oils.

Having said all that, I wouldn't do it to save the $10 bucks or so, unless I were putting it in a Monza or a Vega

 

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new ride. I changed my oil at 3K (first oil change) and will just use regular oil in my Prius. BTW, I am also using FRAM oil filters and I've been using them for decades now with no problem. Perhaps the longest that I'll keep an oil in the engine would be 3500 miles or 6 months...then I'll have to change the oil. It is cheap insurance.

 

Read and follow the advice in the owner's manual and the scheduled maintenance guide (they are separate documents). They will save you money and trouble.

 

Good move. Personally, I really think that the first change oil is one of the most important. The earlier the better.

 

I picked up my new Prius on Saturday. I'm wondering what kind of oil comes in the new car. I assume that it leaves the factory filled with oil and it isn't something that is filled by the dealer during prep. Does anyone know whether this factory oil is dino or synthetic? I've read that dino oil was better during the initial breakin period.

 

Factory oil would just be dino oil. Synthetic cost too much for them.

 

Re:Is European oil greasier???

Hi all, I love my new Prius...such fun to drive..a pleasure. I am jumping the gun here, I know..but I was reading my owner's manuel..(in French...what a headache...will download the English version eventually) but they suggest the 1st oil change at 15,000km which, if my math is right, is over 9000 miles!!! Then at 30,000 miles, etc... Do these numbers correspond to suggested maintenance in the states...or is French oil greasier?? No jokes, please...well, sure..jokes are good...but I am curious.

 

French oil may be synthetic. I don't know for sure. I too am a fan of an early first oil change. Look at my UOA in that section on this web site. Only 2500 miles old, but there was a lot of junk in it. That junk may not hurt the engine, but I like to get it out of there.

BTW there is no scientific justification for a 3000 mile oil change. That has been recommended for years and todays engines and todays oils are much different then they were 20 years ago. For todays engines, 100k miles is just a warm up. 200k is easy, it is just the other stuff that starts wearing out.

 

Follow the owner's manual regarding change intervals and oil viscosity, and be able to prove it with receipts to protect your warranty.

That said, cars cost so much these days that to me it's a no-brainer to choose full synthetic. One specific reason for synthetic oil is because my cars are parked outdoors in a cold climate, and synthetic oil helps minimize wear on cold starts.

Harry

 

4 quarts synthetic costs $16 (look for it on sale)
4 quarts Dino oil costs $10 (name brands)

I've never once seen an article suggesting that Dino was better and it is certainly not worth saving a measly $6

And the person who uses Fram filters its a good thing you change your oil every 3000 miles as the filter is most likely in bypass mode by that time especially if you are using the orange ones as they are internally made with cheap cardboard and glued together. Cut one open if you don't believe me. It is worth mentioning that a quality filter with that synthetic oil goes a long way especially with longer oil change intervals. Go with a Purolator Plus or M1, the cheapest I would go for is the Toyota OEM filter.

 

Re: Is European oil greasier???

European oil meets AECA specification. American Oil meets API specification. AECA specifications require a much, much higher quality, longer lasting oil than API. Hence the big difference in oil changes for the same vehicle. Please search for jayman postings on oil for explicit details.

 

Get full use of what you have now. The only oil interval that makes sense to do early is the very first one. After that, 5000 miles is actually a very, very short interval.

 

I had read that non-synthetic oil helps the seals set on a new engine - something about how non-synthetic oil has a little bit more friction in it and helps the seals set whereas synthetic is too slippery to help this process along. So I plan to leave the non-synthetic oil in there for a while. The question is how long does it take for this seal thing to happen?

 

You could just follow the recommended and leave the factory oil in and change at 5000.