Oil Change 2010 Prius - do it yourself

Does anyone know how to repair, or the cost to replace this plastic hatch? Even w/ being cautious during the oil change, I need to repair/ replace the hatch.

 

Some one mentioned the cost was quite high for the panel (~$200). Seems though a handy person could fix it with real hinges of some sort. If nothing else, just replace the pushpins should hold it up there. Oh course there is always ducktape too.

 

Y e a..;... If I ever trash mine, I won't be replacing it with another... they are too lame and not real condusive for oil changes that aren't up on a ramp like in a garage.

Should be easy enough to take a simple piece of Plexiglas or similar from Home depot and use pushpins from the closest autoparts and drill your own holes...
should be pretty simple and work much better.

Like suggested, you could even put a hinge in place if you like..... but paying even 50.00 bucks let alone 200.00 I won't be doing.

 

Great thread. I'm new to Prius Chat and have a few questions:

1) Is synthetic oil a requirement? Can dino oil be used?
2) If you choose the 10,000 mile oil change interval, should you change just the filter at 5,000 miles and add a little oil at that point to "top it off" from what you lose by replacing the filter?
3) How long are the OEM filters good for?
4) What is the best filter available for this car?


Thanks again and happy holidays!

 

You could. I recommend against. Many cars still come factory filled with dino and using synthetic in these is of dubious benefit at best. However, for cars coming from the factory with synthetic I strongly believe you should stick with it.

Although you could it's a bit of a sloppy mess and probably not worth the effort; it's certainly not asked for in the manual. I fully intend on the 10k interval and doing the filter than and only then.

I think OEM are the best filters to use. These are what Toyota has created for the car and its change interval are designed around. Thus, they are good for 10k per the manual's change interval.

I say OEM. There are a lot of third party manufacturers selling filters but considering how inexpensive filters are to begin with if the car really benefited from these other filters it seems very likely to me Toyota would use them. The cost difference would be negligible. I have yet to come upon anything that convinces me to use a non-OEM filter not just for oil but also air filter and fuel filters.

 

I agree with what Scoorbmax posted but I would add the following comment to question #1:

You really have little choice if you are going to follow the Toyota warranty requirements. Toyota says you must use 0W20 and that is only available as a synthetic. Yes it does say you can use 5W20 if 0W20 is unavailable, but then you are required to replace it with 0W20 in 5K miles.

I have had excellent results, born out by used oil analysis, using 0W20 and a 10K interval. I use Mobil 1 but there are other good brands available.

 

Will the Prius' computer know everytime the oil is changed?

 

In the States, only if you tell it: procedure in Owners Manual, page 428. In Canada, no: there's just a time/distance guidance in the book, the computer is clueless.

 

It has no way to know. If you want to create a record you can use the Service Records section at: Toyota Owners Online | Official Toyota Owners Website

If you have it done by a dealer it should already be there, if you do it yourself or have someone else do it you can enter it. I do my own and just enter "owner" in the service Provider column.

 

To my knowledge the mileage computer is basically an oven timer to tell you when your time is almost up and then when its up... you can set it where you want.

It would be non conclusive in court to try and make a case based on when someone changed their oil since there are so many different types and recommendations based on wear etc.


Remember the toyota manual is "recommendations" so we are not in the dark.. not mandates or requirements.

Based on the engineering tolerances they will "recommend".
Different parts of the country gender different needs.... a straight 0 - 20W fits most scenarios but may not be the best in the heat of the jungle on dusty roads or in the tundra of Antarctica.

I live where the heat/cold goes from 20degrees to 105 annually.... I have chosen Amsoil SSO 0 - 30W.
Based on my oil analysis things look great.



I can't imagine it being an issue with folks who change much more often.

When common sense is the best choice, its still easier to follow mandates and rules so people feel people smarter than themselves are calling the shots.
Understandable, but those people don't know you and how you take care of your car.
While its true the Toyota engineer knows the deeper recesses of the soul of the prius very well, they don't know the circumstances and TLC of each person driving.

Recommendations usually aim at the weakest link and make a recommendation to cover.

I have proven you can go 25K with no ill effects... I even got recommendations to try for more based on the good oil tests.

No, I'm not abiding by the recommendations of the manual, but I'm honoring the recommendations of the Oil manufacturer "Amsoil" who says I can go to 35K if I want.

While I understand Amsoil wants to sell oil, their mark is set so much higher than Mobile 1, Castrol, or many others.... they didn't need to set it that high to be "number 1" but they did nevertheless.

Either they are totally out to lunch or they have a fine product that the competition won't even challenge in their advertisements.

The proof is in the pudding.

l'm not asking anyone to take my word for it or even Amsoil's.

I'm just saying either try a much longer oil interval yourself or at least relax about what your doing and realize your "well" within tolerances regardless of what the manual says.

Maybe I'm a rebel?......

 

No, you are not a rebel. You are just using science, eg oil analysis, to prove that with the proper oil a motor can easily go that far and STILL be in better shape than one run on generic oil changed every 5,000 miles

 

I admit all my life I've been adverse to using Synthetic at all.
I always assumed it was the "fake" in place of the real.

After learning how we have so far surpassed the original use and intent for oil by the addition of "additives" I started seeing things a bit different.

If "additives" IE: manmade products, can extend the life of good ole Dino oil... why couldn't manmade products go even further without Dino oil at all?

I don't have the science and technical understanding of the properties of oil and synthetics that you "Jayman" and many others do, but I do try to apply common sense.

While oil gives excellent lubrication while its virgin form and new, it like most natural things can spoil, go bad, get polluted, and go rank over time and exposure to the elements.
Lets face it... left to itself in its pure virgin form.. it doesn't last long!

It has astounded me how far we can come in synthetics.
All "synthetic" means is that its altered by man from the original, or is not found in a natural state in nature at all.

Making a product that on a microscopic level won't break down as easy and won't go rank starts to make sense if you think about all the so many other products we have engineered to be better than basic lye soap..... from kitchen products, cleaning agents, paints, fuels, medical drugs, foods, fertilizers, poisons and many many other products engineered in the lab.

While its good practice to be skeptical, its also silly to look at a piece of bacon frying in the pan and say "fat meat is not greasy".

If it works, it works..... I will never use plain Dino oil again in any of my products that cost over a few thousand dollars and are worth preserving to the max.

Not because its bad, but because there is much much better.

 

Aloha All,

I just changed my oil/filter yesterday at 1072 miles on my two week old Prius. I would like to thank Mr. Bill for his PDF instructions, I am confident and competent enough to do an oil change it was nice to know what I was getting into before getting under the car. I have just read all the postings in this thread prior to posting this. Just wanted to try and clear up a few issues and to add my observations.

To Mr. Bill I know it is common since and previously mentioned but there is no step in the instructions for replacing the drain plug gasket and reinstalling the drain plug, prior to step 9.

Also mentioned previously there is a torque value for the filter housing, 25 Newton meters, 18.43 foot pounds, or 221 inch pounds. Those pretty much equate to good and tight.

The access door is secured by the three plastic expandable body pins. The two on the outsides are the same, the middle aft one is different and larger. It does not look like it is hinged but open the panel all the way open and if you look the aft hole in the panel will be facing forward and aligned with another hole on the belly it is marked for service. Place one of the two smaller plastic pins through the hole in the access panel and then in to the other hole on the rest of the panel, thus securing the panel open and out of your way.

As far as the complaints of general accessibility these cars are maid to be maintained from underneath while on a lift. I pulled the front up on my ramps and then used the rear jack point to raise the back up to bring the car to a level attitude, then put jack stands at the left and right rear tire changing jack positions. Worked okay and seemed safe, next time I will use four jack stands so I can rotate the tires. The car was plenty high the access panel had enough room to swing all the way open.

I bought the SST Specialized Service Tool from the dealership for the filter housing, it is the right tool for the job and fits like a glove. I did not price a filter housing but I would rather not damage one and then have to replace it. The SST is heavy duty steel and will last forever, parts guy said it works for some other models and on Lexus. The Toyota P/N is 09228-06500-02 it listed for $99.92 got for $84.93. I measured the SST it is 64mm and has 14 flats.

The oil filter Toyota P/N is 04152-YZZA6 and it comes with the O-ring for the filter housing. The filter box has both instructions and diagrams for replacement.

The drain plug gasket Toyota P/N is 90430-12031, as previously mentioned this a metal washer with blue gasket material on both sides. The old one did stick to the oil pan removed with plastic scraper as not to damage the mating surface.

I serviced her with 4 quarts and 12.8 ounces of Mobil1 0W-20. Check out photos below. Hope this may help.

Aloha, ED

 

Just for everyone's info: I had a Honda oil filter socket, originally purchased for Honda Hurricane bike oil filter (their automotive filters were much wider). Then Honda adopted the small size for automotive as well. It looks to be 64.5mm~ face/face, and is the same number of faces. Honda part no: 07HAA-PJ70100.

It fits the Prius filter cartridge perfectly. I guess it's a fairly common size now.

Flipping the diminutive access flap down on the Prius is a walk in the park: a second Gen. Civic Hybrid has a honking great flap. Either the whole underpanel has to be removed, or the front end raised near dangerous high, about 14"~15". Ramps would not do it.

To dustoff003: I wouldn't bother jacking up the back. I do raise the whole car sometimes, but it's always advantages to leave a couple of wheels on the ground unless absolutely necessary. And ramps are very stable. The oil will actually drain better I would think, with the car tilted back. Leave oil level check till the car's back on level ground.

 

Is that your car or your oil change?

 

Thanks. You know it wouldn't take much for Toyota to issue a software update that resets oil change intervals to 10K. How about it Toyota, can you do it?

Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

I bet they could and I bet you'd pay $90 for it to get put in there at the stealership!

 

It was my first time doing anything on the Prius so I wanted to get under there and look around really good. I also appreciated the extra room. Probably will leave the back on the ground next time if just changing the oil. I like the drain plug placement on the oil pan, and you are correct the angle of the car on the ramps alone is more adventagious to draining. I do like the single jack points in the front and rear and plan on using those and four jack stands as mentioned above for tire rotations.