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

Prius C2 first oil change

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ubu the Tech Guru, Aug 16, 2013.

  1. Yeah that's why I say "Whatever..." I switched to Mobil 1 full Synthetic in my SUV (2004) before I traded it... Engine ran smooth the whole time, plus I didn't use the car that much so I could go 2 years without a changeover. (Yeah don't do that...)

    Anyway thing is I wouldn't know the first thing about going under the hood or how to read oil levels, so if it spills over or whatever I have no idea how to take stuff apart or how to put it back correctly (I don't care for mechanics), so I'd rather just have someone else do it.
     
  2. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    585
    152
    0
    Location:
    Monterey CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A

    Hahahha! It's always good to use a quality brand oil like Mobile 1. I use the Mobile 5000 in my beater truck.
     
  3. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    585
    152
    0
    Location:
    Monterey CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    Yeah! I spotted that, but what cheap oil filter was that price for ? Fram :ROFLMAO:
     
  4. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    This is the first car that I did not change my oil at 1,000 miles. So for me 5,000 miles is a lot of miles before the first oil change.
     
  5. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2013
    3,339
    1,149
    40
    Location:
    Cumming, Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
  6. Drdiesel

    Drdiesel Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    585
    152
    0
    Location:
    Monterey CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
  7. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2013
    3,339
    1,149
    40
    Location:
    Cumming, Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Dealerships don't charge shipping and this site lets you order multiple parts for a single shipping qty. I bought 10 for $7 shipping. ;) I didn't include the shipping charge because I was giving a rough estimate of what the dealerships costs are. We both know they don't spend $5/ cleaner.
     
  8. xraydoug

    xraydoug Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2013
    571
    176
    0
    Location:
    Roseburg, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    On my camry hybrid we change every 5K or 6 months whichever comes first. This is coverd under the Toyota Care thing that came free with both cars for 25K or 2 years. We now have 26k with 41mpg ave. Happy Happy Happy. I think it is a good idea to do the first change at 1k that would equal about 500 miles on the gas engine according to the computer on my car display. I think it is important to use 0-20 synthetic and change every 5k
     
  9. Fahfoofnik

    Fahfoofnik Member

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2013
    98
    32
    0
    Location:
    Plainfield, IL
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Ok, so based on what I'm reading in this thread, it's considered best practice to go on my own at get an oil change on my '13 Prius C Two at 5,000 miles instead of waiting until the "ToyotaCare" scheduled 10,000 oil change?

    I don't mind going out-of-pocket if it's considered fact that it's proven waiting until 10k is a bad idea. $50 or less is a small price for me to pay to keep my Prius from having engine issues later. I just turned 3,000 miles this week, have owned the car 2 months.
     
  10. xraydoug

    xraydoug Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2013
    571
    176
    0
    Location:
    Roseburg, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Our toyota dealer told us to bring it in every 5k or 6months whichever comes first. and they do the oil change free to us. for the first 2yr/25k. so that is exactly what we did on our camry. and I will do the same on the prius c. I think you can go longer between oil changes but it is harder on the engine. engine issues caused by lack of oil changes usually show up after 100k on a conventional car. so on hybrid?? 150-200k??:cautious: I will change my oil every 5k and just go to "Oil Can Henrys" that will cost less than the dealer.

    I generally don't trust mechanics so I do the oil changes and follow the maint. schedule in the owner manuel. I will take the car in to a mechanic when I notice somthing not working correctly. also Oil Can Henrys will tell me if they notice anything. and when I buy tires the tire place checks the breaks.(y)
     
    Fahfoofnik likes this.
  11. Phil 29 Palms CA

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2012
    119
    44
    0
    Location:
    Twentynine Palms, CA.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Does anyone know under the 2 year or 20,000 miles Toyota free maintenance agreement, the minimum mileage in order to receive a free oil change. I think when I reach 2 years, I will only have about 4,000 miles on the odometer. With that low mileage do you think I can get a free oil change before my 2 years expire. What's the lowest mileage a member of priuschat was able to receive a free oil change under the service agreement?
     
  12. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2013
    3,339
    1,149
    40
    Location:
    Cumming, Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    I'm pretty sure it says 10k miles or 1 year.
     
  13. ftl

    ftl Explicator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2009
    1,812
    790
    0
    Location:
    Long Island NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    I had my one-year oil change done at about 8000 miles.
     
  14. Fahfoofnik

    Fahfoofnik Member

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2013
    98
    32
    0
    Location:
    Plainfield, IL
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Ok, thanks. I'm leaning toward going some place on my own to do an oil change at 5,000 miles instead of waiting until 10,000 miles like the dealer(s) said to do. My wife has a '13 Corolla, she was also told to do her 1st oil change at 10,000 miles.

    My father-in-law is a mechanical engineer & he's also advocating a change at 5k, due to what's been pointed out here. Acids eating away at gaskets, engine residue…
     
  15. Delta Flyer II

    Delta Flyer II Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2013
    547
    248
    69
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    We have Toyota Care on both, Totota only changes it every 10k.... Had the C in for it's first service at 5k, and dealer told me it was only a fluid top off, tire rotation and vehicle in section, oil is changed at 10k because it's synthetic...

    I was thinking it was going to be every 5k regardless, guess Toyota isn't really giving you free maintenance..
     
  16. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Buy 5 quart container of Mobil 1 5-30 at Walmart for $22.95.

    Based on what I have seen here the dealer only service is bad news. First they use dino vat oil. Oil bought in bulk.
    Unless you pay for M1.

    Plus for some reason Prius people who have the car serviced at the dealer never ever seem to check there oil or ever even open the hood. Seen this so many times here. And the dealer always overfills the oil. And if the car begins to leak oil or use oil which it will if consistently overfilled which is pretty common in a Prius the guy who changes the oil at the dealer will never come out and tell you hey I checked the oil before I changed it and it was a quart low, you better start checking it. Especially on a 10K oil run. For most people that's almost a year. Because the guy on the oil line never checks the oil before they dump it. You'll never ever know 75,000 miles down the road that your car has been eating oil for quite a while now till the dash board light comes on because the engine is 3 quarts low. Too late damage done. Posters always same the same thing. But it's only been serviced at the dealer!!!!!! How could this happen?????

    Check your oil every time you fuel up. Takes 50 seconds to check every reservoir under the hood. I timed it. Especially check it after the dealer had his hands on it. There the worst. Your not getting the trained tech changing your oil for free. I've met the guy doing the oil change at my dealer. He does not speak English. No thanks.

    Forget the 5K tire rotation. I know the manual says that but thats baloney. They just want you in there dealership as much as possible to either sell you a new car or expose you to all kinds of sale pitches for stuff you don't need.
    At 5K there's such little wear on the front tires you'll never be able to see if there's an alignment issue with the front or rear. Look for yourself. All your doing is exposing all your fenders and wheels to scratches from a guy with an air wrench. And sometimes just moving the tires around creates an imbalance unless the tire is rebalanced before rotating and I know they don't do that. The less there coming at your car with wrenches the better.


    Oil every 5K
    Tires every 10K...sometimes longer than that. Look at your tires.
     
    xraydoug likes this.
  17. xraydoug

    xraydoug Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2013
    571
    176
    0
    Location:
    Roseburg, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I think your right! because we were told to bring the car in every 5k or 6months, I assumed they were changing the oil. In the past I have done all my own oil changes and recently started using oil can henrys. to check oil at fill up seems logical. every 5oo miles or so. and after anyone does the oil. I'm not sure about the bad grade oil my prius requires 2-20 or preferd 0-20 oil.

    Sounds like I will bag the toyota oil change/service and just go there if I have an issue with the car. The camry hybrid we have was serviced and after that the mpg went down we were getting 44 on the computer and ever since we are 41 plus. I make sure the tires are inflated to 44psi but the mileage never came back. I think they adjusted somthing in the computer.

    I sure don't want that to happen to this car. I like 60 plus mpg.(y)
     
    edthefox5 likes this.
  18. Fahfoofnik

    Fahfoofnik Member

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2013
    98
    32
    0
    Location:
    Plainfield, IL
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    After a discussion with family over the weekend, I'm back on the fence. My father-in-law is a mechanical engineer by trade, and a "car guy." He's never owned a hybrid, and this is my first. He doesn't think waiting until I turn 10,000 miles for the 1st oil change is a good idea. He thinks changing the synthetic oil at 5,000 is the best plan to clean out all the deposits & such from a new engine.

    A comment was made by someone else in the family:

    "If you change the oil before ToyotaCare says, you void your warranty."

    I highly doubt this is true. I can't find any concrete answers (online or in the materials that came with my car), other than should I take my car in to have the oil changed at 5,000 miles somewhere besides the dealer & the dealer sees this when I take it in at 10,000 miles for the scheduled warrantied oil change, they can claim that any problems they might find are due to getting the oil changed somewhere else.

    I'm leaning toward saying "Hogwash" on all this "doing an oil change at 5,000 before ToyotaCare says to voids your warranty." I'd like to have my FIL help me change the oil at 5,000 since he's a car guy & knows his stuff & I trust him. What I don't want to do is void the warranty. What do you folks think?
     
  19. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2013
    3,339
    1,149
    40
    Location:
    Cumming, Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    With a Hybrid, the engine isn't running the entire 10k miles. That said, 5k won't hurt, but probably isn't necessary either. It will not void your warranty, it just won't be free with ToyotaCare.
     
    minkus, Fahfoofnik and edthefox5 like this.
  20. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I changed the oil on my new 07 at 1000 miles. Moved it over to Mobil 1. Still own the car and it runs better than new. Been on M1 for almost 65,000 miles.

    I changed the trans fluid too at 5,000 miles and it was pretty dark with metal on the magnet. Most initial metal wear happens early on after birth. The next trans change was done at 25,000 miles and was not as dark as the 5K initial change. Has been progressively cleaner every time since.

    And free with Toy care is crap oil. Trust me on this.
    And there's no way they can tell if you changed the oil anyway unless they see an off brand oil filter.

    I don't know if the C is cartridge also or is it a spin on filter?

    I always buy the original filter from the dealer. Its cheap, the bypass valve is correct for a spin on, and very worst case if the engine blows up and its got a crankcase full of oil and the factory filter on it no way can they bitch.

    Comes in with a blown engine and a wix or fram or M1 or whatever filter is on the engine then there's a discussion with the service manager you may not like. They would love to void your warranty and say the bypass valve on the filter got stuck or whatever and it starved the motor of oil. $$$$$$$ It would be all bullsh*t but they would go there first.

    Best to cover your bases if under warranty.

    But Bottom line Toyota has never serviced my car once in its life except I had them service the rear brakes for $59. My warranty was in full force. They really don't care. But use the original filter.

    Go on Toyota.com/owners and join and you can post your maintenance on that site and that site is where the dealer posts there maintenance. There's alot of my DIY stuff on there so when I brought my car in for the recalls they really didn't bother me at all about servicing it. They read my posts and left me alone as they can clearly see I'm on it.
     
    xraydoug and Fahfoofnik like this.