Newbie just bought a used '02 - any advise

Take it to your dealer and make sure it's had all of the TSB updates.

Read the manual.

Read this forum.

Happy driving.

 

good choice for a used car. I agree wholeheartedly with Godiva on taking it in and getting all the TSB's checked and updated as required. Read this fourm and enjoy your hybrid.

 

July 04? What's the timeframe requirement for replacing oil on the Classic, as miles doesn't apply here.

 

they say 6 months or 5000miles/8000km At 1100 miles she probaby hasn't move it in a while. I also doubt that he HV battery was replace, it was subject to a reseal notice. That was probably what was done.

 

I think you mean 6 months or 7500 for a classic, no? Either way, it is OVERDUE for an oil change. It's almost July 05!

 

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the warranty booklet say's 6 month/ 8000km or 5000 miles which ever comes first.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kirbinster\";p=\"100726)</div>

yes they sit on shelves for months/years at a time but not with contaminants in them. Even normal use puts acids and carbon particles and unburnt fuel in the oil which just lays there in the bottom of the oil pump pickup and is the first thru the engine when it starts. three quarts of oil and a filter and gasket are pretty cheap insurnace agains problems.

 

Uh, Frank, are you reading a Canadian warranty manual, and for the newer Prius? kirbinster has a US classic, which has different warranty requirements.

Ordinary oil will deteriorate over time just sitting there.
There's a reason they have a TIME factor in the warranty maintenance requirement, not just a mileage one.

 

Just checked Toyota's website, it is 5K/4 months or 7.5k/6 months depending on driving conditions. I think we can all agree this is light duty, so 7.5K or 6 months.

Oil change is way overdue, but I doubt any harm can come of it. Still wouldn't call it clockwork though. The dealer did a bad and should have changed the oil/filter in December when the recall was done.

 

Here's something else to consider: Warranty.

Being it is an '02 with only 7.2K on it, there is still 2yr/52.8K on the drivetrain warranty. Do you want to take a chance on losing that over not changing your oil as prescribed?

True, truckers do analysis on their oil, but I doubt it gets to stay in there longer than 6 months (mainly due to mileage). There's so much oil in them there engines that it pays to do frequent analysis than to blindly change it at set intervals. Not so true with cars.

After the warranty is up, do what you like. I might agree in keeping a synthetic in a car for a year, as long as the mileage is not exceeded (contamination issues has still not been dealt with to my satisfaction).

But again, remember, your warranty REQUIRES that the oil be changed every 6 months, minimum. The original owner (and dealer) has NOT done that.

 

no that's out of the 2k3 warranty manual that came with the car. If I remember that was the requirement on the wife's 2k1 as well. When she gets home I'll check the 2k4 manual but if memory servers me it's the same as mine.

 

I totally agree with that kind of reminder system. If the Prius had it, that would be a nice accessory and worth paying for.

 

Dan the 2k4 has the same requirements as the 2k3, 6 months 8000Km/5000 miles. Not sure if the Canadian requirements are different than the US but this is what the warranty manual states.

 

All of you who are countering me are in CANADA. He's in the US. I went to Toyota's site, and found what I posted: 4mo/5K or 6mo/7.5K depending on driving conditions. There have been lots of posts in the past wondering why the new Prius has shortened the interval compared to the Classic.

 

As I own a classic, the 7.5K interval is indeed in the books. I go by this interval myself. My understanding of the reduction of the change interval from 7.5K to 5k is actually a result of Toyota's sludging problems with the V6 engines. All of their models used to have this interval as an option. The Prius was just the last one to be phased out of it.

As for the newbie and the year old oil. I'd say change it, if for no other purpose but to set new baselines for the car's service intervals.