1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Oil change interval - low mileage car

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by daniel, Apr 16, 2009.

  1. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Since buying my Zap Xebra (all-electric, 40-mile range) the Prius only gets driven when I go out of town (typically Coeur d'Alene and my summer hiking trips to Canada) or when I fly and have to park at the airport. Today I got a letter from the dealership reminding me that "It's time for your 5,000 mile service" and I checked and saw that my last oil change was a year and a month ago, and that I've only driven 3,000 miles in that time.

    My question: Should I get an oil change since it's been over a year, or should I just wait until I hit 5,000 miles?

    All my driving in the Prius now is over 30 miles, since the Xebra takes the shorter trips. I.e., the Prius always reaches full temp every time it is driven.

    P.S. My total mileage now is 27,223.

    P.P.S. This means I've posted once for every 3 miles driven. I bet that's a record!
     
    #1 daniel, Apr 16, 2009
  2. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    640
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Daniel

    Considering how much your Prius sits, I'm surprised the 12 vdc battery hasn't gone bad yet. Do you have any sort of automatic battery tender on it?

    I'm going to assume you keep your Prius garaged. Under the use you're putting it through, once a year with a quality oil should be fine. Make sure the oil is intended to deal with moisture, and other aspects of "severe" driving duty

    On my short list of such oils that qualify:

    Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Formula
    Castrol Syntec 0W-30

    Mobil 1 0W-30 is good too, though not in the same league as the two oils I mentioned. Note, the only Syntec I would consider is the 0W-30. It's made in Germany and - like the Mobil 1 0W-40 - is intended for very severe service, and extended oil drains

    Some folks may consider an oil change every 6 months for the kind of sitting around your Prius does. I think that would be excessive, though not if you intend to use a conventional oil.

    Conventional oils do a poor job of controlling moisture buildup in a motor that is rarely run. As usual, though, YMMV

    jay
     
    #2 jayman, Apr 16, 2009
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,123
    1
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I wouldn't wait until 5K miles. FWIW, the Cartalk guys recommend changing oil (for all cars in general, not Prisu specific) every 6 months or 5K miles, whichever comes first. See:
    Car Talk
    Car Talk

    Car Talk talks about German habits, synthetic and how 3K miles (which has been spread around for ages) is too often now.
     
    #3 cwerdna, Apr 17, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  4. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    640
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Those guys didn't even bother researching about "German" oil changing habits. First of all, it applies to the entire EU due to ACEA motor oil specs. Even average cars offer a 12 month or 10,000 mile oil change interval

    Cars running approved oils can stretch that to 24 months or 30,000 miles. I've posted the links on several threads in this forum. But even in severe service, cars over there will generally have a 12 month interval
     
    #4 jayman, Apr 17, 2009
  5. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Thanks for the input.

    Jay: I don't know where you get the "severe duty" suggestion for my Prius. It is garaged, and it gets about as light a duty as a car can have. You live in a world of dust and towing. I'm in a mild climate, and as I said above, the Prius gets driven gently and always gets warm enough to dry out the system. And Spokane is a dry climate, so there's not a lot of moisture around. (Unlike Seattle.)
     
    #5 daniel, Apr 17, 2009
  6. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    640
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Daniel

    A motor just sitting around is considered "severe" service. When you park it, inside your garage, the motor cools off to ambient temperature. There will be condensation in the crank. You're only putting on 3,000 miles a YEAR

    The oils I mentioned have very stout additive packages, very high initial TBN, and will handle any potential acid buildup from the condensation. There may be a slight negative impact on fuel economy running the Syntec 0W-30, at it's considered a "heavy" xW-30 oil, along with the Mobil 1 0W-40. Perhaps 1-3 mpg loss

    If you're not willing to try those oils, and wish to stay with a conventional 5W-30, then I would strongly recommend an oil change every 6 months. Conventional oils do a poor job of dealing with condensation in the crank

    If your Prius can routinely sit for 2-3 weeks at a time, I would also strongly recommend an automatic battery tender on the 12 vdc battery. I use VDC Battery Minder automatic tenders on all my equipment, it saves the 12 vdc battery

    jay
     
    #6 jayman, Apr 17, 2009
  7. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Okay. Thanks for the advice. I'll have the oil changed as soon as I get over this cold. (I'm on the mend, but not well yet.)

    I actually do not remember whether I had them switch to synthetic or not. I imagine they'll have a record of that. I had a new 12-v battery put in a half a year ago. Four years was, IMO, a good run for a 12-v battery. I'm not going to bother with a battery tender as long as I'm getting 4 years out of one.
     
    #7 daniel, Apr 17, 2009
  8. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    640
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Ok sounds good then

    Hope the cold breaks soon
     
    #8 jayman, Apr 17, 2009
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)