Oil change frequency

Because the engine stops and starts a lot, when an engine starts the oil works hardest. There is also more oportunity for the oil to be poluted by condensation. It's false economy to stretch out the oil changes beyond 6000 miles I think.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CEguru @ Oct 27 2007, 01:57 PM) [snapback]531236[/snapback]</div>

One thing that both GM and Honda have in their cars now is 'oil life monitors', which is essentially just what it sounds like. Both of those manufacturers (possibly more) recognize that not everyone drives the same, and some people need frequent oil changes, and others not so frequent.

It's an idea which I think all manufacturers should embrace.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 27 2007, 12:20 PM) [snapback]531262[/snapback]</div>

Another factor is Toyota being litigation-averse. They are just putting the oil sludge debacle behind them and don't want to re-visit that little problem. Being accused of being conservative on maintenance intervals is something they feel they would rather deal with.

 

Hot restarts aren't where the "oil problems" crop up. Condensation,
dry cylinder walls, etc occur after a long sit.
.
_H*

 

Who says the Prius has the same interval as a non-hybrid? The anti-Prius (2001 Nissan Pathfinder) had an interval of 6000 km, whereas the Prius has 8000 km. I see no conspiracy here.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 27 2007, 06:08 PM) [snapback]531317[/snapback]</div>

Actually, highway driving is less stressful than city driving. If you're a typical long commuter, your engine is generally going to stay at low revs in a high gear, which is less stress. I think that if you're doing a lot of low impact highway driving, most of the systems with oil sensors (GM/Honda) will usually recommend a change in the 8-13K range, depending on how you drive and the conditions you drive in.

City driving does the most stress to an engine, and it's what wears the oil out fastest. Granted the Prius's engine doesn't run as much, but the fact that it is spinning up and down is probably mitigating any gains.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 27 2007, 12:20 PM) [snapback]531262[/snapback]</div>

Prius engines don't experience the same kind of stress as normal engines started at low rpm. The Prius electric motor spins up the engine to 1000 rpm before injecting fuel, so the engine can't hardly even tell anything happened.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 27 2007, 06:08 PM) [snapback]531317[/snapback]</div>

15 mins of highway miles burns off water and other but not all contaminants in the oil so if you drive on the highway you may clean up your oil a bit. In Europe they recommend changing the oil at almost 9000 miles yet here in the us its 5000. Its the lawyers. I would at least stretch out to 6000 miles or even more.

 

It's funny because oil changes are so cheap there.
Sorry I forgot the spinning up to 880rpm before ignition thing.
I'll change my oil every 10,000km anyway.

 

It's not just miles, it's miles and months. There's probably more water in Prius oil on average precisely because it's running less of the time and thus not as hot. And the oil is sitting there oxidizing away whether its running or not.

Rumor has it that European oil change intervals are longer than in the US because European oil quality is better than that of US oil.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Oct 28 2007, 05:27 PM) [snapback]531727[/snapback]</div>

Funny, I was thinking that because of the thermos feature for the ICE coolant, the engine would have less water, since the temperature is warm longer. It would seem the only way to know for sure would be to do an oil analysis without running the ICE before taking the sample.

 

it's the topic that won't die!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Oct 28 2007, 08:36 PM) [snapback]531793[/snapback]</div>

The thread is still young (at least in comparison to the BT Tech Plate thread....)

 

It seems to me that 5000 is just about right, its not like they are the oil lube place that is saying every 3000 miles. I also have always looked at it this way, Oil lube and oil companies want you to change more frequently then necessary because they want you to buy more oil, and I feel car companies want you to change the oil less because they want you to buy more cars / parts / maintenance. My previous car an Eagle Talon (chrysler engine) recemmended 7500 miles for oil changes and there was no way I waited that long and always changed at about 4500 miles with regular dino oil. It didn't start using oil until about 160,000 miles (my cylinder 2 had to have had some worn cylinder rings based on characteristics I saw when I changed the spark plugs.